STOP
Step off the treadmill.

PAUSE
An invitation to practice simply being, not doing.

SUSPEND
conscious thought and action.

ENCOUNTER
the still point.

We are a throw-away society: if it gets broken or unfashionable, we discard it.
When did we lose the desire to mend or repair or up-cycle?
How did we lose the ability or desire to darn or patch or glue or re-fashion?
I think we need to reclaim these lost arts: to become counter-cultural.
Mending transforms, and adds to the story of an object.
The process of mending is healing; a transformative process.
I use recycled, donated and reclaimed materials often in my doll-making. The Smiles Project is a recent series using discarded bedding as a springboard for creativity and healing.
Each time I select a piece to use, I pause and acknowledge the giver and the memories.
I cherish the gift.

For an addict

by John O'Donohue

On its way through the innocent night
the moth is ambushed by the light,
becomes glued to a window
where a candle burns
its whole self, its dreams of flight
and all desire
trapped in one glazed gaze.

Now nothing else can satisfy
but the deadly beauty of the flame.
When you lose the feel
for all other belonging
and what is truly near
becomes distant and ghostly,
you are visited and claimed
by a simplicity
sinister in its singularity.

No longer yourself,
your mind will be owned
and steered from elsewhere now.
You will sacrifice anything
to dance once more
to the haunted music
with your fatal beloved
who owns the eyes to your heart.

These words of blessings cannot reach,
even as echos, to the shore of where you are.
Yet, may they walk without you
to soften some slight line,
through to the white cave
where your soul is captive.

May some glimmer of outside light
reach your eyes
to help you recognize how you have fallen
for a vampire.
May you crash hard and soon
onto real ground again
where this fundamentalist shell
might start to crack
for you to hear again
your own echo.

That your lost lonesome heart
might learn to cry out
for the true intimacy of love
that waits to take you home
to where you are known and seen
and where your life is treasured
beyond every frontier
of despair you have crossed.

Does our art change as we mature?
Does an art practice enable us to recognise changes within?
Is an art practice a vehicle for transformation?
Does the art practice provide a platform to express evolving ideas?
How do we incorporate an art practice into the circle of life?

The Inner History of a Day
 
No one knew the name of this day;
Born quietly from deepest night,
It hid its face in light,
Demanded nothing for itself,
Opened out to offer each of us
A field of brightness that traveled ahead,
Providing in time, ground to hold our footsteps
And the light of thought to show the way.
 
The mind of the day draws no attention;
It dwells within the silence with elegance
To create a space for all our words,
Drawing us to listen inward and outward.
 
We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,
Transforming our broken fragments
Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.
 
Somewhere in us a dignity presides
That is more gracious than the smallness
That fuels us with fear and force,
A dignity that trusts the form a day takes.
 
So at the end of this day, we give thanks
For being betrothed to the unknown
And for the secret work
Through which the mind of the day
And wisdom of the soul become one.
 

John O'Donohue

What is kindness?
What does it ask of me?
Perhaps attentiveness; generosity of spirit;
courage; a strong sense of self; a non-judgemental heart;
recognition of our shared humanity.
To whom am I asked to be kind -
myself? my family? my neighbours? strangers? those who hurt me? animals?
What will kindness cost?
A moment of time; a listening ear; a willingness to set yourself apart;
a moment in the shoes of the other; a risk that my life will be changed forever.
Why is kindness important?
Because it changes the world one heart at a time.

Celtic Friendship's Prayer
In the eye of the Father who created me,
In the eye of the Son who purchased me,
In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,
In friendship and affection.
Through Thine own Anointed One, O God,
Bestow upon us fullness in our need,
Love towards God,
The affection of God,
The smile of God,
The wisdom of God.
The grace of God,
The fear of God,
And the will of God
To do on the world of the Three,
As angels and saints
Do in heaven;
Each shade and light,
Each day and night,
Each time in kindness,
Give Thou us Thy Spirit.

A musical interlude :-)