I’ve been terribly busy lately. It seems that my life has gone from zero to 100 with the beginning of the new year. Aspirations have not manifested as I desired. They are unfolding, not as I expected, but I am non-resistant to what God and The Universe guide me to and reveals to me.
I’ve been every-day busy! And my list of projects seems to go nowhere! …While my mind keeps adding new ideas to the list. I have at least five posts and videos in the incubator that I refuse to rush until I have time. But I never seem to have the time and mindset in sync to complete them.
I apologize to guest blogger Brandyce for taking so long to create this post. We have been both busy and have gone back and forth in its conceptualization. She is as busy as I am, and our schedules often were not in sync. I am posting it now to honor my commitment but wish I have more time to do it right.
I invited Brandyce to share a post over a month ago. I invite all of you to share a post. I will share a post or more, likewise.
You see, I’ve given up on the world being saved, Instead, I am creating my own world of like vibration spirits, within The World. You are in my world. I am in yours. Brandyce is a part of the beautiful community that we created that I want to share with you.
Brandyce is an exquisitely talented photography. You can feel the solace and peace of her spirit through enjoying her eye’s perspective on Life’s Road, through Life’s Seasons.
Brandyce is also a poet. She is poetry in vision, and motion, often sharing provocative thoughts with every provocative image. Enjoy this post on Beauty in Life & Death. Please review Brandyce’s other features, her portfolio, and projects. Follow her. Follow and share each other. Kevy.
About Brandyce
Sharing the world in photojournalism. Images are captured by me, paired with my thoughts.
I’m a native New Yorker. Originally from Queens and currently living in Brooklyn.
I’m a plant mom, and “nature girl,” so you’ll also find images captured from parks, walks, or moments where I happen to look up at the sky and see something beautiful.
Find me on Instagram: @dycemaster
Images are for sale if interested. Feel free to message me!
Beauty in Life & Death
Feel the feels.
Sometimes the emotions rush in quickly like a hot, summer storm.
Thunderous clouds roll through the sky with their downpours and flashes of lighting.
The darkness has arrived.
The path to healing isn’t linear, and it’s during the downward swings where you’re faced with your true coping mechanisms.
This is when the connection to spirit, health and wellness, and self-care is tested.
An overwhelming wave of sadness has made its presence and I feel the collective weight of something I don’t know exists.
Feelings that can’t be verbalized.
That’s what it’s got to be sometimes.
Acknowledge the pain, the clogged gutters, the overflow of water, and be prepared to work once it’s passed. ~ Brandyce
Pondering The Concept of The End Of Life
You’re invited to ponder the concept of the end of life.
The ritualization of the end.
It can be done in a way that truly captivates,
that invites you to take in the moment.
To think about phases of life.
A well-cared-for and landscaped cemetery in the spring or autumn,
will dazzle you with an unexpected beauty of life and death.
I’ve found a comforting peacefulness in a few cemeteries.
The chirps and flitters of birds provide the soundtrack to a
busy spring day.
Blossoms bloom and frame the pathways to the lots.
Ivy crawls along the tombstones so artfully.
The outside world seems to no longer exist.
In spring, the warm breeze tickles your nose with a hint
of winter’s remnants,
In the fall, leaves turn into a lush painting of red, green, yellow,
orange, and brown, as they too, transition from one form into another.
In this quiet cemetery, I am deeply touched by the collaboration of life and death.
To see the way mother nature cycles through her seasons.
This experience invites a different perspective of honoring the dead.
I am reminded that this is all transient.
One day, we’re in one form, and then in one day, we’ll be in another.
How to make the most of it?
In the meantime, I worship the sights, sounds, and smells offered by Gaia herself. ~ Brandyce
My Fondness Of Cemeteries
I have a fondness for cemeteries, and I have pondered dying.
This is why I try to live the fullest life today. …To die gracefully. I see myself as closer on my journey to greeting God than I am to fame, success, and understanding in this world.
I have no fear of death. I only fear being unfaithful and dead, while living.
Cemeteries are also a major part of the ambiance of New Orleans, my hometown. Because the city is below sea level, the graves are constructed above ground, some are quite monumental. I can remember taking bus rides to and from school, passing by several cemeteries, one where Marie Catherine Laveau is buried!
