Marinating

Tired and hungry, late in the day,impelled
to leave the house and search for what
might lift me back to what I had fallen away from,
I stood by the shore waiting.
I had walked in the silent woods:
the trees withdrew into their secrets.
Dusk was smoothing breadths of silk
over the lake, watery amethyst fading to gray.
Ducks were clustered in sleeping companies
afloat on their element as I was not
on mine. I turned homeward, unsatisfied.
But after a few steps, I pause, impelled again
to linger, to look North before nightfall--the expanse
of calm, of calming water, last wafts
of rose in the few high clouds.
And was rewarded:
the heron,unseen for weeks, came flying
widewinged toward me,settled
just off shore on his post,
took up his vigil.
If you ask
why this cleared a fog from my spirit,
I have no answer.
Denise Levertov "A Reward"

Well, I did not mean to stay away quite this long. After months of regular posting I decided during a particular busy period, to skip a few times. I was working more intently on my painting and I had felt I had reached a dry spell with the on line journal. It was a welcome break, but before I realized it, I had been away 6 weeks. Over the years I have realized that when I let go of an aspect of my life, it usually means that I need some time to marinate. That's a great word isn't it? It means a long slow soaking, letting go of some things so there is more opportunity for what is going on inside to make itself known. Living by a lake is a wonderful place to do what my friend Faye always called 'the long stare', the translation of which is simply letting your mind and spirit have more time to drift and roam. We direct our energies so much in daily life and have little left over for the kind of roaming that implies. On the surface it seems wasteful and non productive which of course it isn't. There is a great deal of 'tenderizing' going on inside; lots of important work getting done that allows us to return to life with fresh enthusiasm and creativity. I know it certainly does for me.

SO! as part of the results of my own marinating, I am launching a new website that will carry my art portfolio, this blog and some interesting articles and links all gathered under one domain. You will still be able to access this blog directly, or you can enter through what I jokingly refer to as "all things Ann" on my website. I am hoping to have it up and running by the end of the month. And after much thought I am planning to repeat the end of the year project similar to last year's December Journal but with a different flavor--you know, on account of all the marinating...

If you have time after you get the turkey on, stop by on Thanksgiving.... Ann