Friday 14 December 2012

Patience has never been my biggest virtue




There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.
-Linda Hogan

Most of the time we are simply not patient enough. And, even a few moments of pause and presence can transform everything about an hour, a whole day, a lifetime. In the midst of the busyness that is the year end and holiday preparations, it is so easy to try and squeeze in another job (or 6) before dinner needs to be prepared.

And today, as I paused to take the time to write these words, I was reminded of an artist whose work inspired me. She made a shift one day in her practice where she decided, essentially, to stop saying, “ when I have time I will make art”. She decided that if she could take 5 minutes a day and make one “block of art", then by the end of a few months she would have something substantial. As you may well imagine, this practice opened up a whole new world for her. And this little practice that she did to stay sane and to keep her creative practice going ended up transforming  her level of happiness, her joy at doing the practical things that needed to be done and ultimately her livelihood.  she has published many books on creative practice that  fateful day when she decided to be patient enough, quiet enough, the pay attention to the story in her heart.

So this day, I would like to especially honour the small moments where we are patient enough, and quiet enough to be the space through which our hearts can express things that matter.

www.pationatepresence.org

No comments:

Post a Comment