For my international photography retreats I create printed journals for the participants which incorporate photographs, quotations, journal pages and creative approaches to image making. I like the idea of participants being able to have a container for their journey. Because there is always a creative component to my retreats I like to call them Creative Pilgrimages. Right now I'm preparing the journal that will be used for Slow Photography: Seeing with Your Senses and your Soul which I'll be teaching in Orvieto, Italy for Adventures in Italy, in May, 2015. I found this wonderful quote from a TED Talk given by Pico Iyer which I'll definitely be including in the journal as Pico expresses so beautifully one of the reasons I love to travel.
I've always felt that the beauty of being surrounded
by the foreign is that it slaps you awake.
You can't take anything for granted.
Travel, for me, is a little bit like being in love,
because suddenly all your senses are at the setting marked "on".
Suddenly you're alert to the secret patterns of the world.
This is a book of spiritual awakening and unfolding. Each thick glossy page is rich with images of Africa, Hawaii and the natural world. The poetry in the book speaks deeply to me, as in these words from the poem The Entirety and the Particular:
For we are all in this together, in time and out of time, and blossoming is the birthright of us all.
Or these words from Occupy Your Heart:
Seize your birthright. Let the occupation begin ... Occupy your willingness to never forget who you really, really are, ever again. Be true to your heart's deepest longing.
But even more than the poetry, it is the story of Gavin Harrison's life that touches me. A journey from South Africa to Hawaii, a journey from chartered accountant to Buddhist monk. A journey that includes living with HIV. In the book, Gavin says: "I will not be defined by this virus. I am greater than the journey I'm about to begin". By sharing his vulnerability with us, the stories in the book show how Gavin has made his life a deeply meaningful one, despite living with HIV since 1982.
Petals and Blood is a legacy of what has meaning for Gavin. He has dedicated the book and donated the proceeds from the sale of the book to Woza Moya Project and the Group of Hope in South Africa. As many of you know, Woza Moya Project is an organization that is close to my heart, and those that purchase the book are helping many of the beautiful young women at Woza Moya seen in this video to fulfill their potential (listen to the words of the song!)
Iinterviewed Gavin in July, 2013 when he talked to me about what inspired his poetry. He said "Perhaps the poems will raise the bar, opening us to the infinite possibilities we share, in living this very precious and fleeting human life - to live with love, kindness and wakefulness within every corridor of our lives." They certainly inspire me to live each day more fully, and I think you will find the same. I know these words from the poem A New Day certainly make me more mindful of my thoughts and actions.
Why do I walk the labyrinth? I walk it because it is the simplest way I know to connect to my body, to stop my mind from constant chattering, and to become present to the moment. I feel more connected to myself after time in my labyrinth.
Your experience might be different, and the best way to find out what a labyrinth is all about, is to walk one.
I'm fortunate enough to have a labyrinth in my back yard, but recently labyrinths have sprung up everywhere, and you might find there is one just around the corner from you by going to the World-Wide Labyrinth Locator.
One of the treasured memories from my recent trip to France, was visiting Mirepoix, a beautiful Medieval Bastide town outside Carcassonne. I had been told I might find a labyrinth there, in the Cathedral of St. Maurice. What I discovered was that the labyrinth was not in fact a walkable labyrinth. It was a series of tiles measuring approximately 24 inches across and inlaid on the floor of a side chapel of the Cathedral which was not open to the public.
However, I was fortunate enough to find a photograph of the tiles displayed in the Church, and my timing was perfect, as one of the stained glass windows in the Cathedral was reflected in the glass covering the image of the labyrinth. An unexpected gift from the labyrinth.
Hop, Skip, Jump! What a fabulous name for a book on how to creativity make life more meaningful. Marney Makridakis was one of the very first people to create an online artistic community through her website Artella. It was a source of much inspiration to me when I first started working with collage and mixed media, and so I know she has years of practical experience in guiding us to creatively make meaning from our lives.
"Play is the portal to presence. Play is the way you touch and amplify the enchantment of being human."
I just love this quote from page 3 of Hop, Skip, Jump: 75 Ways to Playfully Manifest a Meaningful Life. We are so often intent on getting something done that we forget to play, and play does make all the difference in living an enchanted life.
Marney's book focuses on the intersection of play and productivity.
HOP relates to dreaming and planning.
SKIP to experimenting and exploring
JUMP to taking action and completion.
I am finding all sorts of new ideas for my own creativity in this book, and just took Marney's online quiz to find out if I was a hopper, a skipper or a jumper! I invite you to try it as well to find out your productivity style.
