Our Deepest Fear

Yesterday, Vickie and I attended Easter service at Chapel of the Cross in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Rev. Ed Lundin, a longtime friend, included this inspirational poem by Marianne Williamson in the program, and the assembled congregation recited it, together. Ed is the most loving soul I know; he radiates love and light and doesn't, to the consternation of many "by-the-bookers," get hung up on dogma. It's all pure love. And that's a positive thing in any community.

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

---Marianne Williamson

Green Holiday Card - 2009

For several years now, I've been crafting three-dimensional "Peace Love Joy" cards for the holiday season. Assembled and hand-delivered, these little yearly pearls always seem to promote a warm feeling of, well - peace, love, and joy.

As a personal note, I love designing, fabricating, and assembling each year's card because it's a genuine outlet of pure creative expression without the parameters of a client's wish list, limitations of the contractor, budget, or the chance of a phone call with someone screaming on the other end about a roof leak. (The latter of which has, knock on cedar shake shingles, so far never transpired). This particular card is composed of a photograph I took of the rock wall at Camp Mitchell Chapel atop Mt. Petit Jean in Arkansas this past Thanksgiving. The graphics are mine - hand drawn.

Most of the cards that go out, however, are not already assembled and hand delivered; I create a master sheet with assembly instructions and email them all across the country and all over the world without using a drop of fossil-fuel. It's a simple concept with the added payoff of a little holiday craft project. Some people conscript young ones around the house (as well as the young at heart) to assemble the card, but most, I've found, love to put it together themselves. Can't help but bring you back to your childhood, if even for a moment.

Here's how it works: Print the card out on your personal printer - cardstock is best - or email the file to your local print shop and have them print out a color copy. Cut, tape, and assemble as instructed, and - voila! - a 3-D holiday card straight out of your computer.

If you haven't received a card and this particular card resonates with you, email me with a 'how-do-you-do' and I'll send you a printable file as long as you promise to accept it as a gift from me and not send it as your card or sell it to others - we're on the honor system here folks and I trust you implicitly. And if you'd like for me to personalize this card as your "whatever-occasion" card, or create a custom designed 3-D card, tell me what you're thinking about, and I'll send you a fee proposal. (I don't just design buildings and neighborhoods!) Email: jamespolk22@gmail.com.

Peace, Joy, and Love to us all!

James Polk, Architect

Happy Birthday, Gandhi

One hundred and forty years ago today, a man was born who would go on to liberate his country from British occupation through non-violent civil disobedience and a philosophy that valued truth and love over cynicism and force.

The philosophy Gandhi articulated (and lived) inspired Martin Luther King a half century later in the struggle for African-American civil rights in the US.

Gandhi's wisdom about the long-standing power of peace and love and the contrasting short shelf life of hate and violence is particularly important in planning and living in a sustainable world.

A few inspirational quotes:



And eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not included the freedom to make mistakes.

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

Where there is love, there is life.

A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.

To conceal ignorance is to increase it. An honest confession of it, however, gives ground for the hope that it will diminish some day or the other.

There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.