As so many of you, I have been challenged with how to keep up with the rapidly unfolding stories of our times. These days it feels that there is too much to tell and not enough time to process it all. The pace of life, even here in my quiet studio in the woods seems to be tumbling forward faster and faster, like a mountain stream in the time of ‘ice-out’ as it is called here when the power of the returning sunlight unlocks the frozen rivers and streams. While the experience of the land waking up from the deep sleep of winter is rousing and exciting, the hurtling , dashing and crashing pace of things coming unlocked and becoming fluid once more is a shock to the system sometimes. Yet always Nature is there to provide a calming counterpoint; the birds are returning with their spring songs which gladden all our hearts.
And then there is the relentlessness of the news cycles. I must admit that in the presence of such monumental challenges and changes, my little stories told thru my small voice seem rather inconsequential. So more often than not, I chose silence instead – mainly because I have that luxury. Yet small things add up and small things need to be acknowledged and celebrated before they too are swallowed up by the next shiny moment.
I have been collecting little snippets and stories because I was eager to share them with you. Now, here in the final week of astronomical winter, it seems fitting to post a few because we all need good news and inspiration right about now. I hope to get more out shortly but for this day, here are two that I have a personal connection with and thus, it gives me great joy to share them with you.
The first report from the trenches of transformation is from Amber Lotus, the good people who publish my Fairy Houses calendars. They have reached a significant goal: the planting of their 1 millionth tree! You can read more about it on their blog which you can find HERE or you can watch the video made by their local TV station here:
Once again, Amber Lotus is showing that a thoughtful company/business can do well AND do good all at the same time! Congratulations Leslie and Lawson and all the great people who are a part of the magic that is Amber Lotus.
The second report is the release of a new book by my very good friend and visionary writer Hilary Matthews. Her book is called “Dances in the Sand” and you can find it HERE. Followers of my work may recognize the cover art….it is one of my favorite environmental sculptures which featured the triple conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter many years ago and is called “Planetary Portal”.
Hilary began writing the book over a decade ago when she was on retreat here for a winter sabbatical. The quiet space and simple life here fed her creative spirit and thru discipline and hard work the first iteration of the story was born. Over the years she’s been fine-tuning, re-writing and passing the book around to get feedback and to help polish the creative product. The final stretch of the journey involved working closely with several editor friends to get the manuscript ready for publishing thru Amazon. My contribution was to make a suitable cover for the book – a task I was only too happy to do for her. And now it is out and ready to be shared.
Given how much slower life may be for us in the next few weeks and months as we all participate in making choices to help contain the spread of this new corona-virus, perhaps stocking up on a few good books to help us pass the time while we chose to remain at home is not such a bad idea!
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