“Soulistry – Artistry of the Soul” is about making the connection between creativity and spirituality and last evening, trying to find a youtube video that would show me how to make cotton/silk flower broaches (creativity), I re-discovered the importance of patience (spirituality).
No matter what I put into the search line, while I found some delightful broach-making, hat-pin, etc. videos, I didn’t find what I was looking for. And then, after making a cup of Crystal Tea (aka “boiling water served in a china cup/mug” <g>), slowly sipping it and “letting go”, I came across a little video that gave me the basic instructions and I was able to make these broaches.
While I didn’t save the youtube video or its link and can’t go back and review the process, I learned a new word – Kanzashi, the Japanese art of folding delicate squares of silk into three-dimensional flower petals. Once I learned about that and viewed the video, I was on my way to demystifying the Japanese art form into something I could do with supplies-on-hand.
So why share all of this here? It’s a reminder to myself (and might be of help to others) to continue making connections between spirituality and creativity.
a) welcome the gift of patience with self when learning something new … spirituality
b) “let go” of rules, regulations, “steps in a process” when in a creative mode … creativity
Who says Kanzashi has to be made only of silk? Or that fabric flowers only have to be made out of cotton? Or that all such flowers have to have five or seven petals; or only single layers; or can’t have both cotton and felt in one broach; or must all be the same ‘petal design;’ or …
aka … “play”!
Hope you make time this week to play in some way — perhaps with fabric … or paint … or paper … or yarn … or wood … or a new recipe … or a new garden design … or calligraphy pen and ink … or sketching pencil … or a new blog post.
A story … some realizations … a tender ‘memory … and some conclusions.
Faith: One day, in a town troubled by drought for many months, villagers decided to gather and pray for rain. On the appointed day, the people gathered. One little boy came with an umbrella. Faith. That’s faith. Trust: Have you ever noticed that when you toss babies up in the air, they laugh? That’s because they know you’ll catch them. Trust. That’s trust.
Attitude: When my husband turned 85, he delighted in wearing a shirt that read “I am not 85 years old. I am sweet 16 with 69 years of experience!” Attitude. That’s attitude.
Humour: When we were children, naptime was often regarded as punishment. Now an afternoon nap is like a mini-vacation. Humour. That’s humour.
Hope: Each night, we go to bed without any assurance that we’ll be alive the next day. And yet how often do we still set the alarm to wake up in the morning? Hope. That’s hope.
Confidence: In spite of zero-knowledge that there will be a tomorrow, we still plan events, meetings, appointments in our agendas / daytimers / phones. Confidence. That’s confidence.
Love: The world is suffering and many consider the future to be bleak. Yet people still marry and have children. Love. That’s love.
May we live each day with Faith, Trust, Hope, Confidence, Love, Attitude and Humour. 🙂
A sunset – yes, a sunset! And no, it’s not a black and white photo. That’s just how it looked that particular night at Yellow Point on Vancouver Island – expansive, beautiful, and breath-taking. The beauty of the sunset with its stark sky, water and land reminded me of a phrase our Jewish brothers and sisters use: Tikkun Olam.
Tikkun Olam describes how humanity is called to respond to a world by participating in repairing the world and mending what is broken. More than that, Tikkun Olam incorporates a call to make the world better than it was before it was damaged.
As I stood at the water’s edge that night, watching the sun set, images of our broken world because of climate change, pollution, environmental damage, anger, shattered relationships, abusive leaders, injustice, and more, flashed before my eyes. I wondered about the hope that is in the concept of Tikkun Olam. I remembered how collective actions can bring about repairing the earth through restoration, through reconciliation, through small acts (of love, kindness, solidarity with other people, animals, plant life, oceans, skies and other places on earth), and through larger acts (of social justice and environmental awareness). And I remembered that every person’s life provides an opportunity for tikkun olam … and that each tikkun has the potential to bring about change.
