The Day I Followed a Butterfly...
The Day I Followed a Butterfly...
Relinquish thought, and "being" is immediately accessible. Excessive thinking is the worlds greatest addiction. So what if we were to remove lables and identification? What would be left?
Hey Guys,
Last week T and I decited to take a mini mid week holiday down at our family holiday house in Culburra Beach. I am always amazed at how much you can get done whilst doing nothing at all. Sometimes space and stillness is all we need to make magic happen.
I thought I’d share some of the light bulb moments that bubbled up for me while resting in the pages of my journal last week.
Slip into my sanity below…
The day I followed a butterfly The air was thick like syrup Bugs on every blade of grass A pink haze to frame nature in A warm and welcoming ecolibrium The memory of a morning shadow The choice of a chosen scent A trench dug to channel the flow A bird watchers lesson in mothering Connected between two trunks She was one step closer to sanity Swinging into stillness with Whispers from past pages And still the butterfly befriends.
These are the gifts of paying attention and being knee deep in the flow of life.
I used to be terrified of stillness, but now I allow it to swallow me whole. I have come to realise whilst claiming this position as voyeur, that we can see so much magic in mundane moments.
No photos, vices or devices over this mini mid-week holiday. When there is no void to get lost in, every step becomes self contained. More spacious somehow. This spaciousness enables us to recognise and relinquish the need to understand.
Stop.
Consider that for just one second…
Relinquish thought, and being is immediately accessible.
Excessive thinking is the worlds greatest addiction. So what if we were to remove lables and identification? What would be left?
What if there was no future or past?
What if you weren’t a victim or a survivor of your circumstances?
What if I wasn’t an Artist or mother, daughter, fiance?
What would happen, if we spent time being present with nature but removed the need to put it in a box labeled “Tree”?
Can you imagine how much more you would see?!
Whist we cannot live without these lables, I would like to encourage you to stop. Imagine what the world would look like if simply being was everyones soul purpose.
“Nothing would get done!" your snarky inner voice may say.
This would suggest that you are trying to get somewhere, and here lies the great problem with the world we live in. We live in a constant state of guilt. I spoke about this in my last podcast episode.
It is easy to be constantly in motion, sweapt up by the need to be, do and have. Presence on the otherhand is the willingness to surrender fully. It is a choice to listen and respond rather than to make something happen.
Paying attention and surrendering is the role of an artist, and is one of the many reasons why what we do sits firmly OUTSIDE the box. It’s also one of the many reasons why what we do holds so much value in the lives and homes of the people that purchase a taste of this awareness.
Just this month two more of my Excavated Landscape Paintings have been sent off on their next adventure. One of them is off to the Netherlands and the other has found a place to call home here in Australia, AND I am just about to start working on some commissions for a client in the USA!
How cool is that!
The truth is that every painting begins with listening. The natural world around us is the worlds greatest teacher. I am reminded of this every time I allow myself to be present with her magic. I ground myself in these moments of stillness and watch as the natural order of the world effortlessly syncs. A harmony knitted in nature so easily overlooked, bypassed or trodden on.
Pages of my note book clap together in the wind applauding me for choosing pressence over past patterns.
I would like to leave you with a couple of questions to consider as you begin this week.
How are you unkind to yourself?
What if you stopped?
If you’re willing to be vulnerable share your answers and any other thoughts in the comments below.
Thank you for sharing the poem and these lovely thoughts! The world needs copious examples of people who are willing to stop, be present, and harmonize with nature. Thank you for being an example and leading with how you're choosing to live.
I am often unkind to myself by stepping out of my being into "doing" and judging myself harshly or offering praise according to how much I've accomplished on my to-do list. A habit I'm unwinding, slowly.
Thanks again for these gentle reminders and thanks a BUNCH for the recommendation! My heart is so full of gratitude for the community we're creating here. <3
I can definitely get behind a lack of labels, even though apparently these are sometimes needed to find things online with the almighty search engines. Stillness is a pretty valuable commodity in these days with the need to get things done, but you do need that stillness that allows the world to flow around you.
Great read today.