love heals

mjd - offering bowl - 2015

we suffer -

endlessly

over and over

our open

and tender hearts

get battered

beyond recognition.

we are unable 

to see the impermanence

because the pain

is so deep

and so dark.

but so too 

is there love

so too 

is there light. 

love heals.

mjd - offering bowl - 2015

and here's the proof:

despite the cuts

the burns

and the bumps,

you try again

and again

and 

again.

you are not

a glutton

for punishment,

you are a

beautiful

shining

compassionate

loving 

being.

and may you always be.

love is eternal.

in the rawness

mjd - be still/rawness - 2015

in the stillness,

hone your mind. 

know it,

understand how it works.

then immerse yourself 

in the rawness 

that is life. 

let the love that fills you

spill out

and 

over.

let it quench

parched hearts.

let it bring life

to seeds
that are dormant
from neglect.

mjd - be still/rawness - 2015

leaf hanging - mjd 2013

balance

greys that calm 

building bridges between 

white and black.

soft threads 

fragile strength

for eons

providing humanity 

with exquisite

function

in the shape of mandalas.

crystals faceted just so

catching light

and releasing it

the dance of all 

that is open

reminders from the himalayas

that clarity 

of

thought 

word 

and 

deed

are critical

and bells,

lovely bells

softly ringing 

gentle reminders 

kin to birds singing

cats purring

leaves rustling

that life is best lived

awake. 

from benedictus by john o'donohue:

may i live this day

compassionate of heart,

clear in word,

gracious in awareness,

courageous in thought,

generous in love.

shine

we know
we know.

and  yet we fight it.

fragile strength talisman - shine - mjd 2013

to know light, 

we must know darkness.

in the depths of the pit,

when it rises past your nose

and your eyes are at risk of sinking beneath
that which is known
and that which is unknown,

you'll see it. 

the light.

it may be small,

seem dim,

but it's there. 

it is all you need to begin the ascent. 

you define how you rise. 

mjd - 2013

and while the work is yours, 

you have never been alone.

as it grows in strength

you notice, 

it's no longer in front of you,

but within you. 

what you saw from the deep

was the light of another.

the opportunity is revealed - 

with your strengthening glow

will you show the way

to another who is lost? 

mjd - 2013

shine on.

life promises us nothing, 

not the length of our stay

nor the complexity of our path.

life promises us nothing

except 

that there will be opportunity to learn everything we need to know.

tragedy?

count on it.

but count also upon joy.

joy - mjd 2013

and if 

you stay open

and if 

you grow still,

and if you 

can strip away everything you thought was important,

you will be left with the love

you began with.

your open heart was earned with bravery,

and persistence

and tears.

awaken - mjd 2013

now that you walk the world

with an inner smile

you can do what we were meant to do -

share it.


share your story

share your smile

share your love.


there is an unknowable future

that you can touch.

how you touch it 

is up to you. 

homage continues

mjd - 2013 - linen leaves with stitching

no matter what the medium

i am drawn to leaves.

mjd - 2013 - linen leaves with stitching

their fragile strength

and beauty

mjd - 2013 - linen leaves with stitching

their most important role

in the life cycle

mjd - 2013 - linen leaves with stitching

i breathe in 

and i am connected to the trees

i breathe out

and i am connected to the trees. 

you too.

in ever so many ways,

we are all connected.

(but that is a topic for another post!)

the pregnant pause

light of knowing - mjd 2013

a season that blazes 

to catch our attention

encouraging -
no, demanding -
mindfulness 

a pregnant pause

between death

and the secret life that dwells

in an acorn.

we bear witness 

to balance

and impermanence.

does the chill air that physically wakes us
after the warm breezes of summer

force us to 

rediscover

remember

or just deeply know?

it is
with a sigh
that moves through the upturned
corners of your mouth,

the knowing 
that is 
coupled
with quivering joy

that the path is lit. 

of the essence

mjd 2013

fragile as a leaf
or a petal
decaying after its show
of lushness and vibrancy.

form and essence 
are left behind.

but which truly is more delicate -
the glossy leaf
or its skeletal remains?

mjd 2013

perhaps the tracery
of veins and stem
are not as fragile
as they appear.

for what remains
belies the inherent strength
of that which supported life,

yet goes unseen

until that which
distracts
has quietly eroded
away.

there and back again

a pair of earrings i had completed

and, yes, that is cat hair you see

having been away from my bench for nearly 3 months,

getting downstairs 

and entering that space

 was,

well,

jarring.

ignoring the evidence 

of my cat walking

across each surface

and finding things to bat,

bat, bat...

it was a concrete visual 

of how quickly life can change.

it was left 

as though i was to return momentarily.

only i didn't.

and in that span of elapsed time,

i became more.

deeply grateful to be there,

i struck my singing bowl 

and allowed the humming to fill me.

grateful to be picking things up

and setting things right.

i won't be down there for any stretch of time,

not just yet -

the body won't allow it.

but the visit with my shadow self,

leaves me feeling a bit more whole.

i am happy -

spear head adventure, cont'd

while i was working on the spear head pendant i discussed in the last post, i was wishing for a feather... my cardinal feather wasn't talking to me... and i wasn't about to buy any for this work... 

