… watching for the brushstrokes of God
Both the monk and artist are edge dwellers, ones who commit to living in fertile border spaces and who call the wider community to alternative ways of being beyond the status quo… Living on the edges means recognizing those places and experiences that do not offer easy answers, those fierce edges of life where things are not as clear as we hope them to be. ~ Christine Valters Paintner, Abbey of the Arts
How do you hold mystery and questions?
My work is loving the world,
here are the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here are the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand. ~ Mary Oliver
How do you learn to be astonished?
Some days just are like that. You sense pretty early on that it’s going to be a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day” and maybe you scan the evening sky for pink clouds that hold the promise of sunshine for the next day.
How do you handle a day like that?
Spring is the season of unfolding, of reaching for the light of the sun and opening to the nourishing rain. A season for fullness of life and beauty and potential.
What helps you open yourself to your full beauty, to reach your potential?
We recognize and know these treasures washed onto the beach. We enjoy their beauty and variety tumbling in the waves, settling on the sand.
How do they draw you into the adventures of the imagination?
Sometimes all we can do in the ups and downs of life is keep our balance and stay in the saddle. Balance requires a strong core.
What keeps you centered, anchored, grounded?
