Epiphany

Epiphany

Standing on the back porch
in the midst of inky blackness,
moonlight’s frosted glow
illuminates a thousand diamonds.

It holds back the darkness,
in a sea of crusted snow.

Standing on the back porch
in the midst of a dark night soul
God's fiery love
illuminates diamonds of hope.

It holds back the darkness,
in a sea of crusted despair.

As moon waits for morning sun to rise
and turn back the dark for a day,
My soul waits, Lord
for you to return,
and turn back the dark forever.

-copyright 2006 Eveline Maedel

(image - "To See You More Clearly" - mixed media collage, art journal - Jan 7/07) * o

Epiphany

Intentions and Prayers

Somewhere in all the emails I get, I read something about setting intentions for the new year, instead of resolutions.

This morning I was pondering on what sort of intention I would like to set for 2007, and the word that kept coming to me was "peace". I would like the coming year to be one where I feel peace in my heart, peace with my spiritual life, peace with my family, friends and co-workers, and peace with my purpose.

Last year I started a tradition of prayers for the new year, instead of resolutions. As I predicted, it was indeed a year of many changes for us, many ups and downs. Maybe that's why I want a year of peace for this year.....

My prayers for 2007 are simple. That we will all enjoy good health, happiness and live each day with peace in our hearts.

Happy New Year to you!

(image - my first SoulCollage card, created December 31/06 - as yet untitled) * o

Intentions and Prayers

Scents and Sensibilities

After much holidaying, eating, company, eating and what not, I was in desperate need of "downtime" tonight.

So I have indulged myself in a Body Shop Lavender bath and salt scrub, and then put on some Healing Gardens Zzzzzz Therapy body lotion (mmmmm......). Whilst pampering, I allowed the strains of Loreena McKennit's "Ancient Muse" to carry me away to far off exotic places. (All of these wonderful treats were Christmas presents).

Now I feel good, smell good, I'm wound down and ready to spend an evening on the couch watching a movie with the family. In a little while, I'll make myself a cup of cinnamon apple tea, and maybe curl up with one of the warm blankies I got for Christmas.

These are the scents of my holiday time - lavender, orange blossom, vanilla, cinnamon and apple. Simple and soothing - this year it was all about comfort..... * o

Scents and Sensibilities

Cough, Cough, Hack, Hack

And so we have succumbed to that dreaded cold that has been making the rounds. All of us have had it, and Charlie is now on round two of it. 'Tis the season - stop by our house and you are sure to hear a chorus of "cough, cough, hack, hack".....

Did you know cats could decorate trees? Check this page out for some pics of talented feline decorating. I don't think I could handle watching it all unravel before Christmas!

This year I have given up on sending out the "Big Newsy Letter" with my Christmas cards. I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and write one. In fact, at the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky if my Christmas cards get out in time! My creative energy is being all sucked up lately with all the courses I've been taking but I did manage to find some time this weekend to do a bit of art journaling. It felt so good to be gluing and collaging.

For a quick note on adding some "blessings" to your holiday routine this year, and a special Christmas deal, check out my newest post at Maedel Creativity Coaching. * o

Cough, Cough, Hack, Hack

Symphony

I had the great pleasure of seeing the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra in concert on Friday night. It was wonderful. Despite being in the gym of the local high school, the acoustics were fabulous. So much better to hear an orchestra live, than on a recording.

I could have closed my eyes and been transported to an early 1800's ballroom, watching elegant couples twirling around the dance floor. In reality, I can't waltz my way out of a cardboard box and I wonder if I would have been a wallflower were I living then instead of now?

The last piece they played was Dvorak's "Slavonic Dance No. 8" - something I'd never heard before and it really appealed to the gypsy in me.

It was a great prelude to a weekend otherwise spent fighting the crowds in the malls and cleaning house! * o

Symphony

Listening

My 13 yr old, Charlie, has a really bad habit of saying "what" immediately after you say
something to him. He listens with "teenage-ears" - too much going on in his brain. Yesterday, I said something to Charlie and he immediately replied "what?". I waited a couple of seconds, then gently asked "what did I just say?". He repeated it back to me perfectly. Then I said, "see you do hear, you just say what automatically". He laughed and said, "ya, I guess I do".

In my coaching lab this week, we were given an assignment on "listening". We were told to practice tuning out the words someone was saying, and pay attention to what we "hear" - breathing, emotions, tone, and energy. It's a difficult task, this paying attention. How often we carry on our conversations, much like my son and I, with a thousand other things going through our head. And now I realize there is a difference between hearing and listening.

How many times are we really present in a conversation?

And this got me thinking about my spiritual listening as well. I go through prayers and devotions by route, my mind on other things. I never really spend a lot of time just present with God and listening. Is it any wonder I rarely hear His voice? What growth in my spiritual life could I experience if I slowed down, caught my breath and just listened for awhile?

