prompt #58 What is the smallest thing beside you?
.
Angels are dancing
on the head of it
but from the other end
I’m being pricked
and poked.
I’m pitted with holes
and pinned together again.
My pieces are
held tightly and tautly
~if temporarily.
In Grace something is transcended, once and for all overcome. Grace happens in spite of something; it happens in spite of separateness and alienation. Grace means that life is once again united with life, self is reconciled with self. Grace transforms fate into a meaningful vocation. It transforms guilt to trust and courage. The word …grace has something triumphant in it. ~Yrjö Kallinen
I found this quote on the Facebook status of friend who works at the UN. Aside from the concept of grace which is so beautifully explored here, I am fascinated that it was written by a Finn. If Yrjö Kallinen was writing this in Finnish, it opens up another interesting language exploration, as there isn’t a single word for ‘grace’ in Finnish. Perhaps Kallinen was thinking of gratia as there is a bit of the wealth of gratia gratium parit reflected here.
I want to know more about this. If you know where this quote is from, please leave a comment so I can explore more.
Kiitos Yrjö!
Addendum: March 1, 2011
I found this clip of Kallinen. He’s speaking Finnish, and so the majority of you will have to read the sub-titles, but if you’re curious to hear his lovely clear enunciation that even I can make sense of have a listen. Apparently Kallinen was a pacifist and conscientious objector who nonetheless was Finland’s Minister of Defence from 1946-48. He is speaking about life and dreams and how to revolutionize thinking. Quite apropos to what is happening in the Middle East at the moment.
Elämmekö unessa? (Are we living in a dream) pt 2 – 1 Translation(s) | dotSUB.
Prompt #56 (b?) What keeps you up at night?
Story.
Given any opportunity- a weekend or a holiday, for example- I switch immediately to 4 a.m. to noon which seems to be my natural inclination. At 4 a.m. I fall asleep without effort, like other people seem to be able to do at 9 or 10:00. Before 4 a.m. I tend to lie awake hearing dialogues, watching scenes, formulating letters, contemplating plots…
If I start reading a book in the evening, I must finish the book. Unless I’ve already read it, or it is really boring, I pick up a book and finish it in basically one sitting. If I happen to have a whole series at hand, the rest of the world will stop as I read through from first book to last without a break.
This tendency to nightly story telling probably originated with the bedtime stories my father told me as a kid. I was one who hid my light to read into the night. Sometimes I heard the morning bird chorus and fell asleep only briefly before getting up for school in a couple of hours. If I don’t have another author’s story in my head, I tend to lie in bed telling my own, by making sense of the life story I’m living, creating stronger dialogue and better plot lines. I’ve been crafting stories to myself forever.
Stories keep me up all night.
Log in
User name: suzieq@
Password: iloveross17mos
Change password: iloveross18mos
Status updates:
Zara- math test! Gonna die.
Bixby- what is the reason to fear what we do not understand?
Ross- is now single.
Lena- have to babysit my little sister, someone text me!
CHAT ALERT!
Zara- Suzanne! OMG! Are you ok?!!!
Log off
.
Deep breath.
Ross…is single??????????
.
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Next installment: Chapter 2
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Submitted as part of Monday Poetry Potluck Mar 7, 2011. If you’re here from the potluck, add the link to your contribution in a comment.
As my final thought on Guiding and Scouting Week, I think of the stories my dad tells of his days as a Boy Scout.
My father was a Scout in the 1920s and 30s and he has fond memories of camping in the then very rustic Tamaracouta Boy Scout Camp near Montreal. Tamaracouta is still running, and it is the oldest continuing Scout Camp in the world. We have a photo of my dad and his teen buddies posing on a bridge in their Stetson hats and hiking poles on their way to Tamaracouta. Each teen has laughing eyes, gleaming with the fun of Scouting adventures. It is extremely poignant that within fifteen years the majority of the group had died fighting in World War Two.
My dad is a whiz at knots and he taught me quite few of them. I was the fastest clove hitch tier in Guiding due to his training! Dad talks of hiking into Tamaracouta, swimming the lake and falling out of boats with great fondness for the adventures, but also for the great friends who shared them.
Dad is also rather proud that he saw Lord and Lady Baden-Powell when they came to Canada on tour. He thought the young lady was a daughter, and was surprised when I pointed out B-P was some 30 years older than his wife Olave Soames! Dad did his best to follow B-P’s lead on that score as well, though Dad’s beautiful young wife (my mother) was only 15 years his junior.
What are some of your Scouting memories?
Montreal scouts going to Tamaracouta c1930
The Boy Scouts are (L>R) Vincent Martin, Herb Duguay, Kenneth Dow, Hart Savage and Jack Dow.
Well, I am glad that Thinking Day occurs in Scouting Week, so I can carry on with my theme of Girl Guide memories with some impunity.
