In Goddesses for Older Women, JeanShinoda Bolen suggests that when women are younger their goddesses are a committee with ego as the strong chairman. As a crone, my goddesses sit around the fire, speaking when so moved and waiting for consensus. This brings me to Hestia, a goddess who is not really personified but is represented by the fire in the hearth. I was so yearning for that after years of hotel living. It seems so synchronous to me that we started a major remodel that included a wood stove last summer. We lit the beautiful red wood stove on a green stone hearth the same week my chemotherapy started. Dave worked hard to keep it going, starting a new fire everyday, working up a huge woodpile for next year, hauling all the wood inside. I could barely keep up with it when he got sick for a few days. So our home fire was burning this year; I needed it, hungered for it. A Hestian tradition is for the first fire in the newlyweds' house to be started from the embers of the parents.
Hestia is also the goddess of women sitting in circles. My cancer provided me with that opportunity as well this year as I joined a circle of women on a common journey of cancer that meets twice a month. Here we can speak our truth to those who really understand, other cancer survivors.
Another Hestian impulse I have had is to become a nun, to live a spiritual life among women, forsaking worldly things. I did look like a nun with my shaved head, but as a happily married woman, that is an impulse I am unlikely to act upon. For me that impulse is a signal that I want to deepen my spiritual practice. Currently my practice consists of Jin Shin Jyutsu almost every day, sitting in meditation many days, yoga sporadically, mindful housework and cooking sporadically. Doing my pages every morning is another very important practice as is an artist walk and artist date every week.
So yes, Hestia is definitely an archetype for me as I enter my crone years. Hestia is currently guiding me toward more home comfort and a more centered life. How about you? Do you long for a space of your own or more solitude? Do you long to tend mindfully to your household chores? Hestia might be calling to you.
Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Artist Date
Since I have had cancer, mortality ia no longer an abstract concept for me. This morning I wrote to answer the question:
What do I still want time for?
1. An adventure trip or a pilgrimage with my daughter.
2. Some time alone with my daughter every year.
3. Plenty of time for restful, mindfulness days at home.
4. To write this blog.
5. To get back into shape.
6. To find and take my place in the Nonviolent Communication tribe.
7. To see my nephew well on his way in life.
8. To go canoeing with Dave.
9. To enjoy a long and happy retirement
10. To do more art- gather and set out my materials
11. A retreat with lots of silence built in.
Another way to connect with my soul is to nurture my inner artist. Yesterday I went on an "artist date" to do that. Artist dates are the one of the many brilliant ideas of Julia Cameron to unlock and nurture creativity. They are meant to be done alone, but I have a friend and kindred spirit who likes to do them too. We teamed up yesterday and went to our local museum and then out to lunch. This was a stretch for me to be out for so long, so I was glad to have the company. We saw some incredible stuff, including work by Brian White, a local man who uses found objects to create sculptures and paintings. Click here and scroll down a bit to see a picture of his seashell encrusted wedding dress. He had several other amazing 50's era dresses made of seashells and a life-size ram and a ewe made of seashells also. There was also a collection of paintings from the museum's collection that explored the effect of the rise of abstraction. I came away from there thinking, wow, creativity is alive and well. Creativity happens. I'm constantly surprised and grateful for the interesting and sophisticated cultural doings in our area. These exhibits were in the Jamien Morehouse wing of the museum. Jamien was a wonderful friend to many here and a wonderful mother, daughter, and wife. She died of breast cancer ten years ago in May and I still miss her. A granite fountain with a lovely quote from her touched me deeply. So I nurtured my creativity today and spent time with a soul level friend. What do you still want time for? How do you nurture your creativity?
What do I still want time for?
1. An adventure trip or a pilgrimage with my daughter.
2. Some time alone with my daughter every year.
3. Plenty of time for restful, mindfulness days at home.
4. To write this blog.
5. To get back into shape.
6. To find and take my place in the Nonviolent Communication tribe.
7. To see my nephew well on his way in life.
8. To go canoeing with Dave.
9. To enjoy a long and happy retirement
10. To do more art- gather and set out my materials
11. A retreat with lots of silence built in.
Another way to connect with my soul is to nurture my inner artist. Yesterday I went on an "artist date" to do that. Artist dates are the one of the many brilliant ideas of Julia Cameron to unlock and nurture creativity. They are meant to be done alone, but I have a friend and kindred spirit who likes to do them too. We teamed up yesterday and went to our local museum and then out to lunch. This was a stretch for me to be out for so long, so I was glad to have the company. We saw some incredible stuff, including work by Brian White, a local man who uses found objects to create sculptures and paintings. Click here and scroll down a bit to see a picture of his seashell encrusted wedding dress. He had several other amazing 50's era dresses made of seashells and a life-size ram and a ewe made of seashells also. There was also a collection of paintings from the museum's collection that explored the effect of the rise of abstraction. I came away from there thinking, wow, creativity is alive and well. Creativity happens. I'm constantly surprised and grateful for the interesting and sophisticated cultural doings in our area. These exhibits were in the Jamien Morehouse wing of the museum. Jamien was a wonderful friend to many here and a wonderful mother, daughter, and wife. She died of breast cancer ten years ago in May and I still miss her. A granite fountain with a lovely quote from her touched me deeply. So I nurtured my creativity today and spent time with a soul level friend. What do you still want time for? How do you nurture your creativity?
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