A bridge to a manger--five days travel 'til Christmas

"Seeking a Manger," 5 x 7 acrylic Christmas card

“The bridge will only take you halfway there, to those mysterious lands you long to see. Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fair, and moonlit woods where unicorns run free. So come and walk awhile with me and share the twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known. But this bridge will only take you halfway there." --Shel Silverstein

"The Precepts of Jesus and A Guide to Peace and Happiness." --Raja Ram Roy, 1772-1833. Hindu scholar, philosopher, reformer, speaker of seven languages, "father of modern India."

This painting didn't start out about a bridge, but a story about seeking a manger, a feeding trough, located in a stable, (barn). But I've often used bridges in my cards, metaphors of journeys and more, and this man I've never heard of considered bridges the link between the past and the future.

For those who are seekers, for change, for something better, nothing is truer, and what is the Christmas season all about but seeking the source of its promise? Crossing a bridge of time from darkness and turmoil, seeking light and peace. Ram Roy's reforms overcame Imperial England for changes, just as Jesus overcame Imperial Rome and the subsequent empires of materialism for changes.

Bridges carry so much symbolic traffic, especially in this season, five days 'til Christmas. Think of the bridges we've crossed in the past, and which ones lie ahead, that we know not, except for one.

Borrowed thoughts:

• The bridge is symbolic of communication and union,--whether heaven and earth of different places. Thus a connection between God and mankind, or passage to reality or crossing to  eternity, 

• Bridges connect one previously isolated place to another, bringing people together. We say "building bridges" when we want unification, not separation. Thus a symbol of hope and connection.

Thus I believe the arts, whether painting , poetry, music, sculpture and more, are bridges, helping people change, see, listen, connecting with emotions and other people. 

Deeper thoughts than I intended when just painting a barn, but I shouldn't be surprised, For I've learned that all paintings, and art, are bridges for stories to tell in their essence, as well as by  the artist or the audience.

December Stars--Barn season, 3 days til Christmas

Season of Barns, 5 by 7 watercolor card

Barns loom large in history and imagination, and in images and variations. They're iconic of rural life and agriculture.
The word "barn" is old, and in Old English (450-950 A.D.)  was "a covered building for the storage of farm produce,"  "bereærn" literally  "barley house," because that was a primary grain crop--from "bere" and "aern," house. Eventually it changed with Old Norse and Gothic  influence to the Old English word "rest," meaning a resting place. (From Online Etymology) 
Obviously through the years, the functions and forms of barns changed to meet the needs of the users.
I don't know that Jesus was born in a barn. The only hint is he was laid in a manger, a trough for feeding livestock, which may have been inside a barn. It may have been a crude stable, but to me, that's still a barn. When I see a barn, in the back of my mind, I am aware that greatness comes from humble beginnings.
"And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn," Luke 2:7.

(Day 22 of 31 December watercolors)

December Stars--6 days till Christmas

Mountain Stars, 5 by 7 watercolor card

Mountains call...places of power, where the air is thinner and clearer, where stars are so bright it can seem like day.
It's no accident that many world religions consider specific mountains as sacred. They can be places of solitude, of individual focus, of retreat and rejuvenation, of spiritual preparation for ordeals.

Psalms 121:1--"A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the mountains-- where does my help come from?"

The Quran, 16:15--"And He has set firm mountains in the earth so that it would not shake with you."

A favorite song: 
"Go tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere.
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

"Go tell it on the mountain—
Yeah, Lord—
Over the hills and everywhere.
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

When I was—when I was a seeker,
I sought the Lord both night and day.
I asked the Lord to help me,
And he showed me—showed me the way."

From Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, writing in The Seven Storey Mountain: " Solitude is not something you must look for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present, you will never find it."

(Day 19 of 31 December watercolors)

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." --Thomas Merton

26 days to Christmas...old paths, memories

Old paths, 5 by 7 watercolor

Barns  speak
of lives before
of earthier times
paths forgotten
Deep inside
until jarred
by something
like a manger.

Ten days til Christmas

Dreams of barns, watercolor card

What is it about a barn that captivates our attention and imagination? Even city folks have these stereotypical images in their minds, and for those of us who've lived on the Great Plains and in the mountains, we know they come in all shapes and sizes and colors, from mere sheds to gigantic structures you can see for miles. Those aren't being built any more, as agriculture increasingly goes in for post and lintel metal buildings, but still.... Everywhere across this country in rural areas, those barns stand as sentinels to a way of life, to hope and living, of dreams and memories and changing ways.
 I remember how Mom would snipe at me to shut the door with "What's wrong with you, were you born in a barn?
This season celebrates the birth of one who was born in a barn. Stop and think about the words, Away in a manger..."