Our cemeteries are incredibly old! Marie Laveau died in 1881. Many have become ruins. They have always been beautiful to me. See for yourself in the posts and videos below.
I was inspired by Brandyce’s photography and went to the cemetery where my mother is buried, Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera. I only had a smartphone. I did the best that I could in the pictures below.
I’ve added a few poems, Poetrimony, on the subject of becoming fully a spirit. They are below.
Brandyce, I apologize for taking so long. I have been that busy on a true grind. My intentions were always genuine and will always be. Remember, I am trying to become closer to spirit every day.
I only wish that I could have done a better job on this post. Luv, Kevy
Beauty in Cemeteries – Dyce Photography – Oct 26, 2019–Dec 30, 2020
Dyce Photography – ALL PROJECTS – Project Archives
Mount Olivet Cemetery From A Galaxy A70 Smartphone
Poetrimony Dealing With Being 100% Spirit
But The Rose Had Died
Kevy Michaels
No matter how well I watered it
Or soothed it with my sweat and tears
Nurtured it with drippings of my love
Eventually, it only left me with
Sweet memories of the heart
Just as when I took a trip to paradise
…Flooded my consciousness with
Images of God’s creations
A kaleidoscope of colors, scents, and smells
Leaving without a photo
Except for the vivid imprint in my mind
Just as my seemingly united family
…Was broken at its very core
Like best-friendships that ran out of juice
Reaching the end of its road
But occasionally triggering a smile
When dazing on our days
When we lived under the same sky
Like me right now…
Overwhelmed by this flower’s brilliance
Remembering its image
Exceeding my eye’s ability to behold it
Smelling its scent which transcends
The sensitivity of my subtle sniff
Even though
It’s no more than crumbling petals
Pressed in a torn and tattered bible
Its life left me years ago
But a seed of magnificence
Has been planted in my spirit
Since the first day
That the rose was in full bloom
Spirit Never Die
By Kevy Michaels
I may break
I may tire
I may need
To rest for a while
I may get hurt
So much so
Deep within
I may cry
I may even
Go dormant
…But, for awhile
My spirit may experience
Countless changes
So much so
That
I may be
Born again
…Maybe even
Metamorphosized
I may change
Make one think
I’m gone forever
I may change in ways
That
Only God knows why
But
When I do
Rest assured
I’ve Surrendered
…To the universe
I’ve accepted
Change
With a smile
Life may change my spirit
In countless ways
But my spirit
Will never die
Since I Closed My Eyes
By Kevy Michaels
My eyes are closed now
I’m looking deep within
Seeing more than I’ve ever seen
Taken to places I’ve never been
I am still now
Finally, I am at peace
This is what I’ve been missing
It’s just the thing I needed
I’m reflecting on it all
From beginning to end
Putting the whole story together
Now everything makes sense
Don’t think that I’m burdened
For I am no longer in pain
Gone is all resistance
I’m now free and unrestrained
I’ve been elevated up high
But not like a statue on a shelf
It’s my soul that’s illuminated
So you can enjoy my spirit for yourself
Don’t look around for me
For you won’t see me anywhere
Just feel my presence
Feel that I am always there
Smile at our good times
Admire the joy I shared with you
Reserve a place in your heart for me
My light shall forever shine through
Don’t mourn for me
For I’ve gone nowhere
And don’t shed any tears
I know how much you care
Celebrate our memories and joy
That my new Beginning is just at its start
Thank God for allowing me the honor
To forever hold a sacred place in your heart
I will be with all those who loved me
All at the same time
God’s granted this beautiful gift to us all
Since the moment
I closed my eyes
I Don’t Know How to Die
By Kevy Michaels
I don’t know how to die…
It’s not that I’ve tried
I have stared death
In its bloodshot eyes
…Over 6 times
Death blinked before I did
Before it ever saw me cry
I don’t know how to die
And I don’t know why
But a hooded man’s shadow
Blocked my light many times
I found a beam of light from a window
And showered away my darkness
Now I’m resting peacefully in a new life
I don’t know how to die
And I don’t want to know-how
God owns that right
Suicide is blasphemy
A living death is too
What I want most
Is to please God
I don’t know how to die…
I no longer have to ask why
Videos
New Orleans Cemetery Tour: New Orleans Cemeteries & Graveyards – May 7, 2020 – NOLA Gent
New Orleans Cemetery Tour – Jul 11, 2012 – Louisiana Travel
New Orleans Cemeteries – Cities of the dead – Joe Kissell – January 11, 2019
There are few cities with as great a reputation for decadence as New Orleans. If you want rich, fatty, and extravagant foods, you can hardly do better than the Crescent City. Alcohol flows freely, too, and almost any desire of the flesh can be indulged for a modest fee (sometimes payable in cheap plastic beads). But decadence in the original, non-metaphorical sense is also a regular fixture in this city whose past is littered with pirates, devastating fires, and horrific murders. There has been a lot of death and destruction in New Orleans, and the associated signs of physical decay—whether of buildings or of bodies—are everywhere. Particularly striking to many visitors are the city’s numerous old cemeteries filled with creepy-looking aboveground tombs. Whereas death is usually kept hidden, buried out of sight, New Orleans gives residents and visitors constant reminders of the impermanence of life.
