'ing'-ing

 · indulging in dainties

 · informing the chicks not to mess with my table arrangements

 · mowing the lawn

 · dreaming of the ocean

· listening to the honeybees

· enjoying the lushness of my dyeing garden

· spotting bumblebees under the lee of flowers

 · smelling roses after rain

· finding topsyturvydoms in raindrops

· dwelling on this prayer:

Gratitude to the Great Sky who holds billions of stars -


and goes yet beyond that -
 

beyond all powers, and thoughts and yet is within us -


Grandfather Space.


The Mind is his Wife.

Gary Snyder

(After a Mohawk prayer)

Starwalking: Shamanic Practices for Traveling into the Night Sky

180°

For the past weeks (a couple of months, actually), I have been working on a new vegetable garden plot whenever I had a bit of spare time. We have seized a bit of the grass field (sheep meadow) and working with the heavy clay soil; weeding and getting rid of big lumps of grass, is quite a task. Manure and compost have been worked in - but for that job our dear little Dexta has been an indispensable help. All that sowing and planting is laborous, but oh, I'm so looking forward to my reward in the summer. I'm not quite finished, but soon I will be. A bit late with everything, but I'm looking forward to next year, where it all will be a lot easier (I hope). This is a 180° view of what I have been looking at these weeks, when stretching my sore back for a while ...

And one of our new chicks, falling asleep in my daughters hand. I wanted chocolate brown eggs badly, so had to get some french Maran chickens. They have been staying in the house for the first few weeks (we're crazy!) - but now they are happily moved on to live in a little house of their own in the garden.

Lesson in the garden: All is fleeting

»That nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence. It is the ordinary state of affairs. Everything is in process. Everything—every tree, every blade of grass, all the animals, insects, human beings, buildings, the animate and the inanimate—is always changing, moment to moment«.
 - Pema Chodron -

the necessity of creating

Alice Walker once said:

»Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul«. 

I believe she's right, but I also believe, that attempting; striving to create beauty restores your soul as well. The act of simply working with your hands, searching the inner stillness, while quietly listening, is healing you. I find I need to do this, maybe not every day, but as often as possible. I need to work with my hands, to create, and maybe create beauty, in order to feel whole and be at peace.

It doesn't really matter what my hands are doing, or what they are working with. As long as what I'm doing somehow feels like a prayer, or like I'm in conversation with something or somebody else, it restores my soul. Well, that, and working with materials, that I find beautiful and inspiring, such as natural materials.

I recently felt the need for trying something new, specifically for trying to make something of clay. And it is such a wonderful matter to work with. Even though I really enjoyed the process, I didn't find that what I made was beautiful. Nevertheless, I like the organic feeling and the colours, which happen to go well with my natural dyed fabrics. And actually, seeing the pictures now, makes me look with new eyes, and I think I can appreciate my first attempts better. I'm eager to make some more!

What restores your soul?

anxiety and gratitude

It's been a decade, and then some years, since I have been able to sit in solitude, enjoying a cup of coffee, the quiet, sewing - in the morning! Such luxury. Caused by being in between jobs. So also a luxury spiced with a bit of anxiety about the future. Striving to embrace the shift, and keeping my mind open to what the future might have in store for me. Contemplating these words:

Just let go.
Let go of how you thought your life should be, and embrace the life that is trying to work its way into your consciousness.

 - Caroline Myss

Thinking about gratitude. About how much it soothes and inspires to realize a few of the numerous things, we have to be grateful for. To linger just a minute by them, and let gratefulness wash away what's troubling us. At least for some time ...

 

I'm grateful, that our new 'Hyldemor' is healthy and growing, so she can work her magic and protect our home.

 

 I'm grateful, that Nanna is healthy and growing too, and giving us many a good laugh.

I'm grateful, that the apricot tree, which I planted three years ago, is in bloom for the first time. Maybe it will even grow fruits.

I'm grateful for the beautiful sweet almond tree I was gifted by a friend.

I'm grateful, that this queen and her family survived the winter, and now is joyfully humming and buzzing all over the garden.

I'm grateful, that spring is here, and for the light, energy and flowers it brings.

I'm grateful for having eyes that can see, and for being able to find so much joy in what they see. I'm grateful when I see a flower unfold, knowing that I can unfold too.

 ......:::::::::::......

'That nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence. It is the ordinary state of affairs. Everything is in process. Everything—every tree, every blade of grass, all the animals, insects, human beings, buildings, the animate and the inanimate—is always changing, moment to moment'.

Pema Chodron