water

WATERLINE

| Sheree

By Ocean Vuong

If I should wake & the Ark

the Ark already

gone

If there was one shivering thing

at my side

If the snow in his hair

was all that was left

of the fire

If we ran through the orchard

with our mouths

wide open

& still too small

for amen

If I nationed myself

in the shadow

of a colossal wave

If only to hold on

by opening—

by kingdom come

give me this one

eighth day

let me enter

this nearly-gone yes

the way death enters

anything fully

without a trace

Taken from Emergence Magazine

The North Sea

| Sheree

Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?

Longsands, Tynemouth

I’m grateful to live by the sea.

After a traumatic time in my life, I advocated for myself. I needed time to heal and forget. To be soothed and held.

So I proposed to my family a move to the coast was needed. That’s nearly 15 years ago now. And maybe that move has been thrown back in my face at different times by certain people, I’ve never regretted the move.

Being able to see the sea daily, even if there are times I forgot and neglect this ritual, has been beneficial for my soul, n never mind my body and mind. My soul.

The sea is my soul food. And there have been many times, many times in the past, now and probably to come when I will need this soul food more than I really know/feel.

And she’s there for me. The North Sea is on my doorstep. And I greet her with open arms. She is never the same sea twice and I take my direction/ way of being from her so that I’m living my life within the expansive realms of self-expression rather than within the confines offered to me via this so-called society/ culture.

The sea supports me, being me. And I give thanks to her for that. But I also appreciate her beauty and power and way of being which is on her own terms. you’ve got to love that!

Water falling, falling water, waterfall

| Sheree

My study for day 4 on the West Highland Way is waterfalls. Water has been a reoccurring theme on this journey in more ways than one. with the Loch being flooded in parts, with amber weather warnings of more rain and flooding, rivers and brooks swelling with all this excess water, well there’s no getting away from it all. Water water everywhere. But I’m not complaining because it need refreshing and eventful and a different walk this time around. I’m grateful to be here and to be blessed with each and every waterfall. All different and unique in their own way.

Take High Road

Loch Lomond

| Sheree

The calming waters of Loch Lomond graced us as we walked yesterday. After heavy rainfall over the weekend, the Loch was swollen and flooded the West Highland Way in parts.

It’s funny how that can be a cause for concern in terms of getting wet but then not thinking twice about stripping off and getting the whole body wet for a dip!

It was so worth it though.

Is it a Selkie?

Summer Activities

| Sheree

Hello hello. how goes it with you?
Call it the teacher still in me after all theses years, but I just love to have the six weeks summer holidays off the clock. In the past, it was easier to make it so what with having the kids off school and everything. And now, well I just love the feeling of freedom the summer holidays give me.

I let go of trying to do everything for everyone and I allow myself the time and space to fill my creative pot. Things slow down, I rest a lot and eat and drink a lot. And just {BE}.

I’m truly grateful that I’m able to take this extended break and not worry too much about the bank balance. That doesn’t mean I’m rolling in it, but it does mean that I’ve made allowances for this break through my actions and behaviours throughout the year. And we just make do also. Nothing extravagant happens over the summer. We usually stay close to home but we focus on downtime, and free or low spend activities. It’s about being together that’s the important bit.

So as the summer holidays come to at end nearly, we’ve got a bit of time left to go visit family, get into some kind of water source, sea or pool, and fill our creative pots with a gallery or museum visit or two. Simple living which fills me with joy because I’m not trying to live up to some kind of ideal or perfection or keep the one kid left at home run ragged or totally occupied all of the time. I believe in allowing kids getting bored as that’s when the imagination kicks in. Hence my love of rest, downtime, and doing nothing. As in the scheme of things, on the outside it might look like ‘doing’ nothing, but inside sparks are sparking and foundations are being laid for the new season on the horizon.

Autumn, my favourite season is just around the corner. And I can feel the excitement rising already. You like my plush pumpkins in the image above? Autumn plans are afoot.