A-Z Challenge Day 3 - C is for Contemplation and Creativity

Cats - Tiger cat in contemplative mood

Creativity

I've written plenty about creativity on this blog. Whether improvising a raincoat out of carrier bags for a much-loved teddy in the wilds of the Western Highlands, Praying in Colour, taking part in Journal 52 for the umpteenth time, (I will complete the challenge this year, I promise!), searching out weird epitaphs,  composing found poetry out of The National Trust magazine, The Big Issue and assorted mailshots, or whiling away the hours in the art room on retreat, the older I get, the more it becomes a source of sustenance. Plus it's fun...most of the time. This from somebody who couldn't 'do' art at school. I still can't 'do' it, but that doesn't stop me!

Not everything that I 'create' gets put online, in fact most of it stays hidden within the covers of my journal, only to be shared with a select few, often in the context of working through personal issues. I'm very good at self-censoring what I write. This isn't nearly as easy to do when you're working with colour, images and the imagination. Your inner self will out.  Or, to misquote a certain advert of yesteryear, " Creativity refreshes the parts that other contemplative activities cannot reach!"

A-Z Day 18: Passion

Passion Flowers

From Journal 52 2014: Week 23 Passion

There are so many different definitions of Passion: a strong and barely controllable emotion; an intense, sexual love; an intense desire of enthusiasm for something; the suffering and death of Jesus...to name just a few.

What they all have in common is an energy, a creative  force; call it the Spirit it you will, that inspires, enriches and draws people towards  true integrity and wholeness of life.

If, like me, you profess  a Christian faith, a question you may well be faced with concerns your passion. What inspires you? What draws you? What brings you life? What for you is energising, life-giving?   Your  response to that may well take you further into exploration of  some of those tricky questions that Christ himself  was forever asking people : What do you want? What do you want me to do for you? Who do you say that I am? 

I'm still working this one out myself. What I have realised over the last few years is how much a part creativity plays in helping me understand and work through what's going on underneath the calm (What!!? says Mr GP) Greenpatch exterior. I love colour, quirky creativeness, making connections and helping other people to do the same.  Activities like art-journaling, as in  my Journal 52 picture above,  help bypass the old internal censor. When I write, I can manipulate, control and hide behind a mask; arty activities have a habit of breaking through this.

Another definition of Passion  of course, is the biblical account, dramatisation or musical setting of the Passion of Jesus. So, for the musical offering today, here's another favourite of mine: the wir setzen uns mit tränen nieder bach from Bach's St Matthew Passion.

Blogging A-Z Day 7: Found Poetry

F for Found Poetry. There's nothing like celebrating the arrival of Spring with a Found Poem. Have a peep here for another example of this simple way of combining words and colours which even a totally non-artistic GP can manage. Another cause for celebration - the arrival of our new colour printer/scanner; long-awaited after a year of greyness. I even managed to install it myself!  Who knows? I may even be able to rediscover  my colouring and creativity as well as my blogging mojo.

The song for today? Well - with Spring in the air,  what better  choice than Louis Armstrong singing What a Wonderful World.

Journal 52 Week 23: Passion

Hello, I'm back again. Has it really been that long? Yes it has. Oh well, "A thousand ages in Thy sight are like an evening gone," as good old Isaac Watts once said. Since I last appeared here I've visited New York, Dorset and the South Coast, with various perambulations round the Home Counties between times. I've also -  together with GP son  - spent 12 hours lurking in a layby in the wilds of Hampshire, but that's another story.

Procrastinator that I am, I've rather too many "Roundtuits," lurking on my To Do List; I'm  rather good at not doing what I should be doing, as opposed to Doing What I Shouldn't Do. That's included my Journal 52 prompts, much dipping in and out here, with the emphasis on the 'out.' Here's Week 23: Passion. What's your passion? What really fires you up? It could be to do with a hobby, friends, family, your work...anything. I thought a long time about this and decided that for me it's Creativity...making connections....that 'spark,' (Divinely inspired?) when an idea takes off into something you'd never anticipated, often   something quite ordinary is  imbued with   a whole new meaning, a new energy. I love it too,  when I can enable   other people to discover this energy for themselves.  Watching somebody growing deeper in their faith , discovering how their story fits into God's is something so special.

