When your place in this world
becomes too complex to contemplate,
and the origin of the grit in your eye
can no longer be placed,
it is best to meditate
on the inch of fine thread
that will lead you to the next step.

Take it one stitch at a time,
and don’t worry about
the final shape
of the finished piece.

---

There is a time for forward planning; a time to set goals and work toward ambitious aspirations. There is also a time to focus only on the next small step, not trying to control or manipulate future events. Knitting has helped me to focus on the moment, and stop trying to force change. Right now, if I stay calm and trust the future to unfold gently, it is more likely to do so.

---

Inspired by a ball of wool and Reena’s Exploration Challenge.

©Jane Paterson Basil

Where is our root?

On shifting fashions,

like that house built on sand,

awaiting the tumolt

and inevitable ruin?

Or on authentic sense,

that citadel founded on rock,

indifferent to buffeting winds

and punishing waters?

autumn rain

a swollen brook eroding

a well-worn rock

Mish hosts dVerse Poets Pub’s Quadrille #45–rock tonight!

Hosted by  Sunday Fiction  at https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/2017/11/19/sunday-photo-fiction-19-november-2017/

GREAT INDIAN BAN PARTY-

Playing at a theatre near you

By Neel Anil Panicker

A ghoonghtaless brave Rajput princess bedecked in mesmerizing regal wear, prancing around in her own magnificent gold bedecked palace courtyard, dancing her heart out in gay abandon, her swirling lehanga swishing wildly in huge concentric circles while her dainty hennaed hands rise up to the skies above, her beautiful kohl-lined eyes sparkling with divine love, her lips a prayer, ever seeking blessings for the earthlings below.

Or, a near desperate woman forced to step out of her home in search of her ‘missing’ husband, overnight losing her moniker Goddess Durga; instead finding herself metamorphosed into a mere object of man’s lascivious predatory instincts.

Still another, bogged down by the vicissitudes of fate, compelled by the dire need to keep body and soul together, sheds her clothes under the harsh…

Grandma’s Legacy is a poem that I wrote several years ago in honor of a truly great woman—Elizabeth A. Babcock, born January 1, 1898, died January 1, 1975. Grandma lives on in the hearts and memories of all whose lives she touched. The photo ( circa 1952) of me and Grandma was taken by my dear father, one of Grandma’s eight children.  ~ Bette A. Stevens

“A writer inspired by nature and human nature”

“Look    Inside” Bette’s books at http://viewauthor.at/BetteAStevens

[Explore Bette’s Blog]

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Hosted by the superb Reena at https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2017/11/10/reenas-exploration-challenge-week-12/

Here’s the prompt

If you were asked to share one experience you had with someone you knew which was experienced as a gift or transmission, what memory would that be? Close your eyes and see what arises. Which gift will you pass on?

THE WALL

By Neel Anil Panicker

There are two types of educators: those who do what they are tasked to do out of love and those who don’t do what they are tasked to do out of hate.

Now doing something out of love is entirely different from doing something because it needs to be done.

And the needs could be any and varied. It could be commanded by the every elemental need for survival. I mean people teach for the money that it provides, necessary money that helps feed  themselves and their families.

But then that would apply to…

A word and photo prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend.  Use the prompts separately or together.  It’s up to you.  Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like.  Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise.  If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.

Word Prompt

 Life

Photo Prompt

The ankh was a symbol of life in ancient Egypt

Challenge

Prose Challenge – Write a story in no more than 300 words that looks at the meaning of life and the question, “Why am I here?”  Who’s doing the asking?  Why?  What’s pushed them to seek the answer?  Who’s doing the answering?  What do they say?

Bonus point if you can mention ancient Egypt or the ankh…