the blue muse

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Forming new seeds. Learning to soar.

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(six word memoirs at SmithMag
prompted by Kim Klassen at Beyond Layers)

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And, of course,
I invite him in
to sit for a while,
offering tea and cookies
and the chance to warm
cold toes by the fire.

He is grateful
for the company,
a bit tired of
the cold shoulder,
always feeling
misunderstood.

I pass the plate
and smile politely,
failing to mention
how often
I dream
of spring.

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Last night I thought my house might blow away. Well, okay, that is a slight exaggeration, but there were gusts clocked at 73 mph, and that’s pretty windy.

It probably didn’t help that I was watching the movie, 2012, only because it was on the channel my husband had been watching, and I was knitting, so I never bothered getting up to switch the station. Despite that fact that it’s an absurd movie as far as the way it all works out in the end.

But there were times when the wind was howling so loud that I couldn’t hear the television. Which actually made the disasters happening in the movie seem more real and more scary.

It was another reminder of how much we depend on Mother Nature, and how we take so much for granted with our electricity and internet and convenience stores and sometimes I wonder if we have forgotten how to survive. Mostly I try not to think about such things, there are no answers and you can drive yourself crazy. But it was hard not to think about it last night.

No matter how civilized and technologically advanced we think we have become, we are still ruled by Nature.

At our house, we were lucky and never lost power, but thousands of people in the area did. Trees were down, damage was done.

This morning it is fairly calm again, with a light dusting of snow. Another mild day in what has been a very mild winter. A day that makes me grateful for the house I have, the life I live, the warmth and the food and the shelter and the soft place to sleep.

I simply have nothing to complain about.

Thanks for the reminder, Mother.

Outside, the world is whisper quiet,
a blanket of snow pulled up to its chin,
growth happening only in dreams.

Birds flutter and scurry, cling to hope and hunger,
spend their days in search of food.

Mother Nature believes in tough love.

This flower, though forced, had life easy,
needing only to absorb and reach for the sun.

For days it filled my house with the scent of spring,
and if I closed my eyes, for just a second, it was.

Pretty and pampered,
this blossom knew nothing of the travails of life,
nothing of the burn of frost or the scorch of wind,
nothing of the cardinal stealing her seed,
nothing of competing for the warmth of the sun.

And yet, she withers, spent.

Still, beautiful.

For most of last year, I felt slightly off-center.  I could never put my finger on just exactly why, but the feeling was always there, taunting me, just out of reach.

But lately, here I am, right smack dab in the middle of myself.

It’s such a good feeling. A coming home kind of feeling. Coming home to a pot full of soup waiting on the stove and a roaring fire blazing in the fireplace. That kind of coming home.

And so, I’m settling in. Warming my toes and filling my belly and reveling in this feeling. Enjoying it while it lasts.

Because you never know when the wind that is life will start to blow again, leaving you no choice but to step outside and cling to those branches. Sometimes, holding on for dear life.

But just now, for today, I am here. There is a blizzard raging outside my windows, literally.

And I am snuggled in, sick with a cold, but all the same, centered.

It’s a good place to be.

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Wishing you a weekend filled with warmth and comfort.

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Isn’t it nice to see flowers? Not that I’m seeing these out my window, this is a photo I took last fall. But sometimes you just have to remind yourself that the world won’t be grey forever.

In truth, I cannot complain about the weather, it has been an extremely mild winter so far.

But enough about me. I wanted to tell you about something wonderful today. A friend of mine, Graciel of Evenstar Art fame, recently asked me to participate as an instructor in the fabulous e-course that she is offering!

It’s called

The Soul in Bloom

Home Edition

and it’s going to be wonderful!

It began as a question:

Where do you feel most at home?

and evolved into a quest to find the answer.

Below is some info from the sign-up page, or click here for full details.

“So, I took that question and walked among the trees. The trees told me it was time to honor all aspects of home; my body as first home, my dwelling as second, the earth as third. In honoring that trinity I would finally and irrevocably come home to myself. And being at home with myself would transform my life.

I ask it of you ~ where do you feel most at home? Let’s find out together. Come home along with me. Let’s bloom.  xo, Graciel”

I think it will be a wonderful journey!

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Last year I had the best time working with Graciel in designing her magazine series: The Soul in Bloom (available here). It was such a joy to work with so much beautiful content. Graciel has an incredible way of looking at the world, at nature, at life.

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Would love to have you join us!

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a day that begins with softly falling snow ends with a slowly rising moon.

i walk down the driveway in the dark, and she sings to me.

inside, there is warmth and comfort food,

celebration and light.

i stand for a moment, dressed in moonlight and pearls

gazing up at that mona lisa smile.

she knows, as do i,

that the sun will rise all too soon.

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sometimes it’s good

to just let life

swirl around you.

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The simple truth is that life is prettier with fairy lights.

I’m not ready to take the tree down yet, put the decorations away, settle into the darkness of winter.

I’m still in the mood for sparkly. And reading by the fire, and unstructured days, and spending time with family.

So I give myself this week. To readjust, to sit in the dark and look at the tree, to work as little as possible and enjoy a little more down time. To finish off the cookies and the chocolate, to think less about the clock and more about nothing, to just be here, in my house, at the beginning of a new year.

Life is filled with endings and beginnings, every day, every week, every year. Sometimes they are milestones and sometimes we barely notice them at all. But they are always there, hiding in boxes and built into corners, waiting.

And it’s just a week. A few more days of pretty lights and extra ribbons, freezing temperatures outside, snow on the ground and a fire to keep my toes warm. There were new socks for Christmas, and new pajamas that need breaking in. And books that are begging to be read. And there is me, not quite ready to shift back into normal mode, whatever that is.

Perhaps it’s time for a new normal.

It’s at least worth a test run, don’t you think?

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Wishing you a wonderful New Year

filled with starry nights and magical days.

xoxo

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