Some shape of beauty moves away the pall / From our dark spirits.

–John Keats, ‘Endymion’

Blue velvet Cecilia stud pumps: Kat Maconie (London)

I have Keats on the brain today: A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: / Its loveliness increases; it will never / Pass into nothingness ….

Most days I find myself trying to balance my love of the material world with my awareness that spirit runs the show.

Earrings: pearl, bottle glass, and silver (Portland street market)

Wearing pearls reminds me that we live in paradise.

…but still will keep / A bower quiet for us, and a sleep / Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

Jacket: Kenar (Marshall’s)

  Leggings: Splendid (short of cashmere, these are the softest leggings in the world; I order two new pairs each winter from Splendid.com)

I often marvel at the world of things: pearls, pills, motorcycles; blue velvet, Stetsons, lotus flowers; silkworms, vodka, Alfa Romeos—why were they given to us, and what are we meant to do with them?

Lotus flower scarf: Loom-woven entirely from the fiber of the lotus flower in Inle Lake, Burma. (The artisans of Inle Lake are the only people on earth with the painstaking knowledge of lotus flower weaving. In Burma, robes woven out of lotus are reserved for the most venerable Buddhist monks.)

Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing / A flowery band to bind us to the earth.

I have a hunch that some things, say vodka and pills, are meant to bring us closer to spirit through chiseling a separation—when we abuse them, it brings us to our knees. Other things like pearls and lotus flowers are pure shapes of beauty—worldly gifts to remove the worldly pall.

Plain black leather bag: handmade (Bangkok)

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth / Of noble natures, of the gloomy days, / Of all the unhealthy and the o’er-darkn’d ways / Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all ….

These are the things that bind me.

Photos by Kelly Lynae on Toy Cam for Android