Sunday, January 13, 2008

A Glass Orb With A Mustard Seed



RRN wrote in my comment section on Friday:

"Somewhere on someone else's page I read a comment referring to your blog as " Tits and ass." I would wonder what your thoughts on that were. I don't ever chose to view people by their ass....or any other body part. I find people who do to be sadly missing so much more. We all have asses....so what. Unfortunately....Not all of us have the substance of depth and character. Whatever.I liked this post quite a lot."

I liked this comment and decided that it would serve nicely as my subject today. Thanks for writing, RRN!

We live in a fallen world. At least that's what Brother Buddy used to tell us in the storefront Baptist church I once attended, a place that morphed into the back of a Stop and Go convenience store when money for the rent ran out. The places themselves hot as Hades, the world around me pretty fallen. Even so, I loved it. Despite all the sadness, poverty, and desperation I saw around me, the beauty always trumped it. My mother had a necklace that had a glass orb with a mustard seed suspended in it and would let me wear it whenever I got anxious which was quite a lot. I still have that necklace and if I am not a person particularly blessed with an overabundance of faith, I have the faith that God can give me faith when I need it.

So much is seen by the scrims we choose. I know I offend some people with my presentation, ideas, and everything else. Do I care? Not really. Having spent so much of my life trying to please other people like women are taught to do, I have stopped. As for my blog being tits and ass, I could see that as a complement or more likely an insult, but while I do have an ass, my breasts are so small one would have to take out a magnifying glass to really get a good view. I don't doctor the photos in any way: what you see is what you get. My detractors enjoy using this aspect against me because it's easy -- far easier to take someone to task for using their body than their mind, for being a woman, for being (gasp) a sexual being, and for having the audacity to use herself as a kind of art. As for substance, I try hard -- sometimes it works, sometimes it's fluff. But the attempt is all. That's the essence of faith in our fallen world -- that we try things, some doomed to failure, hoping that we have moments of grace and can share those with others. There's an old joke I like -- about two boys, one who gets a pony for Christmas and immediately says, There's a pony, must be some shit in here and the other boy who gets a stable of manure and says, There's some shit -- must be a pony in here! I'm the latter boy, of course, and keep hoping to see the horses no matter what.

Michelle's Spell of the Day
"Nothing is ever simple. What do you do when you discover you like parts of the role you're trying to escape?" Marilyn French

Cocktail Hour
Drinking novel suggestion: The Patron Saint of Liars Ann Patchett

Benedictions and Maledictions
Happy Sunday!

13 comments:

RRN said...

For fear of a lack of self preservation on my part.... I would just like to avoid the complication of words and say thank you.

Thank you.

That was simply amazing. I think I just got emotional.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I see them now. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When someone sees nothing but T and A, that says more about them then the person they are trying to dis. Your essays are very good and i enjoy reading them so keep it up. You are one excellent writer. Kip

Cheri said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scott said...

My theory is that those people who call your blog "tits and ass" are people who suffer from a granular perspective in all parts of their lives.

However, taken as a whole, it is not a small feat to post a different picture of yourself everyday, much less to make the majority of those pictures interesting. It takes courage and tenacity to do that for any extended period of time. I posted a picture each day for a year, and very few of them had me in the picture.

What you're doing here is art and it's commendable. It's important that you don't let the comments of folks who can't open their eyes wide and see the big picture, bother you or affect the grandness of what you're doing.

the walking man said...

Uhh not to belabor the point but I've seen bigger asses on fruit flys.

Does this mean if I divorce the old lady you're not going to take care of me in my doddering old age? Forget it then, I'll keep her.

are we going to have to have that discussion on faith again, you know the one you were going to e-mail me about?

And Princess Dufus, if you are the kid in the pile of shit; fuck me where are the rest of us at?

Don't even want to think about it any more.

Peace

mark


hey thanks for getting rid of that word verification i was getting tired of hitting publish post until I got a short one

Paul said...

michelle,
that photograph is incredible. thank you.

Whitenoise said...

The photos are part of who you are. This is your blog, this is where your essence is captured and preserved for as long as there is an internet. Those who enjoy a glimpse of that which is Michelle Brooks will come to read. Those who don't will find other places. There is value in what you do.

Charles Gramlich said...

You're obviously evoking strong responses in folks. Something is getting through. A connection is being made. What I don't quite understand is why folks who are bothered by your approach to blogging bother to visit here or to comment publically elsewhere. If someone doesn't like a blog's content or focus, then don't go there.

Anonymous said...

You're more fun than a rodeo, Michelle.

Joe said...

I enjoy this blog, both the words and the pictures.

You are attractive in both media.

Keep doing what you are doing as long as you continue to enjoy it. You have a good thing going here.

JAM said...

I, for one, only buy Michelle's Spell magazine for the articles, not the pictures.

Anonymous said...

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