If this all sounds a wee bit too airy-fairy, please note that I'm liable to come over all uneccessary and excited about the daftest things, like being able to dry the washing outside in this lovely sunny weather we've been having lately. Or, about Daydreamer's handy domestic hints: she's already saved me £££s in dry cleaning costs. Thanks!

The picture is a work in progress. I've not done any written journaling on it yet, nor will I, probably,  but as I've been blogging I've realised just what I  want  to add for the finishing touch...another of those Divine 'nudges,' do you think?

Epiphany continued...

Here they are! Our Wisepersons with their menagerie. Yes, the postponed House Blessings finally took place a week last Sunday. Don't you think that the glittery pine cone Christmas tree adds that final creative touch?

Though if we're talking creativity, I did get a teensy bit carried away. Of course the travelling magi were far too polite to mention it.  And the generous whaft of incense certainly made the house smell much much nicer than it usually does.  Makes a change from Parfum de Dog Pee...

It must have had an effect, as in a burst of yet more creativity I was inspired to take the scissors to my old school scarf  to make this  natty little jumper for GP dog II.  Just what's needed to take the chill off these frosty mornings we've been having.  Talk about creative upcycling. And there's still enough material left for a couple more outfits.  I don't agree with dressing dogs up like little toys, but like to think that our old Headmistress would have given me top marks for inventiveness.  

I guess that GP dog is relieved that I didn't save the co-ordinating scratchy, itchy powder-blue wool twinset and horrible corduroy beret. One can carry creativity too far.

All I Want for Christmas

...is my two front teeth. I spent a pleasant half hour at the dentist this afternoon having a crown fitted. The objets d'art pictured above are the impressions that were taken of my jaw, which I'll be keeping for future use. (A long way in the future, I hope!). No, the Christmas decorations weren't part of the package; that's just my creativity gone wild.   After all, this is probably the only time I'll  (well - part of me anyway) be immortalized in plaster. Michelangelo, eat your heart out.

Any further suggestions for Christmas themed dentistry ditties welcomed.

Where Did You Get that Hat? Yet more Creative Repurposing

Beaker struts his stuff in a fetching ensemble of green lab coat and  matching tie, topped off with a snazzy lambswool  beret cunningly fashioned  from an old Monsoon cardigan. And there's still enough material left over to make a pair of matching fingerless gloves.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm taking this creativity thing too far...

True Colours

Praying with colours: Week 6-13th October - Where Am I? Where is God?

Back to Sacred Spirals the other day, where, on our journey with the labyrinth and the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, we were looking at the Principle and Foundation, in particular  the examen, or examination of awareness:  pausing to take the time to notice God in all things - as I once wrote -  in the "bad hair" as well as the "red letter" days. It's that question beloved of spiritual directors everywhere, "Where is God in this?" in all its variations: "For what am I most grateful today?" "For what am I least grateful?" "What gives me life/drains me?" "When did I give most love/least love?"... all part and parcel of the process of discernment, "Listening to the music of the spirit," noticing what draws me closer to my centre and to God and what pulls me away. (Definitely a work in progress with me; going on past experience, I could do with the spirit presenting me with a pair of headphones!)

Any oldhow, I was thrilled when we were encouraged to use colour in our prayer *- to explore our own personal "prayer colours" to symbolise our emotions. What a wonderful idea!  As my spiritual director is wont to remind me, when first we started meeting, I described myself as an "butterfly," imaginative, intuitive, forever running after the latest "ooh shiny!" ideas,  thoughts all over the place; getting them gathered into any semblance of coherence is sometimes  even now like wrestling to fold a pop-up tent! My discovery these last few years that I can use paints, colour, art journaling, creativity in all its wonderful variety to move closer to God has been a revelation. It also, I've discovered, a crafty way of bypassing  the old writer's block and that rather mangy, motheaten "Internal Parrot."

  The artwork above though is more of a "here's one I made earlier," (child of the 60s and 70s that I am!); pre-session. I've shared with several folk recently a sense of growing integration or put another way "St Francis meets St Ignatius in the labyrinth." In  one of those funny  "Godincidences" I'd already been trying to pray the examen this way at home. I'll not go into detail about the colours I used, other than to say that I'm now realising that by intentionally praying this way, I'm (well, to be strictly accurate - God and I) are turning round events which going on past experience have all the potential to knock me spinning right off course and away from my centre.   Baby steps they might be  but for me progress along the road that I honestly didn't think possible. 

