Growth & Wonder
Day 28-August 5, 2021-Metamorphosis
I want to remember the feeling I woke with today—self-care. That turned into helping my plants because some of Dorotheanthus’ limbs were dying and she needed nurturing. I cut them and put them in water to see if they will sprout some roots. Then maybe I can replant them and give them another chance to grow and bloom.
Plant whispering turned into watering other plants and having to move the basil pot because I realized it was creating a wet spot on the wood floor beneath; the saucer is clay, and the moisture had seeped through. OK, I won’t do that again!
Next, I had to clean up the floor, find a new saucer for the basil, move it to allow the wet spot to dry, and in all that I noticed the track of the sliding door behind the plants was beyond dirty. So then… cleaning—hand vacuum, spray cleaner, three rounds of scrubbing, the works!
Then I noticed Lila, sitting quietly over in the corner, trying to chew off part of her leg. I got her to follow me into the bedroom and onto the bed so I could shine some light and investigate the source of her obsession. It turned out to be a small hot spot that she let me clean with alcohol and soothe with triple-antibiotic ointment.
She seemed to smile a “thanks” at me.
By this time, I realized I wasn’t feeling all that great, so I had to take care of myself—eat, tea, water, Alka-Seltzer. All of this delayed my beach walk, but ultimately the effect was good. Care was clearly necessary for all.
When my friend called moments later, it seemed to extend the theme. I was available to chat for a bit, caring for our relationship. We talked about growing and processing, how we as human beings often don’t want to know ourselves because it is entirely too painful. But some of us have gone on the journey anyway, and when you interact with people who aren’t on the journey, it can be a challenge. But you can’t expect people to do what you do…
The beach walk brought up another wave of thoughts. I was picking up tiny pebbles, shell fragments, and chips of beach glass, thinking how I’ve always been into the details. But I’m growing and changing now; the details are still important to me, but as I evolve, they take on new meaning. There are novel aspects of me that haven’t been there before, and in my macro view, everything has shifted.
As I transform, there’s a need to sift through the old stuff, keep what is still good, and bring in the new. I am growing. Growing into myself, I guess, and growing into strengths I wasn’t aware of before.
Maybe these are strengths I wasn’t ready for until now. They can now supplement old strengths, like working with the details. And maybe these new strengths resonate because they give me a new tool to cope with old weaknesses.
This thought bubble led to today’s artwork…
There are some beach finds that are immediately going into today’s art, but I’d like to—I don’t know—I’d like to create a piece that somehow reflects how rock and glass appear when they are underwater. That effect transforms, radiates—the underwater quality shows these overlooked treasures in their true colors.
I’d love to do something where half the artwork is underwater… I don’t know exactly, but it’s something that can’t happen today because I don’t have the right epoxy for that yet. Today it’s gonna be another organic piece throwing my treasures onto streaks of glue and we’ll see what sticks.
Maybe that’s what I’m doing in my “real” life too… throwing myself forward into the unknown and seeing what sticks…
This is about the past and present and evolution into the future. It’s about what I recover and keep from the past—strengths, especially details—and the future. I am growing into myself fully, with a broader view and a clearer, deeper understanding of myself in context to the world around me.
It all connects to the concept of oneness, which meshes into the idea of kaleidoscopic growth, renewal, and rebirth. I am re-planting myself. So, the art today honors the kaleidoscopic and the detail. It brings everything together and inspires the union of my heart and my mind.
Another connection… I was thinking earlier about how everything was coming together today—the old and the new, integrating them, taking the best of each, keeping the past—but going forward in new ways.
It reminded me of a kaleidoscope. When you shift the kaleidoscope just a bit, everything is different, you see everything differently, in new ways. That’s how I felt looking at the beach and the rocks; I was seeing them with beginner’s mind!
Until tomorrow... For Your Consideration...
What would you choose to look at, anew, with "Beginner's Mind?"