The homemade bird houses embedded in the fish hint at a prehistoric look at creation.  A glimpse of the world before the birds and fishes were assigned their appropriate places in the seas and heavens.  This montage created on the streets of Puerto Vallarta by graphic artist Liz Rashell captures the interdependence of being home.  The need for birds and fish to flock together.  Yet also, an eco statement about a soul-searching review of retirement and breaks from routine.  While on one of those pauses in being a human doing I was reading Sue Miller’s book, “The Arsonist” and found this humbling observation about “downtime”:  “I come home — back… for downtime. A Sabbatical. A retreat in the country to think things over.  And all hell breaks loose here and now all hell breaks loose there.  What does it mean, you think?  That there is no such thing in life as a sabbatical?”  There you have it.  Fish swim and birds fly!  No matter where you are!

A few steps further and the haunting image of a face worn weary by too many untold stories.  A face graced by story and rest.  Every picture, as the Moody Blues have it, tells a story.  This wall worn visage carries years of history, years of reprieve, years of living to the foreground.  This image craves a break from the suffering.

The planter created from fragments of stories carries a detail that reminds me of dreams and goals and all that unfinished learning.

Before the break from routine became holiday, the goal was to learn something new.  Now that the break from routine has become rest, I want to learn to do nothing.  The problem is when you line up against the wall all you can see are the empty spaces.