by Bela Johnson | Jan 24, 2017 | lifestyle, nature, philosophy, Uncategorized
Growing up white in mid-century, upper middle class southern California was very much like a popularity contest. If one were thin, preferably blond and fairly liberal with one’s affiliations, life moved along much as well oiled cogs in a gear. My own hair when I...
by Bela Johnson | Jan 10, 2017 | lifestyle, nature, personal, philosophy, Uncategorized
Fanning the still air, back and forth, back and forth, alchemist palming the blue fire of potential; it stifles me, this heat, blood clearly not meant for boiling. Tools line up like minions awaiting my grasp; mute, dumb things without which this half-acre garden...
by Bela Johnson | Jan 3, 2017 | Hawaii, lifestyle, musings, nature, philosophy, Uncategorized
Rain rolls in fits and starts down the runnels of the grey metal roof, clinking onto metal strata, bouncing off plywood placed just so to prevent the elder Lab from setting teeth to soil, who knows why, lately it’s his thing, no harm, only odd in his well-provisioned...
by Bela Johnson | Dec 13, 2016 | Hawaii, healing, lifestyle, musings, nature, Uncategorized
I do not flourish in chaos, though some thrive completely therein; I’ve caused and I’ve witnessed the sorrows that settle just under the skin; You may tempt me or taunt as it pleases, that is your need, not mine to behold; I prefer and I cherish the spaces in deep...
by Bela Johnson | Dec 6, 2016 | lifestyle, nature, Uncategorized
I recall these cakes of dry earth, so tight they could barely admit the rains once they finally arrived; nearby trenches termed ‘washes,’ because that’s what happens to stormwater once it comes, as it does, unpredicted; without warning, thunderheads gathering on...
by Bela Johnson | Nov 29, 2016 | lifestyle, musings, nature, philosophy, psychology, Uncategorized
We live, we learn, we dream ourselves awake into this life, unfurl curling brain stems in the brilliance of day (not the inky blackness of night, save Cereus, her beauty known only to those willing to stumble onto her luminous crown, mind the thorns, all beauty has...
