looking forward

THE YEAR 2012 has been a year of transition, which always uncovers something new. Also, what is seemingly old can be renewed with a fresh perspective. A lot of exciting things (along with the bad, of course) have happened this year, both personally and with the world at large. That's what the New Year's celebration is always about—looking back at where you have been, while looking forward to where you are going. It's necessary to gain perspective from what we have lived through to move forward with any new endeavors we dare to dream.

THIS "TREE" is composed from my snow globe collection is arranged on a galvanized three-tiered stand, trimmed in white crepe paper and dusted with faux snow. It embodies time and memory. I related my feelings about the resonance of the miniature worlds of snow globes in a previous post in January 2011 titled "Frozen Memories," which you can read here. Ancient druids believed that woodland spirits hid themselves in holly branches to wait out the harshness of winter, so I've included them as a forward-looking talisman for a sunny and warm new year.

ON A BROAD SCALE, a great way to recap the year's events is to look at what people have searched for. Google's Zeitgeist 2012 video does just that. Watch it (embedded below). More on Google's "most searched" can be found at this link.  This inspiring video compiles the things people are looking for under broad inspirational themes in relation to the events of 2012. The word "zeitgeist" actually means "spirit of the age/time." I'm also using these themes as a way to relate the significance of the snow globes that decorate this "tree."

LOOKING FOR FIRSTS | This tree snow globe represents acknowledgement—surrounded by curious fauna. A personal first for me this year in a career of working as a designer in publishing, is actually being the subject matter of something that was published. Matthew Mead generously granted an eight-page feature about my blog and book in his Holiday/Christmas magazine available here. And Ben Ashby published a two-page excerpt of my book in FOLK, his magazine celebrating the made-in-America movement, which is available here. Blurb.com honored my book by selecting it as a staff pick! My book published through Blurb.com is available here. All this can only mean I'm gaining momentum with my pursuits (I have a scheduled surprise coming in the spring of 2013 that I'll reveal later). Now that I have some attention beyond the blogosphere, I hope to find a way to make my passions a way of life, rather than it being a sideline. Of course I give a lot of credit to my friends, blog followers and buyers of my book who have supported me along the way with their encouragement and inspiration.

LOOKING FOR RELIEF | Aren't we all? This polar bear snow globe represents a planet in distress. When the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, it's time to change course in the way we live. The biggest relief for me this year was when Barack Obama won his second term as president and was forced to address this issue because of Hurricane Sandy—the October Surprise in this year's election. The palpable effect of climate change is evident in bigger and badder ways than ever before. We are finally being forced to recognize that our way of living needs to change, not the climate. We're realizing that a more biocentric way of life includes keeping the diversity in the natural world intact. Sustaining Mother Nature will, in turn, sustain us, as it always has. It's a beautiful cycle not to be tampered with.
 

LOOKING FOR A CHOICE | The owl snow globe is a warning message. The right choices are always informed by the proper balance between the intuitive and the cognitive. We live in a world where information is at our fingertips like never before. We should be smarter for it, rather than misinformed. Our attention spans need to somehow lengthen again, now that we realize the end of the Mayan calendar wasn't the end, but rather, a new beginning. The Mayans considered the white owl a powerful messenger from the spirit world. This animal spirit warns us that a world out of balance is life out of balance. The white owl is a guardian that allows us to see clearly beyond fear and illusion. Taking time to slow down and ask the important questions will surely be one result of this.

LOOKING FOR CHANGE | The white rabbit snow globe is an invitation to step out of ordinary time. Seeing a white rabbit has long been an indicator of the possibility of spiritual enlightenment and/or an encounter with the Divine. As Alice in Wonderland experienced, a white rabbit can call us away from our ordinary life to go on an extraordinary journey. This will lead us to a transformational experience. It is an invitation to enter into the realm of the hidden, intuitive, unconscious world that coexists with what appears to be reality. A white rabbit in our path is a metaphorical invitation to remain awake and alert to new directions, sometimes releasing what we once thought was important.
 

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL |  This silver tree snow globe is a symbol of finding the special qualities in everything you encounter, no matter how barren it may seem. My favorite way to gain this perspective is to allow myself some time to be completely immersed in Nature. In our lives in cities away from large expanses of sparsely populated land, the stars in the sky are mostly obliterated from sight by the ambient light of civilization. This past November, Devin and I had a week's worth of time to explore the beaches and land around Tulum, Mexico. One night we took the time to lie on the beach and look up at the stars. We were both amazed at the magnificent sight above us in this sparsly populated area. Looking into the depth of this unobscured night sky had a humbling effect. We both got a clear message of the love the universe has in store for us.

LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION |  This Christmas Tree snow globe represents inspiration. Childhood Christmas trees from my childhood informed the creation of this blog. And I am constantly looking for new ways to create magic with The Decorated Tree. I invite you to continue on my journey with me in celebrating the seasons and I hope the new year is filled with joyous discovery in everything for which we search. Here's to a happy, prosperous and forward-looking 2013! 

©2012 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland

Luci in the sky

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. —Anatole France

IF THERE WAS ever a reason to relate the unique bond that sometimes humans are lucky enough to be able to share with animals, then there would be no words to describe such a profound and wordless expression of love. Poetry could possibly come close, but true-to-form, the love (and bond) I shared with my Calico cat Luci was indescribable in words, except to say that I've never had a more amazing connection with an animal. She brought such pure love and light into my life, I wonder sometimes if I could have made it through some of the losses and trials I've been through in the past few years without her. Now that she is gone from this plane of existence, I'll have to find my way back to her with all the good memories she left with me.

BARELY ABLE to write the Saint Patrick's post I had already prepared the photos for last week, I was at a loss, but did it to take my mind off of my grief, if only temporarily. It was written last Tuesday on the evening of the day I had to let Luci go "run with the Gods." I titled that post "faith, hope, love and luck." And I had in mind a double meaning when that title was decided, as that was a set of words that could also describe the reasons for the angst I felt in my loss. It was almost impossible to make the decision to have her euthanized because she wasn't letting go of this life very willingly and I wasn't letting go of her because I was able to care for her well in those last days without her being too uncomfortable. But I know she was hanging on for me as much as anything, and that awful decision finally had to be made for her sake. For this week's post, I add the word "light" to that list of words . . . in honor of Luci.

THIS FIRST day of spring was a rainy one here, but last Tuesday, when I had to let her go, it was a beautiful, sunny and warm day that felt more like the first day of spring than today. Being an indoor cat with only minimal time outside during her life, I took her outside that day. She bathed in the sun, breathed in the fresh springlike air and even attempted to nibble a few fresh grass blades. Coming home this evening, after the rain had let up, I looked up into the sky and saw the stars more clearly than usual (with all the ambient light a city like Atlanta creates). Maybe it was only Luci looking back at me and allowing me to see more stars in the sky than I thought possible. There's something about the days of mourning after a great loss that makes one more cognizant of the profound things the universe holds—so easily missed—in our busy lives. I'm paying close attention to that and I'm trying my best to remember that through the tears I've shed after loosing my constant and beautiful companion. She's just with me in a different way now and it will take some adjustment.

LUCI WAS a magical cat if there ever was one. Her name Luci (short for Lucifur) quickly became one that held the meaning "light-bearer" instead of what one would commonly think of as a name for Satan (Lucifer) in English. Lucern ferre in Latin literally means light-bearer—the morning star or dawn appearance of the Planet Venus that heralds daylight. The name Lucifur stuck for the wrong reasons when she was a kitten, as she was so active and mischievous, but was quickly shortened to "Luci." The Gods must have known then that it would have a deeper and more resonant meaning as the years spent with her came and went. Over sixteen years later, growing from a kitten to a beautiful diva, she makes her exit to the stars. I can only hope her becoming part of the collective consciousness of souls creates more of the light and love needed for this existence in larger quantities than ever before.

I DEARLY LOVED Luci. She left a big void and my heart aches in her absence. It will never be the same without her, but I know her light will continue to illuminate the way. I must keep my eyes open to it and become as watchful to the unseen as a cat.

MEMORIAL | (Top) For some reason, the color red became suddenly significant after loosing Luci. I found this stone cat that was carved in Kenya on the day Luci died.This weekend, I picked red camellia flowers and red-berried holly (both evergreens) from a friend's yard to make a memorial arrangement (composed in a milk glass fish bowl vase). A terra cotta bird Jon gave me this Valentine's day sits atop a tiled bone box bought to hold Luci's ashes. A Christmas bell ornament that Lowell gave me this past season with the word "dream" written on it sits next to the red stone cat carving. Jon and Lowell are two very important men in my life that have realized and shared the incredible love bond with Luci that I did. Lowell was there for the formative years of Luci's comfortable life and I thank him for giving his own brand of magical love to Luci. Jon has been with me the whole time through Luci's illness and death (and a while in health) and I thank him for his incredible love, grace and recognition. Luci thanked them both in in her amazing way of bonding with them.

YOUNGER YEARS | (Above, bottom) This black-and-white photo of Luci taken by Lowell about mid-way through her life has always been one of my favorites. The magical beam of light in her eyes is evident.

©2010 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 memorial photograph and styling by Darryl Moland
photograph of Luci by Lowell Hylden