azy... but as far as people paying attention to Twitter streams, not so much... I did pay attention and won a Sweet grill set from Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce and Life In The House Of Blue. Which BTW is Really good! We grilled steaks last night and I used as part of marinate sauce...the steaks were so good no need for any dippin' sauce.
The last Dylan Blue that was given was actually given after my trip, as I pulled into town and waited for a pizza to take home with me to get outta cooking. The person who received it IS VERY SPECIAL to me and it ended my trip on a GLORIOUS note! Enough said.
That time again kids- John's Thoughts!
Our society clings to a concept of the "self-sufficient individual" that is largely delusional. Every time I hear social-spending policy discussed by someone who wants to "keep more of MY money", I have to wonder where that money came from. Does this person have an employer? co-workers? customers or clients? or do they truly generate wealth without the co-operation of others? In fact, the concept of "money" is a massive exercise exercise in community value - try printing your own currency and getting someone else to exchange value for it. Remember the British term "Commonwealth of..." It recognized that some things of material value were best held in common.
We all live in interlocking sets of group efforts - and we are all more vulnerable to their potential failures than we care to be aware of.
Nonetheless, community, in its truest form for humans, is as much a spiritual state as it is anything else - it is grace held in common. In it, members are called to service. All the major religions place importance on the spiritual value of being of service to others. In the material world, our species depends utterly on six inches of topsoil and the proper amount of rain. In the spiritual sense, community is the six inches of topsoil, and grace the proper amount of rain. With these, we flourish. Without them, life gets bleak in a hurry.
There are tools for nurturing community and culture. Symbols, rituals, adornments and history are all means by which collective values can be expressed and shared - we are all constantly using them, often unknowingly, in our daily lives.
When people of good intention and loving hearts gather, that place, at that time can become sacred ground. We are charged with making it so. Namaste - John
Go ahead and become a fan of our FACEBOOK page we refer to as Dylan Blue Community because we could not do this without y'all NOR would we want to. We are also constantly thinking of ways to use ourselves and things we learn to be of service to others.
I decided to take pieces, one at a time, and expand or just explain there meaning....or the meaning we had in mind when designing and making it. We had received a great response to this pendant, in the form of our first two sales. This was eloquently written by John... he has a way with words, I am sure after reading you will agree.
One of the central beliefs of the Celts was that all of life existed in three phases. They saw three phases in the lunar cycle (they did not recognize dark as a phase); they saw a woman’s life in being a maiden, a mother, and a crone; and they believed the physical universe to be composed of earth, water, and sky. This is why so many Celtic designs show design elements repeated in groups of three.
I think it’s interesting that the process of photosynthesis can be seen as the interaction of the same three elements; a molecule of water, a molecule of mineral, and excitation from the light of the sun. This simple reaction between these elements produces the carbohydrates that sustain all life on earth. And the ancient Celts knew it intuitively.
The Tree of Life in Celtic mythology had its roots deep in the core of the earth, the trunk extended up through the world of Men, and its branches reached out to encircle the stars. It was seen as a bridge between the sky realm and the earth, uniting both of them harmoniously. The Tree itself repeats the theme of three elements; in its roots, its trunk, and its limbs.
This representation of the Tree is probably modern; it is adapted from a common representation that includes a circle of complex knotwork. We wanted to use this modified form, since it emphasizes another aspect of the design; the interweaving of the branches and roots. This interweaving suitably portrays the Celtic belief that Life was a single, self – renewing cycle.
MAX DID!!!
Thought on our Limitations : by John Madsen
Years ago, when I first sought 
help with depression, my therapist gave me a list of suggestions that would help people get out of ruts - one was "talk to a pet" . We have a black lab mix named Gus. He came to us as a young abandoned animal. Per his Lab genetics, and his own doggy trauma, he was very high-strung, but intensely eager to please, and took his responsibilities as a guardian seriously. Sadly, I used these as fodder for teasing him. When I read the "talk to a pet" instruction, he was about five, and settling down somewhat. I sat on the floor in front of him, and thanked him for being such a good dog. I thanked him for watching over us so carefully, and that we knew he'd be willing to accept harm to protect us. He sat before me, his eyes locked on mine. I apologized for having teased him, and found myself admitting that I had been less of a friend to him than he had been to me.
I became aware that this inarticulate creature was being supportive of me, in the only way he knew how, as I unburdened myself to him, acknowledged my flaws of character, and formed a resolution to change.
Humans often identify the structure of skills that are cumulatively known as “language” as being a primary evidence of our superiority to other species. Yet behavioral psychologists uniformly agree that many animals behave in ways that have no other explanation than genuine altruism. In plain words, mute creatures form bonds of love, act selflessly, live in service to a larger group; all without language and other social skills by which we humans identify and arbitrate our concept of self.
While we are amazed by our own abilities to construct, to measure, to transport and to learn, even the grandest of our imaginations of time and space extends to only only a fraction of physical creation. Every night we can witness incredible formations of matter and space wheeling around us with surgical precision and silent grace; mute, but eloquent is sheer Being.
When I am physically still, I move at the speed of the surface of the earth – about 12,000 miles an hour. No motion I can make of my own volition even registers on that scale. When I say nothing, That Voice still echoes among the galaxies.
