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.

THE PRINCIPLES OF UNCERTAINTY

A thoughtful friend gave me this book as a gift. I recommend it.
























































(1-2 hour drawing time, 5:55 to 6:25 a.m. -- 6B pencil on heavy weight, medium tooth surface, 9 x 12 Canson drawing pad, while not listening to anything except what is right in front of me.

Today's "Paused" images are from an excellent PBS documentary from 2002 titled "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet." Interestingly, it was before September 11, 2001, that this film was in the process of being made.

As I wrote yesterday, I seek out stories from all traditions. Particularly moving, from this documentary, is the story of Kevin James, the son of an African-American/Native American father and a Jewish mother. As an adult, Kevin James became a Muslim as well as a firefighter for the New York City Fire Department. On September 11, 2001, he found himself among the first responders.)

It is my tradition on the first day of Kwanzaa, December 26, to watch the video, "Harambee!". Here's a synopsis.

Which reminds me of what whiskey river quoted on December 23:

""The family is one of nature's masterpieces."
- George Santayana

This morning at 7 a.m. I stood out on my porch in the dark and took this picture.