IMANI / FAITH

One can make a day of any size and regulate the rising and setting of his own sun and the brightness of its shining.
-- John Muir (1838-1914)






















Imani, which means "faith," is the theme for New Year's Day, the 7th day of Kwanzaa. New Year's Day is the 7th day of Christmas.

Shanora: I hate him.

Queen Esther: O, don't hate him, child. You won't find no strength in hate.

Chimbuko: That's right.

. . .

Chimbuko: It's a new day and a new year.

(from the movie "Harambee," directed by Fracaswell Hyman)






































Scroll down and listen to Mavis Staples sing "Have a Little Faith"

. . . These are trying times that we’re living in
Have a little faith I say
Have a little faith, my friend
We got trouble everywhere around the world . . .

Photos:
Yosemite Valley on October 1, 2008
Big Sur on October 4, 2008
My porch before dawn on a rainy Pacific Northwest New Year's Day 2009

KUUMBA / CREATIVITY

December 31 is the sixth day of Kwanzaa and the sixth day of Christmas. Kuumba, which means "creativity," is the word for the sixth day of Kwanzaa.

Girl: Creativity means thinking of new ways to do things.

First Boy: Creativity means thinking of new ways to live in peace.

Second Boy: Creativity means finding new ways to love one another.

(from the movie "Harambee," directed by Fracaswell Hyman. ""Harambee" means "let's pull together" in Kiswahili.)

The pastel drawing, originally called "Woman Dancing By Herself," was done by me in the early 1980's. Today I think I'll call it "Let's Pull Together."

Today is the 10th day following the Winter Solstice, the last day of 2008, with more a little more light, if not sunshine, each day here in the Pacific Northwest. This photo looking to the northeast was taken in the afternoon a few days ago. Most of the snow on the ground has melted, but Scudder Pond is still frozen.

Yesterday after sunset, R's sister and brother-in-law and their two dogs arrived here after driving up from the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, last year, I received the letter from her letting me know that R had had a brain stem stroke. Last April, R's brother-in-law's 95-year-old father was in the ICU and hospice in the VA hospital at the same time R was. They died within a few days of each other. We celebrate their lives by living our lives in gratitude. I'm waiting for sunrise so I can show D and P where I've been living for almost 35 years. I hope they can visit again during a time when the sun is shining, and it's not so dark and cold! This extremely cold weather, with snow these past few weeks, is unusual. If my memory serves me well, I recall many New Year's Days when the weather was sunny and relatively mild. I love the winters when it doesn't snow at all.

"IF NOT NOW, WHEN?"

Today is the second day of Kwanzaa (Kujichagulia = Self-Determination), the second day of the twelve days of Christmas and the 6th day of Hanukkah.

FOR WARMTH

I hold my face in my two hands

No, I am not crying.

I hold my face in my two hands

to keep the loneliness warm--

two hands protecting

two hands nourishing,

two hands preventing

my soul from leaving me

in anger.

(This was written after I heard about the bombing of Ben Tre and the comment made by an American military man, "We had to destroy the town in order to save it." -- Thich Nhat Hanh)

THIS MUST BE THE DAY

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa (Umoja = Unity), the first of the twelve days of Christmas and the 5th day of Hanukkah. The 6th day of Hanukkah begins at sunset.

Some mornings look better in black, white and grey.

"This must be the day that all of my dreams come true."
(Bob Dylan)

And just after sunset: