October 2025 – The Used Life
7 posts published by theusedlife during October 2025| The Used Life
things take shape in us suddenlyand let us go just as suddenlythese days of tender leaves remind usthe doves, too, racing like comets across the skyas if to say, there is no miracle other than thisand as for youdo you have the grace to let goof that which has let go of you?do you walk […]| The Used Life
how do we measure the anatomy of a moment?perpendicular, perhapsor with great color,incredulous as that may soundtake, for example, a sip of coffeein millimetersor a hunk of gravityon the breakfast tablewhere we sit in astonishmentas the eggs grow coldtime tells us that we exist with radio-like precision,but that, too, is a lie:a nickel in the […]| The Used Life
It Goes to My Head, paper collage, 2025 After my last artwork post on Monday, I thought I was done collaging for the week. But I felt late yesterday afternoon like I might be in the mood to make “a few quick ones”…which turned into a dozen or so collages made between yesterday and today. […]| The Used Life
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. – Albert Camus One result of growing older, for me, has been a strengthening of my affinity for the seasons. It seems to me that when I was in my 20s and 30s, I was so caught up in the happenings of my day-to-day […]| The Used Life
In the Wild, paper collage, 2025 Here are some new experiments in collage art. There’s lots of smoking in this collection. That’s because I just picked up some 70s Life magazines that have great cigarette ads in them. I love vintage cigarette ads. There are also some fall-themed compositions in here. And last but not […]| The Used Life
The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are. – C. G. Jung A thought that came to mind this morning: the gap between who we are and who we think we are can be truly extraordinary. This is a lesson I’ve learned not only from life experience, but also from exploring […]| The Used Life
Bee House, paper collage, 2025 Here are some new experiments in collage art. I hope you enjoy this collection. Imminence, paper collage, 2025 Take Me With You, paper collage, 2025 New Beginnings, p…| The Used Life
10 posts published by theusedlife during September 2025| The Used Life
I’ll read my books and I’ll drink coffee and I’ll listen to music and I’ll bolt the door. – J. D. Salinger Solitude is for me a fount of healing which makes my life worth living. Talking is often torment for me, and I need many days of silence to recover from the futility of […]| The Used Life
To the Moon and Back, paper collage, 2025 The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To them… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover […]| The Used Life
Creatures from the Deep, paper collage, 2025 it is the nature of things to be undone the swiftness of birdsthat coaxes the weather from the winethe octopus from the coral perfume, etc.it is the nature of the mindto wanderamong rebellious flowersshoes untied, grocery bag full of poems and other space junk| The Used Life
everything that ever waswill be again every morning, the orange juice is shakenthe coffee, stirredsalt tossed over the shoulder for luck, etc.the planets synchronize to make this happenthough it is…| The Used Life
The Portal, paper collage, 2024 And so you think maybe that’s why we’re going out to the stars? Looking for our lost souls, is that it? Trying to get away from our evil planet to a good one? –…| The Used Life
there is chatter over coffee this Sunday morning, while the clothes on the clothesline billow softly in the breezeTuesday’s jeans, grass-stained and spilling over with the tales of oak trees,which …| The Used Life
the world doesn’t offer us hopeit does, however, offer us the possibility of transcendence and that’s something, believe me, i’ve practiced step one: tread lightly. each spoonful of earth contains …| The Used Life
Northern Cardinal (male) This is the time of year when activity at my bird feeders slows. In just the past few weeks, my feeders went from being extremely busy–just as busy as, if not busier …| The Used Life
where do the stories go,and from where do they come? do they leave us in our sleep,as autumn clings to the shoelaceswith dappled paintbrush and a forlorn smile?it is better to make room for that wh…| The Used Life
Magic in the Air, paper collage, 2024 there is a measure of innocencein all thingstake the raccoon, for example, with his little moon eyesor the fawn on her curious legsthere is a measure of unreal…| The Used Life
Adult male I create a post about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds every summer and every year I run into the same problem: I struggle to get a shot of the ruby throat. Adult males of this species don rub…| The Used Life
To the Moon and Back, paper collage, 2025 Here are some new experiments in collage art. A few notes about this collection…first, there are lots of layers. I’ve been in the mood to work …| The Used Life
A recipe has no soul. You as the cook must bring soul to the recipe. – Thomas Keller The kitchen, for me, is the center of the home. It is a sacred space, a place of ritual, intention, and ce…| The Used Life
Cosmic Swim, paper collage, 2025 I don’t like naming my collages. That’s one of the reasons I typically choose simple descriptive titles. I don’t like analyzing my work, and I don…| The Used Life
Sea View, paper collage, 2025 I recently scooped up a vintage book of undersea photographs at a local antique shop. The backdrop of Sea View is my favorite image in that book. In fact, it’s a…| The Used Life