Another fun memory of Guiding is singing around the campfire. I even put a campfire scene in Grace Awakening to celebrate these moments. One of my favorite things is making up a verse of Quartermaster’s Store for everyone present around the fire.
Got a name? I’ll make you a verse! I’m serious! Send me the name (and pronunciation if it’s not a common name) in the comment section below and I’ll make you a verse for your personal use within Guiding (or wherever your campfire happens to be).
If you don’t remember the song it goes like this:
♪ My eyes are dim I can not see ♪
♪ I have not brought my specs with me ♪
♪I havvvvvve no-ot brought . my. specs. with. me. ♪
♪ There was Shawn, Shawn making out with John ♪
♪ in the store ♪ in the store ♪
♪ There was Shawn, Shawn making out with John ♪
♪ in the quartermaster’s stor-or-ore ♪
Come on- gather ’round my fire!
PS. My husband is John. My Guides loved the naughtiness of this! lol
When I was involved in Guiding, there was a need to create non-denominational graces for units to use at events. I had a lot of fun creating several graces sung to the tunes of popular songs of the time (e.g. “The Barbie Girl Grace”) as well as common Guiding tunes (e.g. “Shawn’s Grace” to the tune of “Fire’s Burning”). Some of them are still circulating at http://www.users.ms11.net/~gsong/Graces/nondom.html
I find it somewhat ironic that if you search Grace and “Shawn Bird” on the internet, these old graces show up, along with references to Grace Awakening. The graces are all given for free use within Guiding and I am thrilled when every once in awhile I stumble across some reference to one being used at a Guiding event. It’s kind of nice that my words are still being used within Guiding.
You’ll notice that my collection of Rotary Invocations follow the same model. I create non-denominational invocations for use in Rotary. If Rotarians would sing, I’d get them to use those Guiding Graces, but I just can’t see it happening. 😉
Every February 22 members of the Scouting movement celebrate the birthdays of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell. On this day, Guiding members are supposed to think about Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world. You may think of Girl Guides as a craft and camping club, but the fact is that Guiding is still a relevant and powerful agent for female empowerment around the world. See the World Association’s Thinking Day website here: http://www.worldthinkingday.org/en/home
In honour of Thinking Day, I’m thinking about Guiding. Excuse my rambles down memory lane. I spent many years gathered around Girl Guide camp fires as a girl and woman. The women I met in Guiding exemplified the idea that “you can grow older, but you don’t have to grow up.” These women know how to have a good time with a bag of bottle caps, tin plates, corks, and pins! They can make an oven from a cardboard box, tin foil and pop cans. They can make a toaster from a clothes hanger. This isn’t silliness, this is about thinking outside the box, using resources in creative ways; learning how to do such things empowers girls.
These women can teach a dozen or two 8 year olds how to make a bed roll in 2 mins, or set up a tent in 3 mins. One of my favorite memories of camping is when mothers dropped off their 8 and 9 year olds at our Guide camp site. One mother asked, “Do you want us to help set up the tents?” I replied, “No, the girls will do it.” The mother’s expression reflected her doubt that her little darling, who probably couldn’t pull up bed sheets would be capable of such a project. I smirked, clapped my hands and gathered the girls. “Do you know who your tent mates are?” I asked. The girls grabbed each other in tight little groups of four. I pointed to the pile of tents in their bags. “Set ’em up!” Girls flew to the tents, grabbed one and in under five minutes each group was proudly loading their bed rolls into their perfectly assembled tents. Mothers stood with mouths agape. Of course we’d practiced this skill in races at meetings over the year, so even though it was a first camping trip, the girls had developed skills. Girl Guides teaches life skills. In that moment they demonstrated independence, team work, organization. That’s real life problem solving and fun with a purpose!
The high point of my Guiding life was an international camp that I attended in Trail, BC. Over three thousand girls and women, mostly from BC, but also representing every province in Canada, several American States, and several foreign countries, gathered together in a most phenomenally well organized week of camping I’ve ever experienced. Girls participated in community service projects, athletic, artistic and craft activities, as well as hikes, outdoor cooking, and tent life. Friends were made. I wrote a British Guider for several years afterwards until we both moved and lost touch (Hmm. Facebook…). The event, The Spirit of Adventure Rendez-Vous or SOAR, still occurs regularly (every 3 years, I believe). It is hosted by the Girl Guides of British Columbia. This is a SOAR year, so I suggest if you’re in Guiding, that you get together a patrol and apply to attend for SOAR 2011! You won’t regret it!
Young people benefit from the character that is developed by this movement. The practical lessons, new skills and experiences they would otherwise not have all serve to expand horizons broaden minds. There are a lot of famous former Girl Guides and Scouts like Roberta Bodnar the astronaut, Phyllis Maundy the conservationist.
