Like a bright pink sun
While the Carter family absorbs the loss of their patriarch, I watched Jimmy Carter's funeral with a sense of peace. Joy. Recollection to simpler times before all this modern technology when it seemed that strength of character and honesty mattered. Perhaps I'm blinded, wearing rose-coloured glasses tinted by the vibrant pink sun pictured above. Regardless, I needed a throng of eulogies to lift my mood and dangit I received that in full yesterday morning.
It's funny what can herald a breakthrough in one's emotional state, their creative endeavors, or physical well-being. I needed a presidential state funeral, okay! What I NEEDED was the reminder that goodness matters, selflessness is imperative, decency isn't superfluous. Good lessons all round.
But what about that bright pink sun? That scrap of Kaffe Fassett material had been slated to go into the block below. Yet when I tried fitting it in, its massive PINKNESS overwhelmed the rest of the hexagons, so to the office I went, cutting another piece for the block. The new hexagon is the top right, with what looks like plentiful veins attempting a coup. Veins reside above my hand, where I'm trying to keep the entire block from tipping over backwards, and while veins aren't what I was hoping to feature in this block, better than one exuberant pink sun outshining all these lovely slips of fabric.
Jimmy Carter never seemed to me as if he wanted to overwhelm anyone. He was the first president I actively recall, a kindly man, but when you're ten, eleven, twelve years old, presidents don't matter much. Yet by the time he lost to Reagan, I was fourteen, fully aware of hostages held in Iran, failed attempts to liberate them, and the ridiculous notion of a former actor becoming our nation's leader. How naive I was, ahem. Yet Carter's life wasn't wrapped up in self. His walk of faith took him to the highest leadership pinnacle in America, but those four years were a blip in the grand scheme.
The bright pink sun is better served on its own, especially after I add some blue (hue to be determined) diamonds as its perimeter. Then it will go into the Eden quilt block stack, dimming it further. Eventually it will be incorporated into a comforter where its brilliance will be balanced by other singular yet pretty blocks, and it will shine accordingly, yet not pummel one into submission. Our lives aren't meant to pummel anyone, thank you very much. Our lives, in my humble opinion, are meant to fill others with peace. Consolation. Love. Carter did just that and how damn important it is, and what a fantastic job he did. I picture Jimmy Carter with that ever-present smile, fully aware how terrific was his life, not always easy, but so meaningful. Contrast that with the permanent scowl on others, and realize that joy matters, goodness counts. Meh and muck might last an evening (or longer), but happiness and generosity dawn every time a bright pink (or yellow) sun emerges.
