Quickening by Meghan Genge

“There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique." - Martha Graham

Dear Ms. Graham,

Quickening is bloody uncomfortable. My body is full of equal parts excitement, terror and motion sickness. My tried-and-true neural pathways are disagreeing with you and reading this feeling as fear rather than vitality.

"Eat!" My ego is screaming.

"Self Medicate!"

"You can't handle this. It is too big. Food will numb you. Grab a spoon and eat Nutella straight out of the jar. Don't even move away from the open cupboard door. The faster you can get it in the sooner this feeling of terror/ possibility will pass."

"Who are you to think about getting bigger?"

"Who are you to think about being capable of more?"

"The way things are is easier."

"Why does it matter anyway? You aren't special. What you have to say doesn't matter."

"Tomorrow is soon enough. There is plenty of time to do it then."

"Go ahead, watch that re-run. You're tired. You've earned a rest."

But there is another tiny voice there that has been getting stronger and stronger. It wants me to listen to the quickening. It wants me to ride the feeling through to the end. It is telling me that I can handle it. In fact, it thinks I have the potential to Rock It.

“There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.” - Martha Graham

Dear Ms. Graham,

I hear you, and I will.

love megg.

ox

Megg is a writer, a seeker, and a believer in magic.

Confessions of an Inconstant Blogger by Amy Palko

"Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, Grow, grow…"
The Talmud

When I read that quote last night, it just about near broke my heart. If even the blades of grass have angels encouraging their growth, then where was my angel? Why was I not growing?

Sometimes it's easy to feel like we've become stuck. Jammed into an in-between space where its uncomfortable, we don't really fit, but we're not altogether sure how to get out of our stuckness. Or, and this is somehow even worse, that we can see so many ways to get out of our stuckness, and the sheer number of directions is so bewildering, that we just stay where we are.

This is where I've been, and, if I'm being completely honest with myself and with you, dear reader, in many ways, I probably still am.

In August I finished teaching at Stirling University. I arrived at this university when I was 17 and completed my undergraduate degree there in 5 years - slightly longer than it should have taken, but I did get married and have three children in-between matriculating and graduating.

After graduation, I took 2 years out to raise my 3 tiny children, before returning to the same university to do my masters degree in Gothic Studies. I followed this up with a 4 year PhD, during which I started teaching for the English Studies department.

When I finished my doctoral studies, I carried on teaching as a post-doctoral teaching assistant, which I've now been doing for the last 2 years, teaching the first 3 semesters of undergraduate English, twice convening and lecturing on Digital Media and creating and delivering my own summer course on contemporary Gothic.

And now, due to budget cuts, it's over.

I'm 32 and my whole life since I was 17 has been structured by the university system, those 2 years out notwithstanding. I feel disorientated, lost and, yes, I'm grieving a little as my former colleagues prepare for the start of the new semester in just a few weeks time.

But then I think, you know, this is such an amazing opportunity. I can really focus on my business. I can experiment with my writing. I can give the proper level of attention to my kids that they deserve.

Yet, I find myself stuck in this uncomfortable, squashy in-between space, unable to grow, unable to make decisions. Well, that's not strictly true, I make decisions, and then I make new decisions the following day. I am resisting setting my sights on anything, preferring to leap lightly from one big idea to the next, embarrassed by my own inconstancy.

And I think, my lovely, that this is why I've not been blogging so much. I keep reading all of these posts advising on how to blog, how to run an online business etc. and they all talk about consistency and focus and drive. They talk about niche and target markets and coherent brands.

So I shy away from posting. After all, what if you discovered all the seemingly mismatched aspects of myself? What if you realised how difficult I find it to remain focused and driven, always moving in the one direction? What if I gave way just how impossible I find it to make any kind of decision at the moment?

Do you know, sweet reader, that I cannot think of anyone I would inflict this kind of hateful inner monologue on. If one of my friends came and told me she was having the same issues, I would be infinitely more compassionate with her than I am with myself.

I would tell her that we are necessarily complex beings and the drive to neatly package ourselves in a consistent and appealing personal brand is ultimately an effort in futility.

I would tell her that people need to grow beyond the boundaries of the pigeonholes they find themselves placed in.

I would tell her that whatever she chooses to share will be fine. Whatever she chooses to keep to herself will be fine. Because in the end, all that matters is that what you do choose to share, rises up from that wellspring of truth flowing from your heart.

So here I am. Inconstant and inconsistent. Multifaceted and mystifying (especially to myself). Free floating and on the fence.

And with this admission, I look above my head and see that there is an angel whispering, "Grow, Amy. Grow." I think, perhaps, she's been there all along.

 

* Both of these beautiful images come from Deborah Koff-Chapin's SoulCards 1 set - my absolutely favourite oracle deck. Do check out her gorgeous website on touchdrawing, the technique she's creating to produce these gorgeous images.

