This week I have walked every morning and done a few morning pages (From Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way) as soon as I rise from my room. Greeting the day. What I have noticed is, the day greets me back gloriously. I feel hesitant in writing about it because I am determined not to make this a mission or a discipline. My over disciplined self gave me an injury back in February as I didn’t listen to my body. This has meant that my weight lifting (which had become a mission) is now on hold, maybe even scrubbed from the list of things to achieve. So I am back to the drawing board and learning to listen.
One of the reasons why the morning walk is so beautiful is because there is a stillness, almost a silence, despite the bird song and the natural noises. “The quieter you become, the more you can hear”, Ram Dass. This has created an awareness of how noisy the mind is. I suddenly see the need to silence my thinking. I am starting to understand a little bit more about silence. Silence gives me an opportunity to listen to myself.
“Silence is essential. We need silence, just as much as we need air, just as much as plants need light. If your minds are crowded with words and thoughts there is no space for us” Thich That Hanh.
In tune with my journey, the sculptor is often creating pieces that reflect what is going on in my world. This time, with my growing sense of awareness, seeing his current work, I understand what I need to be leaning into or learning from. Having just finished several pieces lately the one this week which connects art to life is, ‘Silent’.
I have been silent in this blogging space for quite a while so thank you for being here holding this space. In the time in-between, I set up a women’s circle for writing, Tamsin’s Poetry Kitchen. In the course, ‘Creating Circles’ written by Sally Golightly; which I participated in last year resulting in my Poetry Kitchen workshops, I learnt the importance of holding space with silence. Silence is a friend. It can feel awkward or uncomfortable, but so much can be learnt if we can sit in the stillness of silence.
I am starting to feel an excitement for where things may head. This last month has been a reflective, restoring, returning month and so I feel a resurfacing of how I can move forward with my writing here in this space. Blogging may not be the way people connect these days with the speedier and noisy social media connections of modern day technology but I still think this is platform for me to write. You can find me though, on Instagram @thesculptorswife and @tamsinspoetrykitchen and it would be lovely to connect with you on those. I will leave with you a poem and a sculpture.
Poem: Silence
THE SCULPTOR'S WIFE 