I might even venture a quiet and discreet "Hurrah!"

*Based on the ideas of Sheila Merryweather's Colourful Prayer.

"Tis the Gift to be Simple" - Daybook

Thanks to LLM Calling for pointing me to a wonderful way of reflecting on your day - The Simple Woman's Daybook.  Great for somebody like myself whose middle name is "worry." Here's mine:"

Outside my window- It's been overcast and dim all day. I can see the garden path glistening with rain.

I am thinking - About my latest DIY project and wondering how I'm going to get all the paint off my fingernails!

I am thankful - For the gift of creativity.

In the kitchen - Melon, oranges, yoghurt, spaghetti bolg and soup. I love my soup!

I am wearing - Paint stained navy  cargoes and old blue T shirt.

I am creating - Just finished day one of painting the study  bookcases. Also in progress - a prayer meditation on the Ignatian movements of consolation and desolation  in my art journal using one of the psalms, the labyrinth and the poetry of TS Eliot.

I am going - Nowhere today. I've been home based apart from walking the dog.

I am wondering - Whether the paint is ever going to dry.

I am reading - The Cat, a Complete Guide, by Claire Bessant, a beautifully illustrated hardback guide and Christmas present from DH to all things feline - 70p at the animal protection shop for a good as new, book which is worth nearly £20 new. The best 70p ever spent!

I am hoping - To turn the study into that quiet, Shaker-like sanctuary I always wanted! Hoping...

I am looking forward to - Going away on retreat in a month's time.

I am learning - To be brave and step out without worrying what other people might think about me.

And the house - I'm getting there - apart from piles of books from bookcase one strewn all over the study.

I am pondering - 'Ponder' the pyjama case, hero of "Ponder and William," a favourite childhood book.

A favourite quote for today - "Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free..."

One of my favourite things - O dear..."Smooth Radio 70s." I've had it on all day as background while I've been painting.

A few plans for the rest of the week - A couple of local spirituality network events, time with Mr GP, painting project, prayer group at church.

A peek into my day - Camera lost under a mountain of books, so here's an old pic of GP cat

This time last year: Thunder and Rainbows - Francis and Ignatius paint the garden aka creative prayer practices

A glimpse of life in the Greenpatch household a year ago: Light my fire - Thunder and rainbows. Eeyore, Saints Francis of Assisi and Ignatius; Julie Andrews; the first Christmas crib; Every Now and Then with Jesus; flag-making; the examen;  Jackson Pollock and decorating Greenpatch dog in tasteful shades of sage green and buttermilk..  the joys of creativity...and kelly kettles.

Put another way - it's Sunday evening, I'm out of inspiration, but would prefer not to be greeted by a grumpy menopausal potato every time I log on here. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Creativity and art journaling - work in progress

Creative burst - July 2012

Is it a bunch of squashed forget-me-nots? A fistful of stones? Bubbles? No, it's only me having one of my periodic creative bursts using some paper napkins, the leaflet from this week's fruit n'veg box, my favourite water-soluable wax crayons and gallons of paint and glitter gel. 

The original idea was to build on some stuff on Psalm 139 I began on retreat, but somehow I began to word associate and this is the result.  I've another blank  page with the  same border ready and waiting; who knows what'll come of that? As I said in the post title - work in progress...

Falling Upward

                                            Interview with Richard Rohr OFM about his book Falling Upward

‘[T]he task of the first half of life is to create a proper container for one’s live and answer the first essential questions: “What makes me significant?” “How can I support myself”? and “Who will go with me?” The task of the second half of life is, quite simply, to find the actual contents that this container was meant to hold and deliver… In other words, the container is not an end in itself, but exists for the sake of your deeper and fullest life, which you largely do not know about yourself! Far too many people just keep doing repair work on the container itself and never “throw their nets into the deep” to bring in the huge catch that awaits them’…” 