I thought of people like Malala Yousafzai… Martin Luther King Jr … Rosa Parks … Jesus of Nazareth … Joan of Ark … Jonas Salk … Florence Nightingale … Isaac Newton … Eleanor Roosevelt … Beethoven … Rachel Carson … Wangari Maathi … and the question arose within me: “Where would the world be today without each of them?” They and others, made an impact on this world. Each of us can, too. No matter how intellectually gifted, spiritually inclined, physically able-bodied each of us is or is not, we can contribute to the common good and to the creation of a world where justice, integrity, caring, compassion and peace are present in some way each day.
It was just a sunset that night, but it had me thinking – thinking about Tikkun Olam and how I can be more responsive to such a call in my daily living.
How can Tikkun Olam enter your thoughts and action?
Whether it’s listening to music, recommending a restaurant, listening to the opinion of another, politics, religion, looking at art, we all have our own perspective, our own viewpoint, our own experience of what we see / hear / taste / feel.
When I created this ZenDoodle long ago while waiting to see a doctor, it was as it is in the first photo – sideways. Sitting beside me was a fellow who, after watching me doodle, said “How about putting a hat on him?” “A hat?” “Yes, a hat” he replied.
Clearly, I didn’t “see” what the fellow was seeing. But when he leaned over, he took the corner of my little zendoodle and turned it around. I “saw” the image he was seeing. I doodled a little ‘tam’ hat.
Tonight, it seems, that whether I watch a U.S. channel or a Canadian channel or British channel, they’re all talking about the latest “breaking news” … the release of the Mueller report. And while the focus is on the Mueller report and “what could it possibly contain,” very little attention is being paid to the Mozambique cyclone which has devastated that country. If you do an internet search on ‘Mozambique cyclone March 22, 2019, you’ll see what is happening there. When the Mueller report is released, media will form opinions. Family, friends, co-works, neighbours will form opinions. Each of us will form an opinion.
Life’s Lessons are all around us and the little zendoodled fellow has become a gentle reminder that what is seen isn’t always what others see; what is heard isn’t always what others hear; what is experienced isn’t always what others are experiencing, even in the same situation.
It was a full moon. And as I took this photo, I found myself delighting in the wonder of the globe in the sky that shone so brightly – until hidden by clouds.
How often our light is hidden by the clouds we encounter in our lives – clouds of fear, isolation, loneliness, sadness, grief.
In those moments, our light hasn’t gone out. It’s just covered up and waiting for the time when whatever clouds we are experiencing will pass and our light will shine once again.
Thank you Madame Moon, for shining, for teaching, for existing, and for giving hope – in a new way.
We are living in Shadow Times. It’s a difficult time for many. As I think of Shadow Times, I think of my mother – an oil painter – an artist. Under her creative touch, a blank canvas would become transformed with majestic mountains, resplendent flowers and inviting landscapes.
Mom was also a teacher of life. One day, she explained the importance of shadows … shadows in art and shadows in life. “Shadows are just as integral as are the highlights.” <Joy Mack>
When life has become difficult for me, I’ve often recalled her words and tried to remember that in the dark, shadowy times of life (when it seems as if the light of truth, of hope, of peace, of joy are hidden), the shadows can be just as instructive as can be the joy-filled times. Sometimes, even more so. When life’s mountains and valley moments arrive, I try to be patient and remember that plateaus *will* come, where I can breathe. Eventually.
When the frosty moments and hostile people descend, I try to be patient and remember that the sun *will* shine through. Eventually.
Some say that those whose lives have been negatively impacted by life have been sent these things by God as a *test.* I can’t believe in a deity such as that. What kind of god would … create babies born with medical complications … ‘spare’ some in accidents/disasters while killing others … arm terrorists who terrorize/maim/kill … pollute the atmosphere, water … cause climate change … choose ‘who’, ‘when’, ‘how’, ‘where’ people die … decide whose lives are devoured by disease, addiction, mental illness … profoundly affect lives by government shut-down, grief, financial set-back, health issues, divorce, violence, lack of freedom, addiction, abuse, poverty, mental illness. Not a loving one.
