Betwixt Lakeland & Edinburgh
A log fire feels vaguely daft in the middle of May but it is decidedly chilly in Lakeland today, and drizzly. Warm colours required. And fireside coffee. And probably a couple of hours with Left on Tenth – courtesy of David Kanigan whose book recommendations (and photography) illuminate my days …
😊🙏🌱
without a book I
might not look as deeply at
others’ witnessing
The light on the page often corresponds with the warming illumination within – you’ll know the feeling.
Where in the world would I be without access to books (and – just as thankfully – to blogs these days) and the observation of, and witnessing to life that I encounter daily in others’ considered words and between lines; in sketched images, photography, and world-class art; in delightful etymological rabbit holes; between a book’s covers and its silent spaces?
In my library I keep close company with an extraordinary community of writers through the ages, some ancient, many modern, all bearing gifts – and I am forever grateful to each and all who introduced me to them …
photo analise benevides – @oceanswide – at unsplashsometimes a portrait
distils the depth of oceans
in a person’s eyes180
Photo by Creative Stash on Pexels.comhow many images
seen everyday remind one
of the joys of Spring?138
A return from Retreat is to encounter how both we and our environments have changed. Emails and phone calls have been shared about the efforts required to adjust to ‘normality’ after five days and nights on Iona with an inspirational group of writers and poets.
We’re changing all the time, of course, like the lakeland colours above Ullswater close to home this morning. But Retreat helps us to step back awhile, to stop and notice the view.
I enjoy my daily routines – journaling included. But just as I was about to fret a bit about having missed a few days I remembered what this most recent retreat, and every retreat reminds me of: that it’s important sometimes, often even, to simply be rather than just do!
Origins
Origins in timelessness
primal turquoise and tender
held by the softening sigh of
The Soundborn hearing the mothering
sustaining, nourishing seascape
of Wisdom’s womb – our first
teacher suckles, sings, balancesmakes connections, blankets
secure and hums lullabies
about our shared sky – teaching
the heart to seek answer to oureternal why. Yes, I will forever
remain bound to this
mothering sustaining
in the soul of IonaDepth and flow
and height and breadth
and symphony of
silent musicFrom her I am born
to move outward
to her – and to Wisdom
I will ever returnSRM
PPP – Poetry, prose, and photography. Three inspiring gifts for which I’m grateful every day. I wouldn’t want to be without any of them. Each shows me something of past, present and future.
Memory, life now, and what may be to come.
Today I am entranced and inspired by this elemental image. A young Buddhist monk, playing as any girl or boy might, in water. I’ve returned to it on and off all day. A bowl of water poured to silver swirl, overflowing and returned to source. Unfathomable tranquillity.
PPP – bedrock for vivacity and contemplation.
wind in my wheels 🌱 