for the mere creation of pretty things~

Beads from a New York City shopping trip last summer {they've yet to be worn, only photographed and featured as part of a dressing-table tableau, pictured with a postcard featuring Arabic script-from Paris Parfait.}

I often quote Kahlil Gibran, because he stirs my soul like no other writer.  Yes, Hafiz comes close.  As do the writings of even the very soul-stirring Anais Nin.  But! I must quote Kahlil now-for we embark upon something new {yet again} here at 'sweet indigo life'...something extraordinary.  That something is the art that dwells within...the art I've hidden and yet so frequently hinted at.  I'll continue here with my strivings and reachings...one day I'll perhaps be good at what I do.  Until then...thank you for cheering me on.  I seek the beauty alive within each breathing & dreaming moment;

Kahlil "On beauty":

Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide?
And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?

The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle.
Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us."
And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread.
Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."

The tired and the weary say, "Beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit.
Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow."
But the restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains,
And with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions."

At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east."
And at noontide the toilers and the wayfarers say,
"We have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset."

In winter say the snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills."
And in the summer heat the reapers say,
"We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves,
and we saw a drift of snow in her hair."
All these things have you said of beauty,
Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied,
And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth,
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.

It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,
But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears.
It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,
But rather a garden for ever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.

People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

***

Surely this awakens something within you!  Read it twice, thrice.  Read it until it resonates within you.  For we look not to the exterior to find the beauty we seek-we look within the enflamed heart & the enchanted soul.  For there, all beauty reveals itself.  This little blog-gallery is my online tribute to that which I find beautiful.  Accompanying my amateur photography will be my revealings...my musings on that which I found worthy of posting.  Let this decade shine as one we are truly truthful in...let yourselves shine to the best of your ability. 

xoxo

post-script...Please accept my apologies now for any broken links if you've linked to my old blog.  If you would kindly update your links I'd greatly appreciate it.  I did think about this before I did it, but since my need to morph usurped the need to maintain the links, I did as the butterflies do...morphed away!! My intention is purely to cleanse my space, like a much needed rainstorm ionizes our air...like a sage brush smudges our air...I'm ringing in the new.  Thanks for understanding. xox

Comments

[Sherry]

I've always been a fan of Gibran...and this is lovely. Beauty is everywhere, it is where you look and how you look and what you see with your eyes above and beyond what is in front of you.

"one day perhaps I'll be good at what I do"...I think that day is "now". Always.

[Sherry]

Loving the new look, the new banner, the new direction of Ms. Gillian. Bright and promising, full of growth and potential! xo

[gemma]

It is especially evident here!
My heart soars.

[selena]

what a gift we receive when we find beauty everyday in the simplest places, it make my soul sing! Thanks Gillian for sharing with us!Selena

[Tara Bradford]

That poem is amazingly perfect and your new blog/new look/new focus blends seamlessly. Love, love, love the photo - perfect combo. Beauty is all around us and I'm looking forward to the delights you share here. Love you! xoxox

[shelagh]

Whee, everything looks as it should:)
Kahlil Gibran, is someone I would invite to one of those imaginary dinner parties where you can invite anyone you know. I would invite you too of course:)

[Greg]

It's really no surprise that someone so lovely should be able to so capture beauty the way you do. Thanks for not being afraid to morph and continuing to let us see the world through your seemingly-magical eyes.

[ I'll try to get my own links to here updated sometime soon!]

Happy New Blog! :D

[Jeanne]

Beautiful
Lovely quotes and journal
Love Jeanne

[judie]

I've found you, and I've bookmarked you, never to be lost again! I could probably use some of that sage to smudge around. And I'm looking for the perfect post card. xoxoxo

[Gillian daSilva]

I'm one to talk about updating links! I've been leaving my new address all over town here, and not linking in with my Typepad profile. So my name links to my old blog. Duh!!! Thank goodness for good friends who point out these things. xo
Love ya Greggy!

[nicolle]

beautiful words! thanks for stopping by my blog sacred lotus. hope the new year brings wonderful things!

[Steve Kubien]

To be honest, I am pretty dense when it comes to poetry. I rarely "get it". However, what I think you are getting at is that you are going to write and shot that what you think is beautiful. Sounds good to me, especially since I am always trying to create beautiful things. I am excited about this direction you are taking and glad to be along for the ride.

[Art Dolls by Du Buh Du Designs]

I need to come by and visit your blog more..Anais and Khalil are among my favorites (along with Neruda)..They have a way of expressing the truth in such an appealing way:)