Blue Jay Summer is the busiest time of year for me with regard to bird feeding. Most of that is due to weather: hot, humid days and frequent afternoon thunderstorsms mean cleaning and refilling fee…| The Used Life
Image from percepolegatto.com.br The harmony of the world is made manifest in Form and Number, and the heart and soul and all the poetry of Natural Philosophy are embodied in the concept of mathema…| The Used Life
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. – C. S. Lewis There are few activities I enjoy more than curling up with a good book. I’m always reading somethin…| The Used Life
just sit for a moment and remember that spring, too, hangs sideways and the moon on a length of threadhow often the evenings are love-strung and cloaked in unspeakable mystery the dipping birds asp…| The Used Life
In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety. – A. H. Maslow A thought for today: often, when we hope and pray for a change in circumstance…| The Used Life
We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are. – Anaïs Nin Unless you learn to face your own shadows, you will continue to see them in others, because the world outside of you …| The Used Life
I published a short post yesterday about the dangers of allowing our tools and technologies to become defense mechanisms. It is my opinion that that’s what happens when we use technology as a subst…| The Used Life
What I am saying is that the danger exists that our technology will serve as a buffer between us and nature, a block between us and the deeper dimensions of our own experience. Tools and techniques…| The Used Life
Artwork by Elowen Digital One of the first self-fashioning narratives I wrote when I started this project eight years ago was titled, “On Feeling Like a Woman.” I’ve been thinking of revising that …| The Used Life
Ernest Howard Shepard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons when the madness knocks at your door, my child, never forget that your ancestors are butterfliesand the trees are your friends I hate the…| The Used Life
A longing to wander tears my heart when I hear trees rustling in the wind at evening. If one listens to them silently for a long time, this longing reveals its kernel, its meaning. It is not so muc…| The Used Life
You do not have to be good.You do not have to walk on your kneesfor a hundred miles through the desert repenting.You only have to let the soft animal of your bodylove what it loves. – Mary Ol…| The Used Life
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous s…| The Used Life
It perhaps goes without saying that there are certain archetypal influences, or trends, in our personalities that are more dominant than others. That emerge more frequently and that exert a more pr…| The Used Life
Cosmic Field, paper collage, 2025 All real living is meeting. – Martin Buber If you want to create a revolution within yourself, stop treating your environment like an “it”—like it has no sou…| The Used Life
I find it helpful to think of the feminine archetypes as potential sources of inner power. If I can consciously harness their energy, they will serve as a wellspring of richness, texture, and vital…| The Used Life
Artwork by Willow from Thelostcauldron Since I resumed this self-fashioning project in January, I feel as if I have been working at a break-neck pace. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see this pro…| The Used Life
Artwork by Willow from Thelostcauldron An old alchemist gave the following consolation to one of his disciples: “No matter how isolated you are and how lonely you feel, if you do your work truly an…| The Used Life
If you’re sad, add more lipstick and attack. A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life. -Coco Chanel For me, Sunday is a day of slow, rejuvenating routines. I often spend Sunday morning…| The Used Life
Artwork by Elowen Digital if you see me in heaventell the gardener i lived sumptuously as pomegranates do I awoke this morning with a desire to publish a post on the subject of creating ambiance, o…| The Used Life
Northern Cardinal (female) If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough. – Meister Eckhart Feeding the birds is also a form of prayer. – Pope Pius XII It snowed yeste…| The Used Life
The receptivity of the artist must never be confused with passivity. Receptivity is the artist’s holding him or herself alive and open to hear what being may speak. – Rollo May I know a…| The Used Life
I often think that our capacity for complicating the stuff of everyday life is endless. And the chief result of those complications is that we are robbed of the ability to enjoy life. I think the r…| The Used Life
I take pleasure in my transformations. I look quiet and consistent, but few know how many women there are in me. – Anaïs Nin I have always been interested in Jungian psychology. I’ve read qui…| The Used Life
When I explore the feminine within, I find there are certain aspects of my inner experience that are difficult to qualify, or categorize. To feel pretty, for example, or sexy, or to feel soft, sens…| The Used Life
My thesis, then, is as follows: In addition to our immediate consciousness, which is of a thoroughly personal nature and which we believe to be the only empirical psyche…there exists a second psych…| The Used Life
Cosmic Cowboys, paper collage, 2024 As I was having coffee this morning, I found myself contemplating some of the ideas I encountered in Carl Rogers’s On Becoming a Person, which I was rereading th…| The Used Life
I’ve been talking on this blog for a long time about the importance of not only having basic life skills, but also of connecting with nature, especially through the senses. Collectively, I like to …| The Used Life
