Look Up!

The Harvest Moon is almost here! The full moon that rises in the sky each September, known as the Harvest Moon, is my favorite moon of the whole year. There is an astrophysical explanation for why this particular moon shines the brightest and looks the largest of all the calendar moons…but I’m not going to ramble on about that rationale here. The Harvest Moon receives its name from the season that celebrates the significance (the reward) of hoping. Harvest is the joyous reality of receiving what was, in seasons past, imagined.

This process is not without hard work. In agricultural terms, there is first the identification of what matters – what needs to be grown to keep life going. Then, there is the selection and preparation of land, the toil of cultivating soil to then plant seeds to take root. Then, there is waiting. There is humility in surrendering to time and tempests; and there is intentional attention to helping healthy growth take place. There is more waiting…and watching. There is the possibility of despair and even death. But amidst that shadowy insecurity, there still exists the anticipation and purposeful preparation to meet and greet what has matured and is ready for harvest. Harvest, itself, is its own important effort that requires the collective support of persistent muscle. The careful plucking and cutting of crops still involves imagination of the banquet tables to come. There is a symbolic synchronicity to the Harvest Moon’s ambiance that represents, for me, how heart, hand, land and especially ethereal efforts are always at work to offer hope and joy throughout every season of life.

The 2015 Harvest Moon will appear on September 27. Look up! I hope you get to see it and enjoy the present it is.

A Good Gift

You made the moon to rule the night –

That means even in the dark, there is still light.

In the absence of day glow, no less inferior,

You are here – proving Yourself superior.

Rays of hope  as surrounded arms,

Your maternal embrace truly warms.

Amid cold shadowed veil,

You prove Your love can never fail.

A very real reflective radiance

And a divine ordained incandescence

Fills the sky with eternal essence.

I stand in awe of Your glorious presence.

References:

1. Resurrection; sculpture by Jamie Wasson 2014
2. Why does the Harvest Moon look so big and orange?
3. The Art of the Commonplace by Wendell Berry
4. A Good Gift; poem by Jamie Wasson 2010

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Jewelry Box

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary.; they will walk and not be faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

At times, we falter in seeing ourselves the way God sees us. We deny our identity and capacity by remaining static in a world wherein we were meant to soar…perhaps the following poem sums up how you, as I, can easily shut down. In that stillness, listen closely and hear God speak to you.

I close my body up,

Whenever you’re around.

The way you look at me

Makes my eyes hit the ground.

I will not let myself see any reason why you want me.

I’m a fallen angel.

My brain’s a commuter train.

My heart’s a station stop.

Big ideas roll down town,

And then off they drop.

I know it’s okay to be shy, but I feel like I’ve become a lie –

I’m a fallen angel.

All that I want, all I really want is something

More than a sensual sting…

What I want, what I really really want is a spiritual fling.

But oh well,

I’m a fallen angel.

But you say,

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,

It’s okay.

Turn your eyes towards the sky.”

You again say,

“It’s okay it’s okay, it’s okay,

Open up your wings and fly,

Because you’re an angel, a beautiful angel.”

Reference:s

1. Self Portrait; painting by Jamie Wasson 1994
2. Jewelry Box; poem by Jamie Wasson 2008