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Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Open Up

I'm not going to lie to you friends, I have been "on one." What with the painting and drawings and sewing and throwing-things-about in the beautiful craze of artistic creativity, I almost forgot to slow down long enough to appreciate the things that have been inspiring me.

Until I looked out my window and saw this. I swear that the Divine speaks to me through this tree. Broad leafy green in the Summer, arching, twisting branches in the Fall, dusted with pristine white crystals in the Winter, and heavy with the most exquisite cherry blossoms in the Spring. So I took a deep breath and just stopped.



And then thought I should show you some of the other things that I have taken note of lately. I mentally collect images as I experience them, then file them away along with a memory of what my other senses experienced to be called upon later. So while I could explain just how the wind on the Puget feels on my skin and how the setting sun was still too bright for my unshaded eyes, it may be easier to show you this picture and let you imagine the experience.



This day, a ferry ride and a garden walk with my D, feels summed up in the perfect veins of these huge leaves, the chalky feeling of birch bark, and the musky scent of warm magnolia trees.



So my advice (and I promise, I'll try to follow it too) is to take a second to look around and appreciate what makes you smile. What was the last thing that inspired you?

4 comments:

candacemorris said...

honestly? this blog.

i like the languidity of the descriptions, and it's helping my 4:35-oh-my-gosh-i-can't-wait-to-get-out-of-here mentality.

thanks for the deep breath, you are always good for this.

emilyclare said...

probably waking up this morning and seeing the sun shining down through my stained glass windows onto the end of my bed (about where my toesies are) on a Winter's day there is nothing so inspiring as bright blue days that say "take me; use me; I am wonderful day waiting for you"...

And Mme is right; your blog is inspiring too; in all the daily hubub it is good to pause, breathe in and reflect...

Em in SF said...

Coming to see you is mighty inspiring! Can we commune with nature, drink lots of coffee, admire your artistry, eat some good grub, and rock some nightlife - in 2.5 days? Why yes! I think we can!

UmberDove said...

Windhover - I want to see that picture, because I can't even imagine a better way to wake up! You have such beautiful words to describe how you see things in this life.

AvenueFog - Absolutely! I wouldn't expect anything less out of a visit with you (especially because you know that neither of us sleep!)