Untitled, light and dark circles in morning, all photos © 2007 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
Circles. Round and round we go. We talk in circles, walk in circles. Swim in circles. Run circles around the competition. We circle around issues, circle the wagons. Circles under your eyes means you’re tired. Crop circles mean you’ve been visited by alien life. There are sewing circles, literary circles, study circles. Which circle do you run with?
Circles never end.
Look at the word circle.
If you say it enough times it starts to lose its meaning.
Circle circle circle circle circle circle.
The circle is sacred in many cultures. In the book Sacred Woman, Sacred Dance, author Iris Stewart writes, “The circle is perhaps the most ancient of mystical symbols and the most universal of all dances. It is the earth and the sun in eternal movement, an unbroken, unbent line symbolizing continuity and eternity. The circle dance represents wholeness. The dance brings life full circle.”
The passage of time, the seasons, the cycle of life.
All circles.
The sun, earth, and moon.
Round.
We join hands in a circle of prayer.
Lakota Indian Wallace Black Elk said:
Zero (0) is not ‘nothing’.
It’s a circle, without beginning or end.
Holy.
Healed.
What do circles mean to you? Write about circles.
Slow walk a circle, not so big as to get lost nor so small as to make yourself dizzy. Then sit down with your notebook and fast-writing pen, write the word “CIRCLES” at the top of your page, set your timer for 15 minutes, and go.
ybonesy, fantastic photos! Very graphic. It was fun to blow each one up in Flickr and take a closer look. I love this Writing Topic, too. I could write for hours on circles. Great quote from Wallace Black Elk. And isn’t it the truth.
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This reminds me of the chorus to the Joni Mitchell song “Circle Game”:
And the seasons, they go round and round,
and the painted ponies go up and down.
We’re captive on a carousel of time.
We can’t return, we can only look
behind from where we came,
and go round and round and round
in the circle game.
(You get bonus points if you can sing the tune as you read the words!)
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These photographs are stunning, yb. Are they photos of a sculpture? I love the interplay of solid circles, lines, shadow, and light, plus the copper metal. Very cool.
This prompts is so cool! I can’t wait to get going on it. It’ll have to wait until tomorrow – it’s almost bedtime for me in Georgia. Yawn…
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Circles, circles,
My mind goes in circles.
Out it goes, in yet another new direction,
Always to return to center,
Like a Slinky fanning from a fist.
Circles, circles,
Pebbles in a pond.
My life is a pebble
In the pond of life.
Circles, circles
Circles of inclusion,
Circles of exclusion.
Circle boundaries
In, Out
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I loved this post..the images and the words. I like how the circle images appear to continue into infinity.
You have seen my love of circles on my blog….I have always been partial to circles.
Though I am not a writer maybe I’ll try the circle writing exercise…then again I could just paint them. 🙂
In life, I have learned there are circles within circles..sometimes unbeknownst to us.
Thank you for sharing this. I am never disappointed when I come here. 🙂
Ps Ringo likes circles too…he works in circles and his mission is to keep all of us within his. :>
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Oh, of course Ringo would like circles, working dog that he is ; – ). I do hope you write or paint or both, gypsy-heart. Thank you for your comment.
ritergal, did you just write that? I love the imagery, the slinky fanning from the fist and the pebble in the pond.
Thanks, C. I look forward to reading your post. The photos are of a large platter/bowl that my sister-in-law gave us for Christmas. The bowl was sitting on the white formica countertop this morning, the early sun streaming in. It was a wonderful scene. The bowl a lovely gift.
breathpeace, well, no bonus points for me. I know the tune, but I’m off tune! Your voice is so much more soothing than mine. Is this a song you ever sang in the zendo? I’m trying to remember now.
Hi QM. Thanks. I always worry that my Flickr contacts are going to get inundated with my multiple shots of a single thing. I just love to take multiples.
My husband and I read Black Elk Speaks to each other during our first trip together — a bicycle tour to the source waters of the Rio Grande. Jim introduced me to him. A wise soul.
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Great post! I love these circles!! :d
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Great combo post. yb’s photo’s with sloWalker’s commentary…and who doesn’t like a circle and it’s infinity.
The Circle Jerks were the first thing that popped in my head. They were an angry punk band (imagine that) from 1979 hailing from Hermosa Beach. I can’t recommend their music to this audience…(without armor) but I did always like their line…”I won’t settle for a grey life”. Mind you, it was being screamed…but still wise words to live by 😉
yb, as far as you’re multiple shots of the same thing…a very wise man once drilled into me…”shoot whatever it is…from every angle humanly possible…until you can’t find any other way to shoot it”.
You go girl!
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ybonesy – gorgeous photos – the distortions and stretching of the shapes provides great richess – it looks like a mechanical moon surface….mmmm!
This is a topic for writing rich with possibilities, and I will give it an honest try – your prompts are most compeling. I shall sleep on this one. G
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this seems to go so well with the spoon sketch post.
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Great prompt. I tried it and was surprised at some of the places I found myself. I love that about free writing. Thank you!
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Great comments on circles. I don’t know whether to hum Joni Mitchell or plug in an old tape of the headbanging Circle Jerks (no, really, I don’t have one. But Liz might 8) )
I’m kind chomping at the bit to do a few practices on this Topic. I might have to do that sometime today.
H, this is so true about photography ”shoot whatever it is…from every angle humanly possible…until you can’t find any other way to shoot it”. And it’s so much easier (and cheaper) to do it today with digital than it ever was before!
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Well, I certainly followed that wise man’s advice when it came to these circles. I must have taken about 35 pictures of the metal circles and the shadow circles. It was fun, and my youngest daughter couldn’t figure out what I was doing!
QM, my advice is to go with Joni 8) .
LB, thanks. Hey, you can incorporate circles (bubbles) into your yellow submarine!
amuirin, I thought the exact same thing, I guess because on my Flickr page, the spoons doodle was in the same stream as the circles.
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suburbanlife and TheOtherIvy (and anyone else who follows this writing practice and has a blog) — we’d love to have you link back here so that we/readers can also see your writing practices/posts on Circles. I look forward to seeing those pieces.
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ybonesy, I was just reading these comments again and trying to remember if breathepeace did sing Circle Game in the zendo. I seem to recall it.
breathepeace, I’ve had that song going through my head since you commented on it.
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Fantastic images, ybonesy. I am mesmerized.
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Hey, I finally got to the circles, though the thoughts have been in my mind all week. Here’s a link to my post.
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I wrote it on my yoga blog, since I needed to update it, and the topic fit. Thanks for this!
C.
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