From my differing awareness, I sense something that you may not yet. Especially amongst artists … resistance is growing. Consciousness is on the move. Something is at work in the world: a general recognition of a crisis of the spirit, of the banal and the shoddy, in human affairs. It is universal, and it must be met. Recently, an Australian Aboriginal shaman warned me: “The Great Serpent has woken. Jarapiri stirs. The earth shakes. And the warriors are gathering.” (The Voice That Thunders: Essays and Lectures, The Harvill Press: London, 1997, pp. 37–38)
Alan Garner said this in his lecture, ‘Aback of Beyond’, twenty years ago, but it seems utterly pertinent now.
The earth is shaking, changing far too fast, dying, and we must stand firm and resist the destroyers if we are to survive. We must outlast the destruction with our creativity.
My last post was about the importance of art, how if we tell new stories, the right stories, we can change, perhaps even save, the world.
This is what I want to do with my writing, and art too. Yet right now I am not well enough to do much at all, let alone that momentous work. I want to be one of the gathering warriors, ready to fight for the Earth, yet I do not have the energy, and without the energy, I do not even have the will.
Many of the things I have written this year have been ‘aspirational’, in the sense that they are reminders to myself of what I need to be doing, what my life/creative/spiritual goals should be. Though I may not be able to work on those things as well as I would like at the moment, they are what I am always striving to move towards.
I have many ideas, yet simply cannot manifest them, and it is frustrating to feel so powerless, so fatigued of body and befuddled of mind; though I do not blame myself. The illness I live with is my constant companion, and it can be oh-so-fickle.
What has become clear is that I need to bring my focus back to my health, to make some changes to how I live, for I cannot function or feel right within myself unless I have at least a rudimentary level of wellness. Once I have that, then, then, I will be able to work on becoming the warrior woman I want to be, the writer, the artist.
In the meantime, I stand with all the other wild and creative warriors who are telling the new stories, making art for the Earth, gathering together as one to protect all life.
I too have a chronic illness and know how it can suffocate creative endeavour. ((Hugs)) toy ou my dear. It is an act of creativity, artistry, to bring healing to one's body, heart, mind. If that is all the art you ever do, it will be more than enough.
ReplyDeleteBut have you also tried taking one focus and working towards it in very small increments? A spoonful of magic every day? One sentence or one paragraph towards a story?
I personally believe a warrior does not need to be engaged in battle to be a warrior. They also must know the skill of stillness, of peace, of going so deep into awareness that it becomes like a transactional prayer. This is their equally important contribution to the tribe. Maybe now is your time for that aspect of being a warrior, and later you will lift you brush, your pen, for action.
Thank you so much for this, Sarah. I do need to develop the skill of stillness and peace—and going deep into awareness is what I strive for (I am so inspired by others who have that gift). Not doing can be its own kind of doing, sometimes. I will try to take your advice, though, and work towards something in small increments. I do have a story that needs to be written, so maybe I can begin to write it, little by little, though I don't yet know it all. But the art of healing is what I truly need to learn … x
DeleteTake care of yourself. It´s tough enough trying to keep up the strength to just go on, these days, let alone to find the power to keep fighting. I hope you´ll be able to find your way of healing and find that place of wellness to be able to do what you need to do.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words, Hilja. I'm on a journey towards healing, and sometimes it goes so slowly, and takes so much longer than I would like, but I am learning to be patient. I will get there in the end. I won't give up.
Delete