What a gift we give others when we take the time to really hear them. To be present beyond the words. What a gift we give ourselves.

Try it this week. Try listening, be fully present in your conversations. Notice what kind of effect that has on your creative life. What do you hear? * o

Listening

I'm hooked.....

Call me crazier than a frog, but I just adore this little annoying guy......bah ding a dang dong.... * o

I'm hooked.....

Happy Halloween

Bailey's Ghost

Pale rays of light from the full moon outside,
Shone through the holes in the door,
And lighted up the hallway,
And patches of the floor.

Dust lay thick on the staircase,
And not a sound could I hear,
No gust of wind blew that candle out,
When Bailey's ghost did appear.

He stood erect in the middle of the hall,
Holding an axe in his hand,
And all those tales I'd heard before,
Came back again and again.

His hair was red and shone like fire,
His eyes were just a hole,
His clothes were old and I saw through them,
A ghost without a soul.

A clock that had died many years ago,
Struck twelve eerie notes in the night,
And the ghostly hand raised the axe,
As the hall became full of light.

I cannot recall how I found the door,
Or for how many miles I fled,
I only rememeber that axe raised high,
Ready to fall on my head.

Now no one lives in the Bailey house,
No caller will knock on the door,
It stands alone, a shut up place,
And I won't go there no more.

copyright Eveline Maedel - all rights reserved * o

Happy Halloween

Fall Back......

The wind was howling around the house this morning that it seemed such a perfect morning for pulling the covers closer and lying in bed awhile.

I always love when the clock goes back an hour - at least, I prefer it to spring when we lose that hour. There's just something special about this "extra hour" day that just stretches out before you.

I know - it's not really an extra hour, all things being relative. But it does feel like for one day, you've been gifted extra time.

So, how did I use mine? Finished off "Stealing Adda" - great chick-lit and easily devoured in one weekend. I haven't spent an entire weekend reading in ages. Did some housework, laundry, worked on some course material, oh and spent an awesome hour on the phone chatting with some of my "Pink Jasper" sisters!

There's probably a dozen things I could have done with my extra hour - but lying in bed this morning, cozy and comfy, with the wind howling around the house, stealing an extra hour of dream time just seemed the perfect thing to do. * o

Fall Back......

Trust

Reach Out
Trust
Stay Grounded


then......

Create!

Drew this image in my journal after an art guidance coaching session. Some of the questions that came out for me were - what are my energy drains? what will balance look and feel like?

Balance feels strong and deeply rooted - feet planted firmly on the ground and arms open wide.

I'm learning to trust in this new direction I'm heading - that I can coach, that I can create, that I can hold the space for others to create in. As long as I remember the balance....

(There are some tips posted at Maedel Creativity Coaching on creating in the middle of things.) * o

Trust

had your dose of Muse today?

Artella members can now get "The Daily Muse" - the only online daily newspaper for the creative soul. New articles each day - quick, creative ideas, writing tips, interviews, etc. You can sample the front page here. * o

had your dose of Muse today?

Muse Online

The Muse Online Conference just wrapped up yesterday.

It was an amazing, online, virtual conference jam packed with workshops and information and I really, really wished I had had more time this week to take it in. On the bright side, this is planned to be an annual event - so bookmark the site and prepare to attend in October 2007. It's free and full of information - what more could you ask for!

And speaking of free, Lea Schizas, one of the founding organizers of the Muse Online Conference has offered her e-book, "Assaulting a Writer's Thinking" free to any writer who wants it. The book is full of writing exercises and tips.

If you'd like a copy, send me an email (maedelcreativity@mac.com) and I'll forward it on! * o

Muse Online

Sanctuary

mixed media collage - (digital photo, watercolor, pitt pens, magazine photos, leaves)

* o

Sanctuary

Thanksgiving

The elm tree stands naked and bare in the backyard. Saturday it was full of big yellow leaves, a radiant splash of color next to the green pines. Yesterday's strong winds have stripped it of glory. All so quickly gone.

It's Thanksgiving weekend. The Lost Boys have been off on their annual weekend away, and I have had a blissful, creative weekend of solitude and silence. Large, expansive silence soon to be broken by the return of my fine young sons who will fill this space with TV, music, arguments, and the ringing of the phone for the Social One. Their presence will fill each room.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh used to go away for a week at a time and seek solitude in a cottage by the sea. She sung the praises of solitude and the need for the creative soul to be alone for a time in her book, "A Gift From the Sea".

I have no cottage to escape too. Instead I count the days each year until October, and the opening of the hunt. Then, my house becomes my place of retreat and their weekend away my gift of solitude. I soak it in and save it up until the next time I am gifted a weekend.

The leaves on the elm are gone, my weekend of rest soon to be over. I savor the next few hours, wanting to return slowly to the busyness of life. * o

Thanksgiving

Grace Full

"How can I be
full of grace?"
I asked you.