  - From Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

Much to get my head round at the moment; not easy when said head is still recovering from  the riches of our Rome visit. There was a lot to take in for all of us in our joint TSSF Area meeting yesterday, with a challenging talk and discussion on 'Adult Spirituality,' or, to be more exact 'Spirituality in the Second Half of Life,' by one of the contributors to the recent Chronicle magazine on faith journeying.  When are we ever not on a journey? We're always in process,  a work in progress I guess. I know my own personal 'inner landscape' has had its fair share of twists and turns; not all ones I'd have chosen either. But looking back over the ground I've covered these last many years, I now realise that one of the most significant concepts I've had to let go of is the assumption that all progress is linear. The image of the spiral is one I've found helpful. You can tell I'm a fan of TS Eliot, can't you?

Yesterday's speaker used several popular models which aim to  draw together knowledge of life and faith stages to offer us helpful ways in which we can try to understand our own and other's journeys: mainly those of Richard Rohr and, one which was new to me, the model outlined in Hagberg and Guelich's Critical Journey.  Another one mentioned, that of  Alan Jamieson's  Chrysalis I'm more familiar with and is my favourite, maybe because I'm increasingly finding myself respond more to visual imagery as I get older.  This isn't unusual, apparently a renewed, (or even a new) discovery of personal creativity is common to the second half of life.

Either way, I've found some of these ideas  invaluable as my life's grown and changed, especially when  I struggled with the church as an institution, it's been like a lifeline for me to know that where I was  wasn't all there is ; the pastures of Christianity are far wider and greener than the field I happen to be in.  Neither does it do anybody harm to realise that the way of living of the cows across in the neighbouring ones are as valid as those of your own, however exasperating you may find them!

To return to TSSF - or indeed any religious grouping or community, the challenge is maybe, to reflect on we can prayerfully use tools like these (and they are tools, not the be all and end all) to resource and support each other wherever we happen to be in our Christian walk. Useful to reflect too, that just as individuals grow and change, so institutions and religious orders too, mature and change.   Though the message and ethos of our founder is timeless, the way in which we live that out in response to society and culture we find ourselves merits  a re-think.

A challenging day...

Quirky Creativity and Snail Racing

Aloof Lord Palmerston

looks down

Upon the ceaseless

traffic in the town.

Inscrutable as the

Egyptian Sphynx

I sometimes wonder

what he really thinks.

After spotting the the sad tale of the untimely demise of young Henry West, here's another of those hidden 'gems,' spotted in Romsey last Saturday. This plaque - part of the town trail, refers, of course, to the statue of the 19th Century Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, pictured here. Yes, I do wonder what he thinks. He must have seen a fair few changes in his day. 

Anyway, to creativity; the object of the expedition was not to admire  Lord Palmerston. I was in Romsey for a day with the Winchester Spiritual Direction Network at Wisdom House, home of The Daughters of Wisdom (Sisters of La Sagesse). We had a marvellous time exploring all kinds of creative resources and tools to help resource   our own spiritual journeys or   those we're working alongside.  There was really only time to offer  a taster of such delights as story-telling, collage and watercolouring and to pool  a few other creative ideas with each other. But no matter. I was thrilled, thoroughly enjoyed myself and took away a few 'creations,' to muse over and sit with. Plus a socking great chunk of modelling clay, bought in the town's proper toyshop (why are there so few nowadays, I wonder?) which I needed for something at church the following day. (Ouch, my poor back!)

Another exciting discovery: the centre has a labyrinth. Sadly -  I had a long journey back home, so didn't get a chance to walk it this time round. I must find an excuse to go back some time soon.

In case anybody wondered, no, the day's programme did not include snail racing! This last was from an advert I spotted in a shop window en route back to the railway station.  A night of snail racing, organised by Romsey District Scouts. The mind boggles. Only in the UK!

God in All Things - 100 things that bring me life

I've been inspired by Emma's challenge in Count Your Blessings to revisit a similar exercise which I heard about at a prayer workshop last year. The leader recalled being challenged by her spiritual guide to list 100 things which enlivened  and helped her become more aware of God's presence in her everyday life. She didn't tell us how many she clocked up but I was inspired enough to rush home and begin my own list over the next few days. It all trailed off after a while - maybe now's the time to have another go. So here, with some editing to protect the innocent and tone down the personal is what I came up with.

