Annual Alphabet Tribute to 2014 – Q is for Quests, Questions, and More

Quest - Desert Wisdom Card

Quest in the Desert © 2014 Bo Mackison

Q is for QUEST

There are some alluring words that begin with the letter Q.

QUEST is one of my favorites. A QUEST is a long, sometimes arduous search for something, often requiring overcoming great challenges.

I’ve been on my own QUEST these last months, trying to recover from a month of challenges that occurred last May. Since the triggers were an unfortunate string of travel delays, I downplayed the stress and assumed that as soon as I reached the familiarity of home all would be well.  But all did not go well.

Instead I struggled, day after day, and QUESTIONED why I was having such a difficult summer.  No matter how hard I worked using the tools — meditation, art, writing, nature — that had provided me with much relief over the last seven years, I couldn’t QUIET the constant panic, the periods of difficulty leaving my house, even the need to return to my home when I was in a familiar and pleasurable place. Then there were the times I wanted to just QUIT, so frustrated was I with the situation.

In the last weeks, I’ve been able to put the pieces of the puzzle together with the help of a dedicated medical team. But the effort has cost me time and energy. And so I am calling it QUITS on the alphabet posts so that I can conserve energy and move on to new projects that are currently percolating.

The lesson learned? Never be afraid to ask for help when necessary. Never, ever!

~~~~~~~~~~

The alphabet series will (quite probably) return for its 9th annual appearance towards the end of 2015.

Practice Resurrection — Photographs to Wendell Berry’s Manifesto

All Text: Excerpted from “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front”  by Wendell Berry

Yellow Cabs

Yellow Cabs © 2013 Bo Mackison

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.

Pop Art Shopping Carts

Pop Art Shopping Carts © 2011 Bo Mackison

When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

Garden Water Pump in Sanford Farm Garden, Old World Wisconsin

Farm Garden, Old World Wisconsin © 2012 Bo Mackison

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.

Redwood Abstract

Redwood Abstract © 2013 Bo Mackison

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

What's in this Pond?

In this Pond © 2012 Bo Mackison

Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

West Bluff, Devils Lake State Park

West Bluff © 2014 Bo Mackison

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.

Spreading Joy

Coneflower Joy © 2013 Bo Mackison

Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.

Lavender Fields and Bee Boxes

Lavender Fields and Bee Boxes © 2013 Bo Mackison

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.

The Path Beyond

The Path Beyond © 2011 Bo Mackison

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.

Kure Beach Sunrise, November 8, 2013

Kure Beach Sunrise © 2013 Bo Mackison

Practice resurrection.

 

Excerpts from “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front”  by Wendell Berry

Inspired by blog post How to Practice Resurrection and Earth Day Every Day, Through the Luminary Lens  by Bruce Thomas Witzel