2 days later, coming up my drive, i found a blue jay feather... 


this morning, i found another


and so decided to see what i was being encouraged to learn... 


'blue jay is highly adaptive and will teach knowledge of survival in this world and in others. he will guide in the proper use of power to utilize abilities to their fullest potential.  blue jay will aid in this discovery and developing personal power, awareness and higher knowledge... '
(taken from this website)


you just cannot make this kind of thing up... 

taking stock of your spearheads

having a collection of used (and unused) spearheads doesn't mean you aren't a peaceful person...


we all have to take on fears, doubts and other things that lurk in the shadows


in defense of ourselves, our family, our friends.


i wish we could make all the spearheads visual, to see how far we've come,


and to know that whatever else comes our way - be it now, tomorrow or in ten years,


 we are equipped to manage it


if we only believe.

the dance

'i get up.

i walk.

i fall down.

meanwhile, i keep dancing.'

- rabbi hillel 

danse - henri matisse

the photo of the metal was taken yesterday...


i have had hillel's words in my life for decades - in the form of a lovely little watercolor... and have embraced thinking of life as a dance...


then i read this post by seth godin,


thought about matisse, 


and rejoiced in the fact that while we often dance alone, when we invite others in the complex richness is enough to make your heart swell near to bursting... 

flow

'flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free.

stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.

this is the ultimate.'

- chuang tzu

zen in the details

i am a big picture person who lives for details... 

maybe people won't notice the patterning beneath the patina... 


but i do... 

or that extra time was spent finding the perfect spot on a railroad tie to get a certain pattern... or that i fused the sterling... 

these are my buttons... 

when i was preparing to teach woven bracelets at the teen arts festival i realized i could make my own buttons (but didn't for the workshops when i learned how many kids would be in them)... 

i love being able to go from big to small... 

and to just make something for its own sake,

not worry about a finished jewelry piece... 

to put all of my attention into small work... 

i must be growing up, 

it's so often becoming meditation anymore...

the big picture is the details

and details are the big picture... 

like einstein finding constants between atoms and the cosmos,

it's all one - 

120 in 7

my first kids - 


the only ones i got pictures of! 


i spent last thursday and friday at our county's teen arts festival - about 2000 kids come over the course of the two days to have their work critiqued... they are in competition to go to the state level in visual arts, theater, voice, film making, music, etc... i had been there before as a parent when my kids had pieces entered... 


but this time i was asked to teach a workshop and jumped at the opportunity... first i hemmed and hawed over what i could teach them in 45 minutes... what didn't involve metal or fire (don't laugh, that's hard for me!)


weaving - as a teen, i loved macrame, weaving, knotting... it was the first way i used beads... 


so, ok - let's do that! 


3 workshops per day... 


let's be sensible and limit the classes to 15 students each... 


sounds good... 


i even posted sign-up sheets so that everyone would know if there was availability or not... 

but then, what do you do when a kid comes in and says, 'your lists were full by 10:30 and i was with the judges'? well, you let them in, right? and they always travel with a friend... 


do the math above and you get 90 students in 6 workshops -


i had 120... 


120 kids in 7 hours... 


and i can honestly tell you that i looked into each child's eye, touched each piece they worked on, gave each one attention... 


because i didn't just want them to finish a bracelet... i wanted to teach them a technique... i wanted them to go into a store or look in a catalog and think 'i can do that.' and then do it... to make more, to teach friends, to give gifts, to (hopefully) keep experimenting... to not just think of it as a bracelet - but as an anklet, a belt, a necklace, etc... to see a button as a clasp or closure in a different way... 

can i tell you i was so worried no one would want to sign up for it that i brought a book just in case?

can i tell you it was one of the most rewarding things i have done since i started this path?


one aspect i appreciated so much was just being in a room with different kinds of creatives - there were the ones that were happy to make randomly colored bracelets, ones that had to have the pattern lined up ahead of time, one that had to center 2 beads in the middle (and i taught her how to do that)... 


that part made me think of my own kids... and em was there - but she was helping our photographer friend with his workshop... 


huge thanks to the monmouth county arts council for the opportunity and for hosting an incredible event year after year... 

shine...

working on... 

light comes from within... 


so shine it


as brightly as you can... 


you never know whose flame may be down to just a  flicker


and needs your spark to get it going again... 

'strange is our situation here upon earth.  each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why,  yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose.  from the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of others... for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy.  many times a day, i realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly i must exert myself to give in return as much as i have received.'

- albert einstein

btw

nascent:
coming into being; evolving


after a full day of trial and error- mind mushy, eyes bleary - i have a piece i am satisfied with... it is now in the sealing stage...


we all contain boundless potential, awe inspiring wonder within us... 


it must be nurtured... 


meant to evoke the ripened/fecund belly of the earth mama... a spiral navel referencing the connection to the universe... 

(found at my grandparents' house under glass on a desktop)