Indian and Métis Jesus

Last night looking through pinterest I remarked on this Ray Henry Vickers drawing that it always makes me think of indian jesus and Vickers has done drawings of jesus so maybe that is the resemblance.  However, as we continued browsing Runa yelled at us to stop as she had found a real picture of jesus.

Tsimshian Chief (1974)


Runa's jesus

Now there is the Riel quote about his people sleeping for 100 years, so...second coming?  Savior of a nation?  I love how her mind works.

Moosed out mopeds, moped Chariots and parenting, together at last!!!

Listening to the two new Macklemore songs this morning and my heart is full.  I am crying.  I have written about Mackelmore in this post about realness and here in my musings on why I have come to love hip hop as a middle aged woman.  These two songs are both such awesome and real teachings.  The first is his song to his new daughter and his thoughts on this life change.  There is just so much beauty in this song - "you put the work in and don't worry about the praise my love.  Don't try to change the world, find something that you love and do it everyday.  Do that for the rest of your life and eventually the world will change". 

He has repeatedly played with gender stereotypes and ideas of masculinity and related ideas of success.  This song continues with these themes and brings in the ideas of the learning journey that parenting is.  How do we teach what we are still learning?  This is nuanced with the pulls he faces as a musician in having to be away sometimes and the pressures he sees for this child given his profession - "when you're 16 you'll get a bus pass." 

The second is play and place and a meditation on not taking it all too seriously.  What a great gift for a cloudy day and a  reminder of how realness can bring us together.  It isn't about the money or trying to change the world, it is about doing your thing and the faith that your thing is going to inspire someone else and make you happier.  Real is good.  Community is good.  Being where you are is good.  "If I had only one helmet I would give it too you."

Steep Hills

Listening to Cosmo Jarvis this morning.  As you know, I like my CHAV boys and I loved this line
"Steeper hills will seem much worse if you've been walking downhill first."  As my nana always said "Take a hot bath and it will look better in the morning."  Perspective can be everything.

Beauty

Runa and I have been watching the NYX beauty awards.  It is a competition where makeup artists prepare tutorials based on a theme and the internet votes for their favorites.  In each round a smaller number of artists go through.  It is amazing to watch the talents of these men and women and their thoughtfulness of their art.  The first theme was beauty through the ages and it really inspired some amazing makeups where people played with ideas of ancestors and the changing ideas of beauty.  The final challenge was about showing your colors and the artists took this as an opportunity to talk about facing fears, celebrating your roots, surviving adversity and the power of being real and comfortable in your own skin.

Raising girls, this is something I am very aware of the example I am setting everyday.  I am trying to ensure that they see lots of versions of beautiful and see this as the mutable concept that it is.  I really appreciate what I am learning about indiginaity, both the acceptance of the self outside of the christianized view (it always auto capitalizes that which makes me cross;)  Even my computer is biased.) and the extension of beauty from a focus on the young body, to one that is both inclusive of the inner person and the older person.  I was happy to see this article about this Cree woman winning among the sea of blond hair.  Don't forget that you are beautiful and you can play.  Maybe the cracks are what is letting the light in.