Lessons in Harmony…
Recently, I went to a classical concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. One of the pieces of music was so beautiful, I cried… musicians and instruments in perfect harmony with each other, drawn together by the skill of the conductor. They made the music seem effortless, instruments in tune with their bodies, each musician acutely sensitive to and respectful of each other and the part they each played in the whole movement. ….but of course perfect harmony doesn’t come easily…it takes years of effort and practice and hardship, with times of wanting to give up. It takes discipline to continue when it would be so much easier to quit….
I have been ill this month, an inevitability when one after one each family member has succumbed to colds, terrible coughs and flu-like symptoms. I fought it, knowing that I had to work (one of the perils of self-employment!) but what has kept me going when I felt like burying myself in bed for the week has been the recognition early on in the month of my rootedness. It’s a word that has come from my One word ” for the year…dwell
In Ephesians 3, it says this:
“…I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”
Paradox again…
This month, I have been well aware of the paradox of how my search on last year’s journey led me to “dwell” yet this year, since concentrating on the word “dwell” I seem to have done nothing but journey!
Busy, busy, busy…
As usual, things are never as they first seem. Unusually, I have known of this year’s word for a while and had been looking forward to stopping, dwelling, settling into being HERE. Particularly, I am growing tired of physically journeying in my work. I am not getting any younger and the energy to travel afield is waning. I love the excitement of being in different places, working on new projects, but my physical body is so weary. Unlike the slow start of 2015, 2016 has already been pretty adventurous, with community art workshops, a residency in a health centre, a large school project, creating banners with year ones, studio workshops, workshops for a charity, project managing & leading a creative retreat for 50 people from all over the UK and a commission, alongside managing a home, studio and attempting to be available for family…not to mention the work I have had to turn down already as there are not enough days in the week! All this, and its barely March…
Endings & Beginnings…
Last year was a journey of depth rather than distance; a journey of unexpected twists and turns, caves and crossroads, ebb and flow, frustrations and elations but it is time to move on…
Beginnings and endings are never tidy…they inevitably overlap as we try to tie up loose ends, deal with unfinished business, reflect & attempt to let go of the old before we commit to the new. This always seems tricky, when each are entwined together…inextricably merging together like roots of a plant that you are trying to split. It is not until you begin to coax the two apart that they start to separate and form separate plants…the new formed from the old, but yet distinct from the original, ready to be transplanted anew…
So, it is time to let go of the old word and begin a new journey. It feels right that having journeyed well, with much learned, that it is time now to dwell…and discover all that this may hold.
Journeying with Paradox…
I began 2015 with a strong sense of journeying, certain that God was moving me on to a new physical location. Paradoxically, as I begin 2016 it feels as if I am being called home, a feeling that has intensified over the year.
What began as a desire to journey away has circuitously brought me back home, into a better understanding of the spiritual journey, more aware of my own inadequacies and the need to walk in the footsteps of the Perfect Guide.