Some people think that Shadow Times are to be completely forgotten. I don’t. I believe that such moments serve a purpose, and that by disregarding the challenges of life, we lose opportunities for personal growth. May these Shadow-Times lead us into action, into involvement, into opportunities to be a “channel of peace” as St. Francis of Assisi wisely counselled, so that where there is hatred, we can feel and sow love. Where there is injury, we can offer receive and pardon. Where there is doubt, we can model faith. Where there is despair, we can be hope for others. Where there is darkness, we can bring a glimpse of light. And where there is sadness, we can experience and share joy … even in Shadow Times.
The saying “It’s always darkest before the dawn” originated with prolific English writer Thomas Fuller in 1650. Those were dark days then. There have been dark days since then. Many feel that there are dark days now.
Before closing the blinds recently, a wondrous silver beam of light shone brightly in the sky and through the patio door. It was magical, and oh, so welcome in an unexpected way. It seemed to bring hope. In spite of concern (of war possibilities, ongoing governmental shut-down, unspeakable horrors happening to human beings of all ages, racism, anti-semitism), that beam-of-light-through-the-blinds brought hope that there will be a tomorrow.
When the mind replays troubling words (from a world leader, other political leaders, medical specialists, financial advisors, unhealthy relationships, employers), the moon is shining. Somewhere. When clouds began to form, the moon seemingly becomes hidden, its light diminishes and seems lost (not too dissimilar to those times when it can feel as if our light has gone out and when clouds of fear, isolation, loneliness, sadness, grief, self-doubt, anger begin to form within us), but we are still here.
Scientists tell us that the moon has existed for more than four billion years, shining and giving hope to countless generations. Why then, would we think that the moon will stop shining now? Similarly, why would we think that the clouds of fear etc. being felt will never disappear? Like the moon, (simply covered up, waiting for the time when whatever cloud is being experienced will pass), the light once again will shine forth, the clouds in our lives *will* pass in some way and the light *will* shine forth once again. The wondrous silver beam of light shines brightly in the sky. Somewhere … bringing light, and bringing hope that there will be a tomorrow. Just “when” that tomorrow will come we don’t know. But it *will* come.
Tomorrow came ‘then.’ Tomorrow has come ‘since then’. There *will* be a tomorrow. The words of Alicia Morton in the musical “Annie” say it well: The sun’ll come out – tomorrowBet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun!” May we hold fast to the lesson from the past … there *will be* a tomorrow!
One little drop of water doesn’t seem like much … by itself. But when droplets of water are put together, great things can happen! Parched dry crops become nourished by life-giving rain. Flowing rivers abound with salmon. Glistening snowflakes can be a reminder of individual uniquenesses. Magnificent waterfalls bring forth powerful energy. New life emerges from the waters of baptism.
If these can result when tiny droplets of water come together, it is awe-inspiring to realize what can happen when tiny droplets of respectful and kind words, positive thoughts, peaceful actions, religious words/actions
(any of which can be interpreted as ‘prayer’) are offered by millions around the globe and transformed into cascading waterfalls of healing.
May parched and dry discussions be watered by the Living Word of compassion, kindness and mercy. May rivers of conversation flow freely, gently and lovingly. May social media stop dramatizing, falsifying, lying. May leaders in our world, act like leaders and truly care for the people they were elected to serve, rather than care for their own selfish greed
and need for personal power.
dreams went unfulfilled, a serious illness was diagnosed
a pain wouldn’t leave, finances were unsettled
the future was frighteningwhen Darkness overwhelmed, the voices of love, hope, joy and peace
spoke softly through others, deep within ourselves, in the beauty of Nature,
in the silence, in the wonder of a child’s laughter, in the solitude,
in the lovingkindness of a stranger for a brief moment, and the Light
that was to come was lit
just a small flame, but nonetheless a flame of hope that somewhere in the world at the most difficult of times, the moon still shimmers, the sun still shines, the stars still twinkle, someone is praying, someone is believing
there is hope
perhaps expressed differently than we first imagined, but there is hope,
even in the Darkness
