Yesterdays Child

Yesterdays Child

Although I believe in the "butterfly wing-beat theory", as an painter I prefer to try and "do" something to change this beautiful and terrible world by exercising my creative endeavours upon a canvas.

However, my mentor Meister Eckhart - a 14th century philosopher and mystic, taught his listeners to think and act in a completely different way... he showed them that they could totally change the world by "being" rather than "doing"!

Let me say straight away that he was NOT proposing that they should all passively look at their navels whilst the rest of the world is left to eck out some kind living. No, he was advocating that they should adopt a wholly and, in my view, an entirely innovative attitude towards their own individual lives. And this would have an inevitable 'ripple' effect in their relationships with others.

In a world wracked with materialism, capitalism... and out-and-out greed he wanted people to understand that there was (and is) another way to live completely satisfying lives based upon... contentment!... And a progressive understanding (relationship) with the soul.

Eckhart said that the soul 'IS'... whereas the body has to do things - all the time. He went on to explain that the body as simply a vehicle for the soul. So, like all vehicles, the body needed to be maintained - which it could do by feeding itself, keeping fit enough for its job, and ensuring that there would be enough provision for its continuance (ie - in some cases earning money).

But the body's primary role was to support the soul by... just being 'there'.

And this is where it gets a bit tricky because, according to Eckhart, the body is restricted to time and space - whereas the soul - is not! This implies that the body has to move through time and space - but the soul does not!

Further, Eckhart argued that the body has to 'do'... in order to 'be' - or, the body has to go through the experiences of this life - in order to come to an understanding (and therefore live in) the experience of... 'being' - ie the realm of the soul.

This sounds a bit of a contradiction but, from an abstract point of view, I kind of get what he is saying.

I say 'abstract' because the body and the soul live completely alien lives to each other.

The body is always changing (learning, growing old), is always moving (breathing, walking, eating...), and lives a short active life.

The soul 'is'... the soul does not change but exists in 'the eternal Now'... there are no 'yesterdays, todays, or tomorrow's - there is no time. The soul does not move... because it does not need to, neither does it 'know' of such a thing - the soul is, therefore, in all places at all times... or it is in no places and at no time.

The biblical Paul urged people "be content in everything"... Eckhart echoed this sentiment from an unusual view point... he exhorted people to be... uncreative!

Before you retort angrily please think about what is being said here. He did not mean that we should be inactive... he was saying that we should regard EVERYTHING we do from a specific point of view. This was not a proposal to be unproductive, but rather Eckhart believed that each person was at their purest uncreated selves just before they were born. From that point onwards they would be 'created' by the encouraging words of their parents, teachers, and, in fact, anyone whom they met who offered advice. So, the only antidote to enable them to return is to seek to go back towards the time before we were taught how to be materialist etc... he wanted us to see the purity of what it can be like to be without all things... to be as an unborn child!!

As an abstract artist this is perfect inspiration for me... this is totally abstract! So ALL my work can be seen as a personal means to travel such a unique, and richly blessed, path.

I would very much like to say more later.

Tim Seaward is an artist, writer, and poet
and you can find out more about him HERE

Yesterdays $6.49 Yesterdays

Swing Combination - Yesterdays $25.49 Yesterdays

Yesterdays Child by Benjamin, Ruth [Paperback] $25.14 Yesterdays Child is the gripping and unusual tale of a courageous young man who, as a young boy, suffers the tragic loss of his mother, with whom he had lived with since her divorce from his father. After his mothers death he begins life anew in the picturesque South African city of Cape Town with his father, stepmother, and new siblings. What starts out as simple barmitzvah lessons blossoms into an abiding friendship with a local rabbi and his family. Despite his parents objections, he is drawn to the Torah and to his newfound friends as a thirsty traveler is drawn to an oasis in the desert. When he reaches adulthood, however, his seemingly brilliant and joyful future is suddenly shattered by startling revelations about his past. On the threshold of lifes most critical decisions, he is thrust into the agony of dealing with dark secrets he cannot divulge to anyone besides his very closest friend. The reader watches with bated breath as the troubled young man embarks upon a voyage into his past, a voyage whose outcome will determine the very essence of his present and future. Author: Benjamin, Ruth Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 290 Publication Date: 2011/06/11 Language: English Dimensions: 8.50 x 5.51 x 0.61 inches

Their Yesterdays $17.28 . . . So it happened -- as such things do happen -- that the Yesterdays of this man and the Yesterdays of this woman became Their Yesterdays, and that they went back, then, no more alone but always together. Even as one, they, forever after, went back. . . .