1. Painting garden trellis and furniture (in tasteful shades of green and buttermilk)
2. aha! moments of insight, ideas and connections
3. Helping other people make connections with God
4. My nightly bath!
5. Completing and turning in a piece of writing.
6. Watching Soap and other DVDs with Mr GP
7. Laughing and joking.
8. Admiring the garden through the kitchen window.
9. Sitting on a garden bench with a cup of tea.
10. When - and - (friends and prayer partners) come round.
11. Frame it moments
12. When all the clutter and gunk clears and prayer really takes off.
13. Just sitting and gazing.
14. Coffee with -- before work.
15. Walking GP dog in the park on a sunny day.
16. Looking outside after a snowfall.
17. Walking through soft snow.
18. art journaling
19. Singing classes
20. Spotting the first snowdrops.
21. Julian prayer group
22. Setting up for communion in a quiet church on a sunny Friday afternoon.
23. 'Revisiting' in imagination places like CSF Compton Durville or Iona where I've felt God to be so, soclose.
24. Lent library - planning and doing
25. Creativity - when I've a sudden inspiration to add an imaginative twist to a project, a finishing touch that just seems 'meant.'
26. Traveling  - by train or walking - with Mr GP; cups of tea, arriving at our destination for the day and 'setting up home,' exploring and planning for the trip.
27. Silent retreats
28. Visiting a favourite place within a place, like the font in Salisbury Cathedral.
29. Strolling through the streets on a Summer's day or in the cool of the evening and smelling the scents of the flowers, trees etc
30. Moments of 'like-minded' connection with other people, however fleeting.
31. Wearing a favourite, old, cosy garment.
32. Planning and list-making for retreat or holiday.
33. My 'Kelly,' 'Volcano' kettle!
34. Laughing with -- and --- at the stall at church over something that happened during the week.
35. Herman the Amish sourdough starter. No, I never did manage to pass him on.
36. Walking into church on a Friday afternoon; smelling the polish and saying hello to person on the cleaning rota for the week.
37. The times when I'm brave enough to be authentic and able to share where I really am spiritually.
38. Group meeting: Being able to speak up for myself and correct a point where I felt I'd been misunderstood in a polite yet firm and clear manner and having this accepted.
39. Arriving home to find Mr GP in the kitchen making the meal  and chatting together.
40. Unexpected invite to the cinema with ---.
41. Walking out of a ----meeting feeling weary yet energised at the same time.
42. Gathering conkers on the way up the hill to church of a Sunday morning and going back in my imagination to my first ever retreat at CD.
43. Gathering beechnut husks on the walk home from singing. Reminded of the Joyce Grenfell sketch: Useful and Acceptable Gifts!
44. Sitting in the sun in ------churchyard on a TSSF quiet day, art journaling and pondering over prayer when another piece of the puzzle drops quietly into place as I draw.

Phew!

To be resumed.,,

What about you, dear fellow-bloggers?

Counting Blessings

Emma at LLM Calling's been asking us to share our top ten blessings. Here goes:

1. Family
2. Our furry friends, past and present - GP dog (currently under the weather - get well soon B) and our new cat.
3. Health
4. Creativity - art journaling, singing and my ability to spin ideas around, make connections and dream dreams.
5. My sense of humour puts everything in perspective. When it begins to slip I know I'm losing it...
6. Being in a fortunate enough position to have the freedom to do what I love doing.
7. Friends
8. Wide open spaces and the freedom to explore them - like our Grand Pilgrimage last year.
9. My faith and the discovery of the contemplative path. Folk like my church and spiritual director who've  supported me in my meanderings along it.
10. No list of blessings  would be complete without my mainstay: A Nice Cup of Tea!

Growing Greenpatches

Growing Greenpatches is about gardening. Like its predecessor, it's to do with cookery - finding the right ingredients. It's about creativity, searching, journeying and pilgrimage, music, poetry, prayer and  procrastination. Oh - and peanuts...No, only joking; I had to find something else beginning with same letter - old habits die hard! In short, a right old pot-pourri of all the bits'n bobs that make up the life of one very ordinary middle-aged empty nester looking to make sense of her calling, and, maybe helping other people to do the same along the way.

Thank you for joining me.