When I saw Betty's challenge, I wondered when I felt the serenity of my heart. I thought of two things. One was a rosary and the other was a repetition I always have a rosary in my cuff when I go out. This brings me comfort. I feel uneasy all day long when I do not have a rosary. I don't know why it gives calm. Most of my works are made up of repetitions of small pieces Cutting, Sewing, ironing........ Sometimes I get into ecstasy when I keep repeating them. I think it is serenity.
Many years ago, when my older sons were preteens, and I was a single-parent, going to school during the day and waitressing evenings, I used to have a ritual to recharge as I transitioned through my day. I would lay on the floor in front of the double patio doors; on good days, in a sunbeam; and clear my mind of all the chatter and noise of the day. For ten minutes I would imagine myself in the middle of a lake, lying in the bottom of a rowboat, sun beating down on me, gently rocking as the water lapped the edge of the boat. I would imagine my feet dangling over the edge of the boat in the cool water. In that moment, I felt serenity. There was peace and I felt recharged. I need to find that
to get to SERENITY! A blizzard blew through here yesterday. Apparently her name was Stella. I have to admit that this rotation's word is a huge challenge for me. The blizzard aside...I have been unable to shake my stress. I won't go into detail, that just elevates the stress. Since November a good friend of mine has taken to long, daily walks. Some days she walks for 8 hours, stopping back by her house for lunch and periods of rest and chats with her husband. She says she is beginning to feel calm. Fortunately most of this winter has been unusually warm so, except for visitors like Stella, my friend is becoming a happier person. The down side of this strategy is that she has not been i
Serenity: that's something I haven't got a lot of. I run around, I work hard, I get stressed out. I really could do with some more serenity. So what is that brings me serenity? It was an easy answer: water. Any landscape with water will bring me peace and relaxation. I don't live near the sea, but there are many ponds, lakes and streams in my area. I should visit them more often! I looked at my photo albums and I was astonished at how many pictures of water I have. Selecting a few was a difficult task. Here are some. Wells Cathedral and its reflection in the pond which holds the wells that have given their name to the city. They are in the Bishop's Palace Gardens, which is my favourite plac
One of the things I do in stressful situations is fall into patterns. Natural rhythms, repetitive drawing, even hand stitchery can be soothing to me. here's a screenshot of National Geographic's collections, which can be found here- http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/patterns-in-nature/ What calms the water in your psyche? suggest word for this challenge is
Passion flower, a timepiece of the natural world. The blooming flower reminds people of the face of a clock. The central stamens and stigmas resembling the hour hand, minute hand and second hand. It looks beautiful and amazing. I love this summer plant. Passion fruits are good refreshment on summer days. The evergreen climbing plant also serves as a sheltered spot during summer. It is an honor to take the challenge to hand-sewn the special structure. In Japan, passion flowers are know as tokeiso (トケイソウ), meaning clock plant. What an interesting plant! It is one of my mother’s favorite plants. It can be found in her garden throughout the year. In order to make it come alive in my work, I keep
