I just packed up and mailed out a painting called “The Silent Edge of Winter”. I wanted to tell you about it because it contains a story that feels important for this time of year and mostly forgotten in our modern world.
Did I ever mention that every painting has a poem on the back?
When I name a painting a short poem emerges connecting the work to a spiritual teaching or personal growth idea. I then transcribe the poem on to the back of the painting. It’s a process of naming a new little being and then sensing what it has to bring to this world. (The poems show by the individual painting on my website if you’re curious).
“The Silent Edge of Winter” is about taking this time of deep winter to restore ourselves.
The nights are long and dark and quiet. They invite us to turn inward, to sit by the fire (metaphorical or real), and contemplate the year that passed, dream into being the one that stretches out in front of us. It’s what we humans have done for eons in the dark days, in earlier, less complicated times.
In this liminal time between old and new I like to sit quietly with a mug of tea, journal in hand, and get a sense of how the last year felt in my heart, in a broad way, and then zero in on the particulars.
I find these few questions helpful:
What did I love about the year that passed?
What didn’t I love about the year that passed?
Are their any lessons or takeaways I’d like to integrate deeper into my being?
How would I like to feel in the new, coming year?
What is the new story I would like to write for my own life?
There is a lot of juicy material here, and I love to spend a couple of weeks relishing in this process!
The painting I mentioned above is going out to the winning bidder of the Lions Roar auction. I have donated to this foundation for years. I believe strongly in their good work of promoting personal and world peace through educating and supporting awareness and meditation practices in our daily lives.
May your own wisdom make itself known to you as you sit wrapped in the warmth of your inner being.
Join me in my gallery where you might just find the perfect poem painting to carry your spirit safely and with love into this new year.
