temporary arrangements & infinite possibilities…
With my day full of other commitments and only moments before I needed to start meeting them, I stepped into my studio to get something. There, on my art table was a delicious array of messy, artful leftovers shimmering in the morning light. I immediately forgot what I was meant to be doing as this unexpected encounter with unforced artfulness took me by surprise. As the morning light played with the random detrirtis of yesterday’s printmaking experiments scattered messily across my table, it was as if all the creative muses started singing in harmony, and inviting me to join them. It seemd to The Great Maker had snuck into my studio overnight and enjoyed Herslf, playing with my paints. She’d left telltale signs of Her presence in fresh colour combinations, leaves imprinted with layers of paint and an explosion of beauty that felt like spring. So much potential here. So many ways I wanted to respond to all this beauty and goodness. An entire collection could be built around their gorgeousness.
Something about this moment was shimmering, asking me to awaken to the quiet possibilities already here, already now, in this ordinary moment. But the day was calling, and so were my sweet grandsons. A quick photo was all I could manage. A tiny pause. A slight moment to see, acknowledge, and remember. This was my way of saying “gotta go now, this is gorgeous, I’ll be back soon”, to the Maker and Her morning light.
Sometimes the most beautiful things happen as if by themselves. Left alone to breathe for a time and be kissed, like a blessing from an old friend, by the quiet shimmer of morning light, on the days when we are lucky enough to be able to see it. I don’t understand the connection between soulcrafting and making things. Between spirituality and creativity. But I know it’s A Thing. In this moment, I caught another glimpse of how the two practices are woven together. While not all things are options for us, and there are limitations on what is realistic, at the same time, in another way, infinite possibilites are always present. Often through the collection of small choices such as practicing compassionate awareness, being present to what is, and taking one more breath before stepping into the moment at hand. Living in a way that we notice creativity and playfulness inspiring a response, and open to whatever that might be. Crafting and shaping ourselves and our lives according to the values we choose, regNo pressure, no requirements, just living in response to where the Light shimmers and deepening my awareness of the endless possibility of Love. This is what I mean by soul-crafting.
Some days the Light shimmers in the art studio. Some days it shimmers within the giving of attention and presence to the humans and other beings around me. In all our various states of beauty, brokeness, and infinite worth. Some days the light is harder to find, or dimmed by suffering, sorrow, or circumstance. I have learned to find the Light Which Glows within Twilight, when the light by which I once saw fades, and what was clear, trusted and familiar becomes shadowed and changed. I have learned it is also possible to find and love the kind of Light that Glows within Dark Places. When (as Galadriel says to Frodo in Lord of the Rings “all other lights have gone out”). So when the morning light shines in my studio, I am learning to pay attention in that moment. All of life, I have found, is a temporary arrangement. So I want to be as present as I can to the loving, creative, compassionate potential in each moment.
There is the work of making art: learning and honing new skills through practice, habit, and turning up when and as we can. Learning the freedom and humility of being a beginner. Always. Over, and over, and over, again. There is a similar process in the work of making our lives. Of shaping our deeper/truer selves through the creative process. Where the work of our hands and hearts reflects something of our inner journey of being and becoming. Of remembering who we really are: infinitely loved by Infinite Love, and precious in the midst of our suffering, our brokenness, and our beauty. This is why Soulcraft exists. To explore the and grow in ever deeper awareness of Infinite Love. Shimmering, and disguised as our ordinary lives.