Tuesday, May 24, 2011

rising creeks, fading pain, and picking up the needles again

"of all the things we can feel
with our minds and bodies,
severe pain is the purest,
for it drives everything else
from our awareness and
focuses us as perfectly
as we can ever be focused."
-dean koontz


there are all kinds of pain in this life. sometimes, when we aren't paying attention, one pain attracts another.  then another. then still more...  mine started with a debilitating back pain. the doctors, still practicing their medicine, were unsure as to its cause. they could find no physical reason for it. stress, then, it was decided. overwork. considering the work hours i keep, this is not implausible by any stretch of the imagination.

rest is prescribed. but too much rest brought new pains. pains in the upper back. the neck. and, eventually, in the heart. funny how pain begets pain. how it knows its cousins and invites them nearer without hesitation.

but there comes a time when one must throw unwanted and unwelcome guests out of one's home!  strange, though, how some pains linger long after they have been evicted.  need to fade into memory rather than be vigorously ousted.

i picked up my scraps and needle again yesterday. the heart above is the result. well, the woven background cloth was the result. the heart and wings i started today.  i have many more paisley feathers to add. not to mention tons of stitching to do before this one will be finished.  but i'm taking baby steps. this will be slow going. and i have so many other cloths whispering my name. clamoring for long-overdue attention. 

i'm back to work and my physical pains still rattle their chains from time to time...especially when sitting for too long in a straight backed chair, so i can't spend too much time at the computer.

i will be here regularly now, god willing and the creeks don't rise...or so i used to hear frequently as a child. though, it would seem, the creeks are already protesting:


we've had such rainy weather here these past couple weeks...





but even in the heaviest rainfall, spring still clears her throat and reminds us she is here:



and so, too, am i.

namaste'






p.s. some of you have asked about the kanji script that i place at the end of each of my posts...  it is my name in japanese, translated by a dear friend of mine in kyoto.  its pronunciation is very close to my english name, joe, and the character itself means prosperity.

10 comments:

  1. well good painfree prosperity to you then Joe.
    I've been thinking of you and was soon going to ask how you are. Can you/do you take a regular walk, even slowly and painfully it will soon start to ease the pain if it is only of a mechanical origin.
    It's lovely to see daffodils, my favourites, thankyou.

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  2. thank you, kaite. yes, i am walking. even working (though in greatly limited hours). it is down to a dull throb, controlled now primarily by my tens unit...and the occasional pain killer when that doesn't quite cut it.

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  3. Beautiful heart and wings! Glad you're back and "mending"! And god willing the creeks won't rise... I like that, speaks to me of times when folks new their place in the web! Creeks sure have been rising around here, though no severe flooding like elsewhere.

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  4. glad to see you back and on the mend. i spent months at work, way back when, standing at the computer because of back problems. couldn't sit down for any length of time. time eased the pain and then one day it disappeared. wishing you well.

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  5. Wonderful needle work, it looks like such a labor intensive creative outlet. You've captured such beautiful pictures of mother nature in her element,meanwhile down here in the south, we wait ever hopeful for just a tiny bit of life giving rain...I'm glad your feeling better.
    Blessings,Flora

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  6. Fabulous work & can't wait to see it completed. Glad your pain levels are making it so you can work on your Art. The wet weather here is making my foot and fingers just ache. Beading is getting harder to do all the time, but I think if I quit sewing my hands would be worse. Keep dry. I'm trying to.

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  7. Good to see you're healing Joe, I've missed your thoughtful and stitchful posts. Keep up that gentle walking, watching the world pass by as the muscles relax

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  8. So GLAD you are back!!!! Sush elegant writing about pain...have you tried accupuncture? It has worked miracles for my body! Sending lots of warm, sunny, positive, pain free thoughts to you!

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  9. Glad you are feeling better. Love the stitched heart, a great place to begin again :)
    Fabulous outdoor pics!
    Be well <3

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  10. It seems as if we might be kindred spirits... Just wanted you to know that. The blog is great. Can't wait to see the crow things upcoming.

    So glad I met you, Joe!

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