Today I will have a chance to catch up on sleep as it is Rituxan day. Shots of Benadryl (sedating) and Prednisone (energizing) to prevent a reaction to the IV meds. Five to six hours being parked in a chair, waiting. It feels like taking an long plane ride. If only there was a good destination at the end! The prednisone, at least, should help.
I am joined by a very loud songbird who is having an elaborate conversation in the darkness outside the window. Full of starts, stops, trills, and melodic notes that are purely conversational. I can't see him or her to know what kind of bird it is, but it definitely is up early, too, and wants to be heard. Beautiful!
Whenever I am going through soul-challenging times, as I have been lately, I turn to the poetry of Rumi. How can a man from the early 13th century seem to know me better than I know myself? His writings on the human condition, and the heart, are always inspiring and beautiful. His words are painterly and powerful, and get me to look at things in my own life from new perspectives. To step back a bit and look at life with a different view. There are so many online sites of Rumi's poetry, including this goodie, as well as translations of his original work. Another fine example of the necessity of art, and how the art of another can illuminate the structure of our own humble, human lives.
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, repeat. Repeat. And read Rumi. And listen to Amanda Palmer. Tonight! Art and life, life and art. It is all I can really count on, at the end of the day, and I am lucky to have such a gift in life.
I am also glad that I have completed the beading step of my current fabric collage. I've been stitching and beading into it for literally months. Happy that I like it, but now need to think through the best way of finishing the piece so that the spiral handles retain their shapes. Do i put the wire in the actual piece? Between the backing and the quilt, sewn to the quilt itself? Or do I make a sleeve for the wire and attach it to the back of the finished piece, so it can be removed if needed? In the end it doesn't really matter that much, because all art, like us, is temporary, and this piece might not ever be even shown. Which I am okay with, as it is the making that matters most to me. I now can do some artistic playing, getting some of the collage ideas I've been carrying out onto paper, with possible connections to fabric pieces.
Onward. Hapi is awake and is singing “If you’re happy and you know it, click your beak!” Trying, Hap, trying! Cheers.