Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.
~ Seneca
Now is what drives me. The way each morning arrives new. Opening my eyes to the clean slate of the fresh day. This is what I live for, the essence of the moment: slowing the hours down to rich substance. Not simply chores to be crossed off a list, or chasing after a clock, but lolling in the dynamic air.
Not letting the sounds of distant traffic from the freeway down the hill rattle me, but letting them become white noise, a resonance akin to a forest waterfall.
And fall crisping leaves; and falling in love with what is; and falling away from what was; but not forgetting the brilliance of days gone.
Remembering the lights, the craft, the art of performing. My true love, where I gave myself completely to what mattered more than anything. Acting. The art I learned in childhood from my actress mother, but discovered truly for myself at age sixteen, and vowed then to forever keep it in my life.
And today, it still whispers -- at times even shouts.
But I'm lucky to have stepped off the track, become more seasoned, and in my September, found something deeper. An essence, a heart beyond the old delicious art. Life itself my breakfast, and the air within me and around me, alive and resonating like a smile.
*****
Hello, hello lovely friends. Welcome back. Happy to see you here. The season is in flux. In the midst of record breaking heat with humid hurricane drifts, we are moving toward a new wave of 2015 and cresting the hill toward the New Year. Over the next couple of months, I want to wish you all luminous days.
I will return in two months, near Thanksgiving, on November 15th. Until then -- savor.
Sincerely, ~ Anitra
As summer comes to a close, & fall is nipping at its heels, I wish u a grand hello from Oregon Ms. Anitra Ford. Here in the Northwest the fall weather is making an appearance. We have been spoiled by the amazing sunshine and warmth. Love your pictures and words as always. The beauty of where u live is very apparent. Happy you are taking it in with full force. I will start my October with a trip to Portland to spend time with 2 dear friends. I met them in the 7th grade and we are going on 3 plus decades of friendship. Sadly I will be ending September saying goodbye to a dear lifelong friend of our family who was also an instructional aide in my kindergarten class. She lived to be a fruitful 86 years old and was loved by many. I plan on helping celebrate her life with home baked goods. As I close, I must tell u I met John Davidson after the performance of Wicked & he signed 2 albums and a photo. Needless to say, I was over the moon!!
ReplyDeleteUntil November,
Warm regards,
Riche
Hi Riche,
DeleteLovely to hear from you. So you did it! Met one of your idols: John Davidson. How exciting for you :)
Sorry about losing your friend. Sounds like she contributed a great deal to many.
Thank you for sharing about your life in the Pacific Northwest. May you have a wonderful trip to Portland, and enriching fall days.
Sincerely, ~ Anitra
Thanks Anitra. I needed this. Especially impressed by photo of your shadow interacting with a delicately meandering flower. Of course I delight in all your photos but that one secures a moment, the present, much as your easel does before the mountain --a confluence of temporal and spacial dimensions. You have done something remarkable here.
ReplyDeleteGeo,
DeleteIt's always a delight to hear from you. Your words fly into unexpected channels of insight and imagination, as do your poems and blog posts. Thank you for sharing your generous impressions. They are valued and happily received.
Wishing you and Norma cool breezes.
Aneet
Hi Aneet!
ReplyDeleteI trust everything is well with you and you have had a nice summer so far.
What great photos from your days of modeling! I sure hope in my next life I'm reincarnated as a piano. Loved that shot of your shadow holding that flower. That takes creativity and imagination. I was wondering where that photo was taken of that beach? Is that in Santa Barbara or some other location?
In this post you touched on a very interesting point. When we go from one day to the next, just doing mundane things daily like paying bills, or wondering about laundry, where we are going for lunch, one day can melt into the next and so on and so forth. We really need to slow down and enjoy each and every day like it is it's own work of art.
Anitra, I was wondering if you would ever be interested in going back to acting? Even if it's just for doing a commercial or a part here and there? I'm sure I speak for everyone else who follows this blog that it would be nice for all of us to see!