Poems Every Child Should Know (Yesterdays Classics) $28.54 An outstanding collection of poems that appeal to both boys and girls, compiled by a teacher who believed in the formative power of learning poetry by heart. Children, she maintains, should build for their future and get, while they are children, what only the fresh imagination of the child can assimilate. They should store up an untold wealth of heroic sentiment; they should acquire the habit of carrying a literary quality in their conversation; they should carry a heart full of the fresh and delightful associations and memories connected with poetry hours to brighten mature years. They should develop their memories while they have memories to develop. The poems are grouped into six sections (The Budding Moment, The Little Child, The Days at the Morn, Lad and Lassie, On and On, Grow Old Along with Me) to make it easier to locate poems that match a childs maturity. Suitable for ages 8 and up. Author: Burt, Mary E. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 424 Publication Date: 2008/09/18 Language: English Dimensions: 5.98 x 9.01 x 0.94 inches

Yesterdays Child: Once Upon an Island in the Fijis $30.04 Author: Hall, Wesley E. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 331 Publication Date: 2001/10/01 Language: English Dimensions: 9.02 x 6.02 x 0.95 inches

Once Upon Our Yesterdays $8.99 Once Upon Our Yesterdays

ReadingLiterature Third Reader (Yesterdays Classics) $23.34 Fourth volume in the series of ReadingLiterature readers, whose purpose is to train children in reading and appreciating literature through the reading of literature. The Third Reader, while continuing with folk and fairy stories, introduces the wonder tale, which becomes the dominant note, while the fable gives place to more extended and more modern animal stories. The poetry begins with the group from Stevenson, whom the children have already learned to enjoy. Then follow selections from Lydia Maria Child, Lucy Larcom, Eugene Field, and a score of others dealing mainly with childrens interests in animals and other forms of nature. With this series of books, besides merely learning to read, the child has the joy of reading the best in the language, and he is forming his taste for all subsequent reading. Attractive black and white illustrations are appealing to children. Suitable for ages 8 and up. Author: Treadwell, Harriette Taylor/ Free, Margaret/ Richardson, Frederick Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 264 Publication Date: 2008/04/27 Language: English Dimensions: 9.02 x 5.98 x 0.60 inches

ReadingLiterature Second Reader (Yesterdays Classics) $20.74 Third volume in the series of ReadingLiterature readers, whose purpose is to train children in reading and appreciating literature through the reading of literature. The Second Reader introduces fables and fairy stories and continues folk tales and simple poems. The material is organized: a group of fables, several groups of folk and fairy stories, a group of Mother Goose, of Rossetti, of Stevenson, and so on; so that the child may get a body, not a mere bit, of one kind of material before passing to another. Thus from the first he is trained to associate related literature and to organize what he reads. Attractive black and white illustrations are appealing to children. Suitable for ages 7 and up. Author: Treadwell, Harriette Taylor/ Free, Margaret/ Richardson, Frederick Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 200 Publication Date: 2008/04/13 Language: English Dimensions: 5.98 x 9.01 x 0.45 inches

Yesterdays Yesterdays $38.44 In the dark and the gloom when winds were fretting Like restless children worn out with play, I said to my heart, This task, forgetting Is harder now than it is by day. For a hungry love that hides from the light, Like a tiger steals forth, and is bold at night. Author: Wilcox, Ella Wheeler Binding Type: Hardcover Number of Pages: 134 Publication Date: 2010/05/23 Language: English Dimensions: 7.00 x 9.99 x 0.37 inches

Yesterdays (Bonus Dvd) (Japan) $32.99 La' Cryma Christi's YESTERDAYS includes a bonus DVD.