Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Rain into a paper cup

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

The house was a mess.  What started out as a fix for the seepage spiralled out into a complete restoration project.   The walls scraped and plaster pounded out.  Water pipes replaced and the home rewired.  Rooms painted, furniture polished and then the cleanup.

Cleaning the dust laden house I came across my mother’s notebooks.  As I opened them her handwriting jumped out of the pages.  Engrossed I read as words raced from one page to another, covering philosophy, religion and literature encompassing poems, essays and translations.  To read her quoting Buddha and Thoreau was like being in her company again.

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Written for Friday Fictioneers Word Count : 100.

Returning to Fictioneers after supervising an unexpected restoration project.  This indeed was what occurred today. While cleaning up I found my mother's notebooks.  She used these to write on whatever topic was close to her heart at that time.  She wrote at frantic pace putting to paper the many thoughts that were overflowing in her mind, covering page after page till there was no more space left to write.
The words that I found in her notebook came from Atmashatkam mantra

mano buddhi ahankara chittani naaham na cha shrotravjihve na cha ghraana netre na cha vyoma bhumir na tejo na vaayuhu chidananda rupah shivoʼham shivoʼham

I am not the mind, the intellect, the ego or the memory, 
I am not the ears, the skin, the nose or the eyes,
I am not space, not earth, not fire, water or wind,
I am the expression of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva...



The title of my flash this week is a nod to lyrics from Across the Universe (for those of you playing at home).

To go through the closet and find other other stories from this week click here