The Dead Shall Rise Again
Why aren’t the dead in New Orleans buried underground as they are in most of the rest of the country? Tour guides are fond of explaining (and sometimes embellishing) the practice to shocked tourists. The main issue, they explain, is that New Orleans is situated slightly below sea level. Because of this, the water table is quite high. When early European settlers put coffins under six feet of earth, they found that the water level would often rise above them, especially during the city’s frequent floods. Since the coffins were filled with air, the water sometimes pushed them up through the earth, causing both a gruesome sight and a health hazard. To keep the coffins underground, holes were drilled in the lid to let air escape, and the coffins were weighted down with rocks and sand. But this was only partially successful, and in any case the saturated corpses did not decompose properly, leading to unsanitary conditions. The only solution was to bury the dead above ground.
Tour guides seldom mention that above-ground burial was a common practice in both France and Spain, where many of the early settlers were from. Even without the resurfacing coffins—which, by the way, were the exception rather than the rule—this practice may well have been adopted simply to keep with tradition. In any case, this method is still widely used today, even though the water table has dropped considerably over the past two centuries as nearby marshes and swamps were drained. Read More
Do You Feel That in the Air? A Cycle is Ending – Brandyce
This post is from my February Newsletter about the Pisces season and its impact on closing out the 2020 cycle. Spring is almost here, y’all! There’s more great content where this came from so I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter so you can receive the next one later in the month.
Do you feel that in the air? Spring is on the way and a cycle is ending!
Now that the sun has entered Pisces, we’re in the last sign of the astrological wheel. We’re completing the full Aries to Pisces cycle, which began in March 2020. And you know what? For the first time, I realized that January didn’t really feel like the beginning of a new year. We were still in stagnant energy. Turns out that the shift actually occurs in March with Aries.
I’ve also noticed that the vibe outside has been a bit weird lately! I wonder if the weight of the oppressed collective is being amplified by Pisces.
Represented by Neptune (ruler of the vast ocean) and the two fish swimming in opposite directions, Pisces is a feminine, intuitive sign that often has troubles knowing when to get grounded in reality and when it’s okay to swim in a fantasy.
There’s a strong connection to spirituality, transcendence, and mankind as a whole. As such, Pisces can sometimes struggle with boundaries and get lost in the sauce of all this “togetherness.” They may drown in their feelings. It will be helpful to get in tune with yourself this season. Learn how to discern your own feelings from that of others.
As we get ready for the “new year”…
Think about the seeds you want to plant for the months ahead. In NYC, last year’s coronavirus lockdowns happened as Pisces season was coming to an end. So much has happened since then. How do you feel? Take some quiet time. Connect with your spirit. Feel your feelings but remember to swim back to sea!
Herbs for the season:
- Passionflower: support with anxiety, stress, insomnia
- Dandelion – blood purifying, gut support (probiotic), antioxidants
- Mugwort – digestive support (indigestion, travel sickness), sleep support (lucid, vivid dreaming)
The Collective’s Contribution
During this time where there’s such a focus on the collective – world politics, the pandemic, and the effects of globalization, I wanted to share some photos I captured that represent these themes.
Structural tributes to our planet, the place we inhabit and call home… and destinations that were designed for human consumption and enjoyment. When I think about it, I feel that we can be quite a destructive species, but we also create wonderful things in the process of it all.