Lace

"Lace is as much about the space between the threads as it is about the threads themselves." -- Lori Howe

I love lace. In the olden days when mass production was not heard of, women patiently, painstakingly, skillfully created each wonderful masterpiece. Out of their fingers came magical nets of intricate and elegant beauty --- a gift of time and love. It is as if they have broken into the secret long kept by spiders.

Each weave has a plot --- its bigger story. So with our daily lives where what we think of as drudgery, even tragedy --- those seemingly ugly holes, or spaces, are as important to create a rich texture or pattern that makes our lives beautiful. 

Life Happens (Even in the Desert)

To survive, to continue life --- the key is the ability to reproduce. It may be through the help of animals, or the blowing of the wind, or via self-pollination. That's for desert flora. We can take a cue from these hardy plants whenever we find ourselves in that desert place of our lives: dead, dry, passionless, in deep silence, hardly any  life, empty, alone...detached from the rest of the world and its goods, its noise, its people.

Here's a link to an article on the Theology of the Desert.

http://philologous.blogspot.com/2011/02/desert-spirituality-for-reformed-people_23.html 

Hope it helps.

Channeling Flora

Spring. How i wish it were my inner landscape. The dry spell has not gone and i am still waiting for that refreshing sprout of new growth. The above is a detail of a Botticelli painting (La Primavera) i chose as a representation of that which i am waiting for. It is said that in this painting 500 kinds of flowers have been depicted (http://reviewofsorts.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/the-story-of-botticellis-la-primavera/). 

Wow! Such abundance. Such vibrance. So full of life. 

The Gardener's Daughter

Chanced upon this vintage-y illustration entitled The Gardener's Daughter. It has arrested me with my fancy for the rustic and pastoral. I  somehow had that persona aborted by the unexpected need for our parents to sell the hectare of farmland they intended to spend the rest of their lives in. A big chunk of my childhood was exposed to farming, tending to livestock, and yes, my parents' love for gardening. 

God is the consummate gardener. He knows the seasons perfectly well: sowing , tending and weeding, pruning, harvesting -- in the proper time. It is the season for pruning for me. I am glad i have a Father who knows what he is doing.

The Divine in the Mundane

It is said that to nurture the soul we just need be mindful of the significance of the ordinary.

Our youngest son, who stayed home after classes had been cancelled due to a continuous downpour, embarked on his second attempt at making the perfect leche flan. To the Spanish this dessert is called tocinillo del cielo (little pigs from heaven). To  his standards he failed. But the creation is my delight. 

The taste buds had something special --- out of the blue. On the surface. Going deeper: it also brings to mind a woman close to the heart. I know a lady who was sought out for the delicious flans she made. One had to order in advance to purchase a batch. She would not share the secret recipe except to say that she just had to be in the right mood for her to be able to whip up the heavenly sweets. The right mood would be one that is relaxed, serene, prayerful. You could tell she was spiritual by the many orders she would accept. Yet no one could force her to cook when she was feeling under the weather -- even if she needed the money. It just would  not turn out right.

One could imagine that combining the simple ingredients of egg, milk, and sugar had an element of ritual and the sacred. Almost as if she were a medium for the divine to enter the commonplace of our lives.

"Care of the soul requires ongoing attention to every aspect of life. Essentially it is a cultivation of ordinary things in such a way that soul is nurtured and fostered...If we do not tend the soul consciously and artfully, then its issues remain largely unconscious, uncultivated, and therefore often problematic." -- Thomas Moore

Note to self: Be mindful. Listen. Look carefully. No prejudgment. Appreciate.

Life is Short

"All men are like grass,

and all their glory is like the

flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the

flowers fall,

but the word of the Lord

stands forever."

Isaiah 40:6-8

In a Saturnine Mood

Sad, melancholy, depressed even. This is how i would label how i have been feeling beneath my efforts at happy expressions. I think that my July posts have been carrying this theme. It must be the weather.

I have been learning that there is always a shadow and somehow it will always show up. Part of living life.  It is woven into existence -- the ups with the downs. In order to nurture soul i must let things be without judgment. It forces me to introspect...distilling what truly matters and being brave enough to turn away what is not. 

What gives me comfort is being detached from the usual: family, friends, even church. It is a wrestling match for myself alone.