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Letting Nature Take its Course
August 31, 2006
Faded Hues ~ Canon 30d
While day by day the overzealous student stores up facts for future use, He who has learned to trust nature finds need for ever fewer external directions. He will discard formula after formula, until he reaches the conclusion: Let nature take its course.
~ Lao-Tzu
Ah, yes! Another uplifting, idealistic dead flower picture! If anything, you should be laughing at me. My "sabbatical" lasted all of two days. Sometimes, just thinking you might end something is enough to bring some needed clarity. I had a long conversation with the one person who always gives me the best advice ~ my mom. She simply said, "If you stop the blog, will you continue to write?" Bare bones truth is, I doubt it ~ the writing would pretty much stop because for some odd reason, this place inspires me to tickle the keyboard regularly. I also spent some time chatting with friends Tamara and Joan, and the consensus is not to stop this mad pursuit. Only, it's neither mad, nor is it really a pursuit. Every once in awhile, it starts to feel that way, and I just have to back away and breathe a bit.
I'm wildfire busy at the moment. You know that musical rabbit up in the corner of this page? He's demanding a lot of my attention these days. He's getting ready for his first big HOP! As the mother of this invention, I'm feeling some angst over my child's first steps. I also have paying work to drum up and deadlines and programmers to interact with, a life to live, and happiness to attend to. Not to mention I had a run of surprisingly rewarding posts last month, and although everything I'm writing about is all deliriously POSITIVE at its core, I'm wondering what a lot of artists wonder when something like this occurs: When will this particular flower wither and fade? Everything changes ~ when will the well dry up?
When I feel like I'm on a good run, it sometimes scares the crap out of me. I don't know where the words, or even the photographs for that matter, come from. I plug into the creative spiritual process and apart from the discipline of learning my craft and showing up, I'm clueless about the hows and whys of where it all comes from. (Yes, it has something to do with god-light and angels dancing on top of my head, but the moment one tries to define it, it vanishes.)
Tie this into the reality that something happened to me earlier this month I felt was stupendously wonderful, only to turn around to find out the the powers that be weren't as convinced as I was. Life is uncontrollable, and at best, unpredictable. I'm learning to be patient and put my faith in the wisdom of waiting for things. Just because you're ready to dive into the river, doesn't necessarily mean the river is welcoming you. I'll just stick my toes in the water and watch and wait for a spell ~ see where the blog is going, where my business is going, where my heart is going, and devote myself to the arduous yet exciting task of getting down to business during the month of September.
Aren't the colors in the dying coneflower above just deliciously marvelous? Beauty in all things, everywhere. No matter the soil you rest your feet upon this day, there is beauty to be found somewhere. To every season, there is a reason. In time, wisdom will find us, if we allow nature to take its course.
ps. I'm turning comments off indefinitely. I've been getting the worst imaginable nasty spam, which only added to my frustration. If you have something to say, I'll welcome hearing from you, simply email instead.
Posted by susan at August 31, 2006 8:14 AM