Best always......Jonathan
Hi Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteIt's always a treat to hear from you. Delighted you like the modeling pics. It was one of my first photo shoots ever -- the first year I began to get jobs (right out of high school.) The beach is in Santa Barbara. It's Butterfly Beach in Montecito. It was low tide. You can see an area called the Mesa in the distance, the shape of the land mass reaching out into the water, is said to resemble a sleeping alligator.
I like what you said about smelling the roses, so to speak. Thoughtful and true. And as far as going back to acting . . . hmmm . . . I'd have to think about it. Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement :) The thing is, you really have to be right there in the heart of the big city to get work; you have to live there, and I don't see how it would be possible. Thankfully we change andcan fall in love more than once.
I sure hope your life is delivering lovely surprises, and that you and your family (both two-legged and four-legged, are happy and healthy.
Sincerely, ~ Aneet
Hello Aneet!
ReplyDeleteLooks like your summer has been a busy, and productive one, but yet you still find the time to take in all the beauty that Santa Barbara has to offer.
Whether it be your acting, photography, poetry, or painting, it's clear that you do what you love with an infectious flair and gusto. Thanks to the magic of the internet, we can see that enthusiasm flow in your work from "Barretta", to "Starsky and Hutch" to your role in "The Longest Yard", and of course a certain game show that I'm so fond of.
When I spent that Sunday afternoon in June exploring Santa Barbara, it was clear to me why you've been enchanted by it these many years. It's an ideal setting that would inspire any artist or writer to create works of beauty, such as the ones you have shared with us.
My summer has been an absolute blur. My work has kept me extremely busy, so I haven't had much time to slow down and smell the roses. However it has taken me to parts of the country that I wouldn't ordinarily have traveled to, so if anything, I get to see things from a different perspective, and see how people live in environments so different than the traffic-choked concrete jungle of metropolitan Los Angeles.
May your bright, sunny Summer transition into a bountiful Fall.
Best wishes and fond regards as always,
Joseph
Joseph,
DeleteThank you for this beautiful message. I enjoy reading your reflections, and am delighted with the flow, cadence and vocabulary of your chosen words. They tell me that you've been writing more and more. Just a guess.
That your work has been expanding your awareness of the world is a good perk. That you can see that, even in the midst of what may often be less than perfect, speaks well of you.
Again, Joseph, I will reread this message more than once. It comes full circle and is a creative and well-crafted capsule.
My fond regards, ~ Aneet
The magic of transformation... the essence of acting, the creating of a new person who exists until the play starts or the camera begins to roll as a series of words on pieces of paper.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of wisdom... to know that we own our own time, to realize that only we can permit ourselves to enjoy the changing of seasons, to allow ourselves to transform traffic noise into contemplations, to understand what years of life taught Seneca.
The joy of our older days... memories of races run and sometimes won, anticipations of things yet to be done, the company of sun and rain and old friends.
The joy of today's blog... new words to read, new pictures to savor, new electronic journeys to share.
Welcome Louis,
DeleteWhat a joy to read your words reflecting my blog post. Your wisdom moves like wind and swaying branches through your ideas and words. I'm fortunate to be the recipient of such loveliness.
Thank you.
Health, joy and cool breezes to you and yours, ~ Anitra
With facebook being a daily activity for me, I sometimes forget to check your blog...and so my delight this Sunday morning, seeing your beautiful photos and reading your beautiful thoughts. Hope you are doing well and sending warm wishes your way.
ReplyDeleteTom
Tom, hello!
DeleteIt's lovely to see your name here today. You say facebook is a daily activity for you. I have pulled back from my pages there, as life keeps delivering other rewarding outlets.
I trust that your life too is moving into new and stimulating arenas. Thank you so much for you kind wishes. Wishing you and your lovely wife happy and satisfying days,
~ Anitra
Huu Tu Truong,
ReplyDeleteWelcome. it's nice to see you here. Thank you for your kind comment.
Sincerely, ~ Anitra
I got my name from you. Nice to be named after someone so talented and full of life.
ReplyDeleteYours truly, Anitra Joy Buxman Summers
Hello Anitra,
DeleteYou even have my middle name:Joy. Thank you for your kind words, and for sharing here. It's lovely to hear from you.
My good wishes,
~ Anitra