When reading a novel, I am on a secret treasure hunt. For most often, burrowed inside its pages…is one, delicious line… one single string of words that rings so true for the author that it prompted the naming. There, tucked inside one sentence, out of thousands, lies the title. “What’s in a name?” Shakespeare via Romeo and Juliet, knew that somehow, SO MUCH lies within a name.
It’s often the very first thing we say to another person. After “hello,” we generally extend a hand and say, “I’m <so and so>.” And, when learning a new language, one of the very first things we learn is “My name is…. “ Or, “what is your name?”
Somewhere along the way, I learned that the human brain is completely into classifying things, oh, how our noggins have a need to understand. So, to lend a bit of satisfaction to any readers with a desire to understand where the naming of this particular blog came from, I’ll do my best to put forth. I must say, it was more of a spontaneous birth than what will come across here but, here’s to the dissection of an “ah ha" moment:
ashleyonmusing
Muse: (myooz)- verb
1. To comment thoughtfully or ruminate upon.
Muse: (myooz)- noun
2. Greek goddesses in mythology who inspire the creation of literature and the arts.
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| Gustave Moreau, Hesiod and the Muse (1891) - Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
(I promise, I try to comment as thoughtfully as possible…. and I don’t claim this blog-talk to be literature by any means… but, the thing is, I LOVE muses…. and the love affair began in Paris.) My dear friend, LL and I, went to France for three weeks in Dec. of ’08. This trip marked a dream come true for us. After meeting in 5th grade, we both moved to different parts of town which spelled separation, and we were forced to navigate the waters of middle school at different institutions. We talked each day after school and maintained a three-year long-distance friendship, seeing each other every weekend possible. Anyhow, in one of our many after school convo’s, we decided that when we were old enough, we would visit Paris. And we did!! On one excursion around the city, we visited the Musee d’Orsay and seeing the painting "Hesoid and the Muse" marked my first feeling of being 100% captured by a piece of art. It was then that I realized that a “museum” is a building dedicated to the influence of these goddesses. What a part they play in the theatre of life! They are certainly worthy of buildings (and blogs, for that matter) being dedicated to them.
Ashley’s Ode
Ode: noun
1. a personal lyric composition.
2. An poem praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally.
3. A lyrical verse in praise of something that capture’s the poets interest or serves as inspiration for the ode.
(Here on this internet website lies my ode- my personal lyric composition- for whatever it is worth) in celebration of….
the 5th
the 5th here has two inspirations; the first being:
Astrology. The study of our personal blueprint of the stars at the exact moment of our first breath, has been a fascination of mine since 3rd grade. My mom often referred to me as “her little Taurus” and I always wanted to know what that meant. She had an astrology book on the coffee table and I tried hard to decipher what a Taurus was back then. When my grandmother, Bonita C. Wilkes, realized my interest at the age of 15, she took me to have my chart read…. which only fueled the fire. What was this new language, these symbols….how was she so correct?
According to my fave astrology website, astro.com, the 5th house in astrology is the section in our blueprint that describes our creative talent, imaginative powers and capacity for enjoyment and the pursuit of pleasure. It is the house of joy and spontaneous self-expression. There is an innocence and simplicity there that revels in the unbridled pleasure of being alive.
As an after thought, I thought that the 5th may also be a play on words to the idea of “pleading the 5th” or the right to remain silent. This blog space is certainly a tip of my hat to the Fifth Amendment, because while I appreciate it, I am definitely more so, exercising my right to free speech.
And there we have it, the ideas behind the title of this space. Thank you a million times over, for reading this far into this entry, and any entry that I write- it means a whole lot and makes me feel a wave of spontaneous joy =)
Arigato gozaimasu, gracias, merci…. from the bottom of this here, heart--- to the tippy top.
