Sometimes I look at my dog and marvel at her beauty: the colors of her fur, the form of her body, the light and laughter and love she exudes; it is nothing short of amazing how much grace, how much fun, is packed into this single ball of fluff. She was a sick puppy when we rescued her from the shelter two years ago; if we hadn't come along that stormy day she might have been killed.
In some cultures, dogs are akin to rats: scavengers who slink through garbage pits, snarling beasts who pose danger to small children. Our love and attention toward Sasha called forth the joy that she brings to us and many others. We were willing to attune ourselves to dog level, and in response we receive boundless benefits. (Well, perhaps bounding benefits is more apt!)
Sometimes I think that love is strewn through-out the universe, we only need to attune ourself to the wave length of any given part. I remember Dorcus giving a talk at family camp about her relationship with a scorpion. David once spoke to me about about the joys and challenges of his salt water aquarium. Drawings, paintings and photography often capture the artist's attention on some detail, revealing a beauty we'd otherwise miss.
One night a spider the size of a baseball appeared at the top of our kitchen door. "Michael," I bellowed in a come-here-this-instant voice. The spider waved a hairy leg at me. I felt a wash of love. "Don't kill it," I said. I didn't move from my spot across the kitchen, but I was suddenly aware of the lovable spark of life that resided in this fearsome creature.
How many amazing parts of the world do we pass by, unthinking, in the course of any given day? I suspect that if we could take the time and attention, we would discover an exquisite ocean of love hidden in the commonest things that surround us.
"The earth, O Lord, is full of your love." ~Psalm 119:64
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Lynn, whose Grief Journal has been a model for my illuminated journaling classes, loaned me Writing as a Way of Healing by Louise DeSalvo. Many books focus on writing as a spiritual practice or as a way to deal with the slings and arrows of life. DeSalvo narrows the field by discussing types of writing that are particularly effective in healing our deepest wounds. She investigates the work and lives of various famous authors, concluding that their stories were written in an attempt to heal personal tragedies. As a workshop leader, DeSalvo draws examples from student's work to highlight various points. While Writing as a Way of Healing repeats the main theme so often that I ended up flipping pages and muttering, "OK, I get it already," it provides both inspiration and instruction for the transformative power of writing your story.
"Depression is a complex story that hasn't been told." ~Louise DeSalvo
Because Lynn is an artist, the journal she created following the death of her daughters is more than just writing. It's a collage of pictures, paintings, cards received, scripture, drawings, and printed email. As I read Writing as a Way of Healing, some of the issues underlying the novel I'm working on emerged and I felt a rising desire make a 'novel collage' from magazine pictures. I like doing a collage once a year anyway; it's always full of intrigue, introspection, revelation and fun. Kateri, who cuts out pictures for relaxation, has offered us the use of her beautiful art studio in Monterey on Thursday, February 11 from 1:00 - 3:00. We have room for a half-dozen people to make collages. Let me know right away if you want to be one of them.
"All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster's autobiography." ~Federico Fellini
Justin showed up for January's Literary Party with a stack of books: some he returned to The Word Shop, some he kept to wave around. You'd think that since the month's theme was to read one of the books from the 2009 list, we would be bored hearing about the same books a second time. However, that wasn't the case. It was fun to hear Justin, who generally finds mysteries trivial, rave about Josephine Tey's book on Richard III, Daughter of Time, which Carolyn had suggested during the mysteries month. I enjoyed hearing that Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which I'd recommended for historical fiction, was Carolyn's best read of the year. We thoroughly razzed Susan for bringing a book that she had recommended previously. "But, I hadn't finished it then," she said. For some odd reason, my groups and classes always get out of hand.
"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." ~Albert Einstein
The Sacred Romance by Curtis and Eldredge articulated my personal mix of literary-theological beliefs so well that when Carolyn talked about Waking the Dead during the Literary Party Prayer genre, I knew I wanted to read it. I wish I had read this book before I gave a talk at family camp on The Glory of His Grace. Beginning with the quote from Irenaeus, "The Glory of God is man fully alive," John Eldredge weaves a wealth of scriptural and literary material into the question, "What is the abundant life we are promised, and how do we receive it?" He focuses on the heart, God's dwelling place, the center of our lives and that which is at stake in the battle of the ages. I was particularly struck with his insistence near the end of the book that we need a small cadre of people who will watch our backs, a group of friends who know us intimately enough to help guard our hearts from failing during those inevitable wounds and discouragements in life.
"A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it." - Michelangelo
At the end of the Literary Party, we traded back our books and set stacks aside to price and fold back into the system. It occurs to me that although having a bunch of books on a kindle or ipad is easier than lugging a half dozen books through an airport; there is something very wonderful in passing books from hand to hand. A community of readers.
"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." ~Anais Nin
I left The Word Shop trying to figure out exactly what a "Classical First" is and how we managed to choose that as our Literary Party genre for February. Undoubtedly the arguments people give to justify a particular book as a Classical First, will be every bit as interesting as the books themselves.
"I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, -- light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful." ~John Constable
Blessings,
Alliee +