You sent me a dream
in answer.

I saw a boat gliding
on a clear lagoon.

A dozen swans
floated by
six white
and six a glossy blue-black.

I watched them
float past, longing
to follow,
and woke with
aching heart
hungering to be
graceful as the swans.

"Am I the poet then,
the muse, or
the swan?"
I asked you.

I thought I caught
your whisper on
the wind.

"You are my beloved"
was the reply. * o

Grace Full

Odds N Sods

There's a new article over at Maedel Creativity Coaching on finding time to write.

I had fun today playing at creating this seal over at Says-it.com. Thanks to InnerDorothy for posting the cool link.

Have you seen "Lessons from Water"? This is a beautiful and relaxing video well worth the five minutes or so to watch. Very calming, if you're having a hectic day!

And finally, had an absolutely fabulous time at the Great Big Sea concert on Friday night. What a fantastic show and a great way to wind up our summer of music festivals! * o

Odds N Sods

collage photo

* o

collage photo

Soundtrack for Fall

I'm sitting here at the kitchen table, this September afternoon, eating a fresh tomato sandwich, and pondering about how there is music for certain occasions, music for certain emotions, and music that is certainly seasonal.

Sure, when you think seasonal you automatically think Easter songs and Christmas hymns, but when the summer nights grow colder and the days shorter, my fingers wander over the CD's in the rack and automatically rest on Sara McLachlan's, Surfacing, the soundtrack to Practical Magic, and Loreena McKennit's, Book of Secrets. These are CD's that for some strange reason are my anthem for fall. They've rarely been played any other time of year.

I don't know what exactly the pull is, but I know they are entwined with certain memories of fall past. Hearing these songs will forever take me back to sunlight October afternoons, memories of special friends, and even a September trip to Michigan. They make me see colors of oranges, reds, and that special "mossy oak" camo that makes its appearance throughout the house this time of year.

Peer in my window, and you'll catch me puttering around the house cleaning, or working on some project, while I sway and sing my heart out.

In the meditative atmosphere created by routine chores, some songs are offered up as lyrical prayer, a conversation between me and God.

"if all of the strength
and all of the courage
come and lift me from this place
I know I could love you much better than this
full of grace" - (Sara McLachlan, Full of Grace)

Some songs are just fun to sing.

"...put de lime in de coconut, and drink 'em both up..." - (Harry Nilsson, Coconut)

And some just have pieces of lyric that have caught me, and stuck in my head, renderings of perfect turns of phrases.

"...she's as shady as cheap sunglasses, and as perfect as this October Monday passes..." - (Michelle Lewis, Nowhere and Everywhere)

They are my soundtrack for fall, my celebration of this time of year, and my preparation for the winter to come.

And, just maybe, they are an attempt to infuse some estrogen into this testosterone-filled household I'm a part of... * o

Soundtrack for Fall

Autograph

Several, long years ago in a small northern Ontario town an aspiring writer held a book signing at the local Hudson's Bay store. The book, his first, a compilation of humorous stories. A timid teenager approached the table, held out her copy of the book and shyly requested an "autograph". After clarifying the spelling of her name, the author wrote "Happy Reading" in bold, black pen. The teenager, after having just met her first real writer and getting her first autographed copy of a book, went home and devoured the stories. The book became part of a treasured collection of books, carted from home to home, bookshelf to bookshelf.

Fast forward many years. The author has since gone on to publish 11, hosted a national radio show and has been the host of Life Networks "Weird Homes". Somewhat of a national celeb. The shy teenager went off to college, got married, has two fine teenage sons of her own, has worked in several clerical type jobs and is a late blooming writer with a leaning to poetry. Somewhat not a celeb at all.

Their paths crossed again at the Sleeping Giant Writers Festival at the end of August. I attended Arthur Black's reading Friday night, with my 1982 copy of "Basic Black" tucked in my bag. After the reading, I loitered near the back working up the nerve to ask for another autograph. Finally, I stepped in front of Mr. Black's path as he was making his way to the back tables, blurted out "I have a special request", rambled the rest of my story about having met him years ago, and then asked if he would again autograph my copy. He was delighted.

And that was one of the highlights of my weekend at the SG Writer's Fest. I say goodnight to my oldest son, sprawled out on his bed reading his personally autographed copy of Arthur Black's latest book. Some people chase rock stars, or Tom Cruise. I would rather have an autographed copy of a good book anyday. * o

Autograph

Letters from Lola

A very special person has left us this weekend.

Letters from Lola were always accompanied by hand drawn bird sketch. I looked forward to opening the envelope to see if it would be a cardinal, or chickadee or jay. Her notes always seemed to arrive at just the right time.

Lola practiced an art form we are slowly losing - that of the handwritten letter. No emails or MSN for her.

I treasure each little bird sketch I have received over the years and will very much miss those little notes in my mailbox. * o

Letters from Lola