A true lover of stories, Amy Palko spends her days reading, writing, knitting and dreaming… well, that is when she's not being kept busy home-educating her three kids! She is the creatrix of Virgins & Lovers: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Goddess, exploring goddess myths and moon cycles through story, journalling, visualisation and creative exercise.

When I Decide to Fly by Susan Cadley

When I decide to fly I will…

Wear ball gowns with purple sneakers

Sparkles in my hair

Or perhaps I’ll streak

Through my own life unabashedly

I’ll travel on a magic carpet

Lighting lanterns in every home

And darkened corners of the world

I’ll flap my wings and drop feathers of fortune

Allow my feet to dangle in the wind

Toes touching treetops

Expand my vision

Circle the moon

Ice skate on Saturn’s rings

I’ll be

Unstoppable

Unsinkable

Opening to the unthinkable

Breaking the shell of the past

With my soul spilling onto

The sidewalk of now

Susan is a Licensed Psychotherapist and Soul Coach and sole proprietor of Living From Within, LLC. Through counseling, coaching, creative workshops, book studies, and writing, Susan guides you to hear and live the messages of your soul.

Blissfully Flourish by Glenda Myles

 

One way or another, we all have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life, and dedicate ourselves to that. Joseph Campbell

When I think of the word flourish it reminds me of a big, beautiful plant.

Consider that a plant doesn’t lament about growing. It doesn’t look at the other plants in the room and judge itself or others. It doesn’t shrink and hide so as to not offend anyone by its own beauty.

That’s ridiculous.

It knows what it is supposed to do. No one has to tell it what to do. It’s encoded in its cellular structure.

Given the right environment. It will grow – strong and true. It will do what it is supposed to do without thought or consideration. It will flourish.

We are not so different from the plant. Of course, we can think and consider, but, more often than not, that’s where problems start.

Connecting to our bliss and allowing it to shine through and to flourish is our true purpose in life. And moreover, just like the plant we know what that purpose is. I believe this will every cell in my being.

We need to:

• Connect to our bliss
• Create the right environment for our bliss
• Do that “thing that brings you bliss” diligently, passionately, persistently and playfully every day

And we will flourish.

Imagine the world where all of us were like the big, beautiful plant: owning our space and beauty, shining for the enjoyment of all, and doing what we love.

That would be a beautiful world indeed.

Glenda at Myles Ahead Studio is a professional marketing strategist working to bring more creativity into business and make more ideas come to life.

Flourish by Ginny Lennox

It is only when you know who you are and what you want and actively begin to pursue your dreams that you will begin to flourish. It can be both as simple and as hard as that at the same time.

Ginny believes that each and every day is filled with special moments to be enjoyed and treasured. On her blog, Special Moments in Time (http://www.ginnylennox.weebly.com) she encourages everyone to recognize and celebrate their own special moments each day.

Looking Simply In by Valarie Budayr

Brightly colored flowers, leaves, mud, pinecones, tree branches, icicles, snow, stone, twigs, and thorns. All of these are the components of Andy Goldsworthy’s artwork. I recently saw the film “Rivers and Tides”. I was mesmerized by his complete connection to nature, living in the moment, and knowing that once his creation was completed that it would before too long be transitioning to another form, through another season, and into another state.

Part of the magic of creating is bringing to life something from nothing. Something which only existed in our minds eye and comes to realization through our processes.

“For me looking, touching, material, place and form are all inseparable from the resulting work. It is difficult to say where one stops and another begins. Place is found by walking, direction determined by weather and season. I take the opportunity each day offers: if it is snowing, I work in snow, at leaf-fall it will be leaves; a blown over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches.”

Click goes the camera. Upon finishing one of his pieces, Andy Goldsworthy capture’s a moment in time. Whether he perceives the work to be good or bad, it is always documented. He is aware that nature is raw and is always in a state of change. In working with natural material in natural settings creates an understanding to working with and in nature.

By working simply and in the natural settings in which the materials are found opens up and understanding of the process of life itself. As each art piece is in it’s creative state, he knows that this moment is fleeting and the life process of ebbing and flowing will continue on, it will continue to be part of the natural rhythm of life.

I found this film and Andy Goldsworthy’s art to be captivating. Enjoy !!

Valarie Budayr is the founder of Audrey Press and author of the book The Fox Diaries: The Year the Foxes Came to our Garden. She is passionate about making kid’s books come alive and you can find her doing that on her popular blog and website, Jump into a Book. When she isn’t being bookie, she is very happily the mother of three uber creative children, married to a wonderfully patient man who has come to love yarn, and caretaker of one adored cat. Other creative interests are music, travel, knitting (a bonafide yarn harlot), and gardening. She loves living a daily creative practice, where even a good cup of coffee is art

Photo-flourishing by Angel Young

Angel lives in the UK and is having fun bringing more of the things she loves into her life.