Rectory Writings 4

This is going to be quite a long, meandering post, so you may want to grab a cuppa... I've been doing lots, and reading lots and thinking lots, so there's lots to share...

First the moon - waning, lying on her back - she greeted me the other morning before dawn... My granddad always called this a thumbnail moon - I've been thinking about him a lot lately, as I'm getting to know my new-found cousin, and we share stories of our childhoods.

We have settled into a lovely, easy rhythm of watching The Great British Bake Off with each other - the first Wednesday after E left, F came round to mine; this week I went to her's; next week, she'll come here again... I cannot express how comforting/natural/joyful this is. Having barely known our previous neighbours after almost 7 years, this is such a gift to me, and I am deeply grateful!! This wee collage sits on my desk - I think she looks like my cousin :)
by Cathy Cullis (2009)

The other week I bought this beautiful object - it's a vintage chaplet from France. I think it's olive wood, and it smells heavenly and is SO tactile - just perfect for meditation and prayer. I love its simple honesty...

On Monday, I started this course, and because I've been very busy with doctors' appointments, seeing friends, and going out places, I haven't really been able to engage deeply with the daily lessons and activities. The focus this week is the element of wind, and it so happens the UK is having VERY blustery weather at the moment! So, I have been thinking, in snatched moments, about the effects of the invisible wind... the swaying branches, the swirling leaves, the howling round the rooftops.


And how, it's almost impossible to 'show' wind in a still photograph, other than in a series, showing the in-and-out-ness of the curtain against the open window...

It is SO like breathing...

So I have, again, been pondering the questions at the end of this post, and 'seeing' myself as a feather in the wind, on the 'breath of God' - being light, being hollow, being spacious - open to wherever the wind takes me...

a favourite pebble on my altar

And accepting how very contrary it is to the autopilot ego, the 'need' to control, to navigate, to steer. These words have been going round and round my head as I watch the buffeting wind, and finger my prayer beads:

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
John 3.8

a beloved vase on my window sill

As part of the course, we're invited to make SoulCollage cards for each of the elements. I'm making a collage in my journal, so I have a little more space to work in, and here's the one for Wind.

And these are my intuitive responses to the questions we ask of the card/collage: 

I am one who... is wild and free, gentle and fierce, in your very essence, your body and soul
What I have to give you is... this message - Be all that you can be
What I want from you is... honesty, commitment, confidence to be brave
Does the card have a name? Trust Freedom

The answers were quite plain. Now the nest is empty, I am to celebrate the freedom, not just mourn the loss... I am to be like the Wind, blowing wherever I please, trusting in the freedom that is born of Spirit... 

Oh my!


3 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post, Claire. I love how you have described the moon as 'lying on her back'—such a true image! It has been very windy here too, with rain at times (far too much in some parts of the state), and today has been very cold and wintry. I am looking forward to when spring kicks in properly, with warm days … I think your post echoes my last one in some ways. We need to allow nature—the wind—to take us where we need to go, to let go of control. It's not an easy thing at all, but I think we must all try as much as we can to allow life to lead us and provide what we need, rather than always pushing, pushing, for whatever it is we think we want. And thank you for your intuitive responses—your answers are ones I need for myself as well … Oh, to be wild and free like the wind. x

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    1. Oh indeed... And thank you so much for this thought-full response, Therese - it means a lot when someone takes time time to ponder what I've written. And from the other side of the world, too :) xx

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  2. you have an empty nest? me too and I struggle with it. A different time of our life, one that has much to discover, but first, for me, I must wade through the grief and loss. "trusting in the freedom that is born of spirit"..

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