Summertime adventures have gifted me with fullness of being. I’ve harvested beautiful greens from my garden, I’ve biked the parkway almost daily and have had the opportunity to sail and swim and play with the children.
At the same time, challenges have arisen. In the past, I’ve cringed and powered my way through whatever felt uncomfortable. What I’m learning is to truly embrace these pieces, to sit with my emotion about them and to be compassionate with myself as I navigate what’s before me.
Tending to my emotion is as essential as weeding my garden and lubricating my bicycle. Bringing emotions into a place of balance requires acceptance rather than my old pattern of resistance. My openness to the emotion often paves the way for profound realizations and new experiences of life's fullness. As I dance slowly and carefully with what's in my midst, I’m often pleasantly surprised by the way that light magically infuses situations so that I gain the clarity I desire.
Last evening as I was sitting with some emotion, one of my unfinished faceless dolls called to me. I promptly picked her up and heard her ask to be completed, so I began to work. She needed only a face and some hair; however, faces have been my biggest creative challenge. A doll’s face holds its essence, speaks its name, offers gifts to those it greets.
I sat for some time asking what this doll wanted to express; its body was very expressive already – did it really need a face? The answer came quickly “yes.” I realized that without a mouth this doll was already speaking to me. A clear message was expressing – “embrace it all.” “Yes,” I thought. “Embrace it all. This is what I’m learning.” And then the face emerged with ease. I gave a warm welcome to this new being and I heard her name ~ Joy. She’ll be gifted to my daughter whose middle name is Joy.
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