What famous person do you know who learned skills in the Scouting movement? What did you learn?
The final character to explore from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is Pearl. Of course, much has been written about the obvious point that Pearl represents the Biblical “pearl of great price” because Hester loses everything on her account. What I don’t see explored are some deep issues around that Biblical reference or some other issues around her name.
A pearl is an excellent symbol for a secret, because a pearl is a hidden irritation that is slowly transformed. The pearl becomes a ball that emerges from the flesh of the oyster. When revealed the pearl is a thing of beautiful rarity. Hester’s body would have been transformed as Pearl blossomed in her belly and exposed the sin. When choosing the name, Hester chose to acknowledge Pearl as a treasure and accepted the transformation of her life. She seems to welcome the isolation and notoriety that results, celebrating her difference from the rest of the community.
Hester also chose to protect the identity of Pearl’s father. A pearl is hidden inside the oyster and no one knows whether it is there. Thus, Pearl represents the secret of her father’s identity. Today, he could be found by genetic testing, but Pearl would have to give her genes in order to reveal the identity.
The Bible quotation is a short one. Matthew 13, verses 45 and 46 reads “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (New International Version). Consider this: 1. the merchant purchases this treasure, and the purchase is what determines its value. 2. the kingdom of heaven is represented in this transaction.
Is Hester symbolic of the kingdom of heaven because she has made the sacrifice for this pearl? Or is Pearl symbolic of the kingdom of heaven because she is purchased at great sacrifice? Both concepts are worthy of exploration. What microcosm of heaven is found in Hester and/or Pearl? The fundamentalists Calvinists represented by the Puritans believed in pre-destination, in other words, from the beginning of time God has known who will or will not make it into heaven. This philosophy makes reward and punishment seem a trifle perverse, since there is nothing the individual can do to improve his or her spiritual condition. Thus, Hester was conceived with Pearl as an inevitable sacrifice and the weight of Dimsdale’s and her sin. Does their respective independence, insolence, disrespect for authority, love of beauty, and unrepentence reflect the kingdom of heaven? Hmm. There is an entire essay waiting to be written on just this concept. (If you write it, put a link to it in a comment, below!)
A pearl is an expensive ornament, and Hester works very hard to ensure Pearl is a showy ornament in the dreary community. Puritans do not believe in ornamentation. Pearl was destined to be set apart from the other children simply due to her parentage. If she is going to be set apart, Hester seems to have reasoned, then she might as well celebrate the difference.
A pearl is also the most delicate of precious stones. One can easily crush a pearl underfoot. Rough treatment does little to damage a diamond or a ruby, but will destroy a pearl. Pearls are supposed to be kept isolated from other jewelry in soft bags to avoid being scratched or damaging their glowing lustre. They can not be cleaned with caustic substances or they are destroyed (one suspects Puritan life was rather caustic with all that fire and brimstone). Hester seems to believe that Pearl is a sweet gentle creature beneath the aggression that she shows to others. The aggression confuses her. Is Pearl really as delicate as her name implies or is her mother’s treatment what makes her unable to fit into her society? From her clothes to her attitude to her living arrangements Pearl is intentionally set apart. Should one not anticipate a creature who does not fit in as a result? Is Pearl really delicate or is she the firey creature intimated by her wild behavior?
One further thought: we never hear her full name spoken, but consider the sound of the name “Pearl Prynne.” The double aspiration of these single syllable words is like an exclamation of derision. It makes a rather effective taunt. Consider also some homophones for Pearl Prynne. Puritan is one. Why would her name echo her community’s and her father’s faith? How about Purim– when the Jews were saved from a genocide by Queen Esther’s appeal to King Darius? Who does Pearl save? (or attempt to save?) Or purlin– the beam that supports rafters in a roof. Does Pearl support anyone? Or purlieu a place on the edge, once set aside for royalty but now available for common use. How does Pearl allow others to go through into royal (heavenly?) lands? Or pyrethrum– a poison derived from chrysanthemums. How is Pearl a poison within the community or within the lives of her parents? Each of these homophones invites further exploration of symbolic connection to Pearl.
I’ve given you lots of complex things to consider when you analyze Pearl Prynne. Which ones particularly resonate with you?
(c) Shawn Bird.
Students, to avoid plagarism please cite this source as follows:
Bird, Shawn. Pearl of great price. https://shawnbird.com/2011/02/21/pearl-of-great-price/ Collected (insert date you copied your notes).
See analyses of other characters from The Scarlet Letter.
Shawn L. Bird 
places to look for lost keys March 2, 2011
Tags: help, lost keys, postaday2011
I’ve looked
So– where have YOU found your keys? Mine have to be here somewhere. Additional suggestions appreciated!
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