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finding balance is fleeting— it’s a momentary thing that i appreciate so much more because i know it can’t last— a concept i took from my year studying chinese herbal medicine
it’s like bringing flowers home from the farmers market— after a day or two they are in their peak glory— their forms, colors, textures, arrangement and fragrance is so captivating, stopping me every time i pass them by to revel in their beauty and their intoxicating, unbelievable realness!
then they slowly wilt— i can find wonder in that too, but it’s always touched with a bit of longing at their moving on to something else— like the compost pile
finding our way to a new balance point is the never ending task of life— each day, month, season, year, decade
at the end, our question for ourselves is— on balance, how has my life tipped?— what kind of mark am i leaving on those whose lives have touched mine— whether that is plant, animal, human, elemental or planetary
in my montessori training we learned the most important step in deciding what to offer a child is observing the child first
this foundation of observation is vital for all life— babies observing those around them to learn what they need to know to survive— parents observing babies so they can provide for their survival— observing ourselves and each other to decide if we are all ok
the gabby petito story and the facebook news this week about the impacts of selective content reminds me that what we watch is what we learn— if we are watching a screen we aren’t learning how to be alive and survive in the actual world with actual living things
learning is always trial and error— few things come out perfectly— but it’s the actual doing with actual things that strengthens our life force and lets us, and others, know who we really are
screens are mostly imagination and information— what is missing is the most important part, the part that no one can do but you— that is interpretation— you can see something on screen but is it true?— is it real?— you have to find out for yourself
you can see images of a trip on instagram but until you make that trip yourself it’s all in your head— you might see a “fact” on facebook but it might just be confirming what you wish was real or what you fear
i always tell people imagination is the most powerful force of nature— everything that humanity has created began in someones imagination— but to make it real they had to invest in that idea— time, effort, ingredients— some ideas work and some don’t but you won’t know until you do something with it
my woodland magic dress is part of a chain of ideas that is still unfolding— the part about a storytelling event in it is still just an idea— but someday there will be a post here that says— “i did my first storytelling event in my woodland magic dress!!!”
what i see and learn on a screen may be a tiny part of that someday event, but that screen content will have been mingled and merged with my imagination, worked on with my hands, planned with other people and finally realized in an actual place and time— maybe i will find it a moment of balance and joy— maybe it will be a learning experience— but it will be real— and i hope it will tip the mark of my life toward truth, beauty and goodness
steps from imagination to reality— see the fabric and love it!, buy it, prewash and press it, decide on pattern, cut out pattern, sew and ta da!— a woodland magic dress— next up is woodland flower crown :)
