Photo by Elizabeth Halt
Photo by Elizabeth Halt

a love letter from the world

October 31, 2013

and just like that, just because you’re you, the world offers you its heart.

sometimes, life is a spiral.

i have been quiet here.

the truth is that it is not so much an inspired quietude as it is a combination of two things.

first, the words for all of the things that i want to write about are slow in arriving. you would not believe the number of posts that are in draft form.

second, i have been under a strange and new cloud of confusion related to the connection between my art and my life. the result of this is that i am second-guessing almost everything i want to write about. when i do this, i block my own flow, and no words come out at all.

yesterday, i was given a moment of clarity.

what i really want, what would bring me joy, is to be here with you.

i am spending so much time playing with my camera. so much time. i want to be sharing more of these photos with you.

what i really want is to return to the days when i posted pictures almost every day.

and so i am.

if i want to write, i will. if i don’t want to write, i won’t. and i will write about whatever it is that i am inspired to write about.

i feel so free.

today, i do want to share an article with you, in case you like questions to consider.

it’s from the poet david whyte, and it’s about the questions that we should be asking ourselves.

i keep thinking about something he said in the article.

“most people, i believe, are living four or five years behind the curve of their own transformation.”

there is something very compelling about the idea that this might be so.

i wonder: what am i ready to step into, that i don’t recognize because i think it is far out in front of me, when it is really the very next step.

i don’t know. but i am curious to find out.

if you want to ponder one or more of the questions with me, please do. i love thinking about things and then talking about them.

10 comments... (add a comment)

  1. I have been thinking of you. I feel as though my words are drying up, too. I miss the connections of blogging and the commenting and recieving comments. But, I feel as though I am just limping along and longing for a fresh breeze to gust through and renew my spirit. You know?

  2. I know that comment didn’t really go with the post it is on, but I can’t find the comments for your more recent posts.

  3. Such tender heart-musings, Elizabeth. And I can related to some of this. I’m feeling very quiet these days. Health issues in recent weeks, months, presented me with time to slow down, refocus, etc. Bodily it was a hard time, spiritually it was incredibly good. So good I need to sit in silence with it. The words and art are there, but like you, they are slow to becoming outward manifestations. I find myself just wanting to share a visual more than my writing at the moment. I realized–that’s all good too. I posted at my place for the first time in weeks, and it felt Ok, sweet. Here’s to one step at a time. I missed by visits here. And I LOVED your Hope Floats–it was just what I needed while recovering. THANK YOU!! :O) ((HUGS))

    • elizabeth

      I’m so glad! I think about you often. So glad there was incredible good along with the hard.

      With my breathing troubles, I’ve been thinking about the body a lot. Body issues seem particularly hard, I think, because the body is so present. It’s easier for me to calm my mind when the trouble seems “out there” somewhere, and my body does not seem out there at all.

      Here’s to finding your words in right and perfect timing. And to sweetness.

  4. my first time back to visit blogs since all the illness. my time is necessarily limited still.
    i’m allowed a little each day.
    i had to start here. with you and atlas.
    if you feel silent . . .
    all i can say is there is still great resonance in your silence.
    two things in reading all the posts i’ve missed . . .
    i think you are not just cool . . .
    but ULTRA cool!
    and the ongoing love affair (albeit one sided right now) with atlas and his kitty girl kia) well . . .
    it doesn’t get much more exciting than that!
    love and huge hugs
    and admiration for you during your own sea change.
    tam

    • elizabeth

      Tammy! Welcome back. I keep thinking about you and sending you love and healing wishes. The love affair is indeed exciting over here! They have sniffed noses, not quite touching, but so so so close. I feel like clapping every time I see it. Wish you could see it too. Take care of yourself over there!

  5. Follow the wisdom inside and be free,Elizabeth. For me the 2 questions where all the others stem from: who am I and why am I here? I’ve asked many many questions over the years and discovered that the answers do not much matter. Except when it comes to those 2. ♥

    • elizabeth

      Mmmmm. My body sighs with your questions. I am always answering the first, even if I never ask it specifically. And I ask the second one often. Truth be told, I am in one of my regular tangles of confusion around the second, which is partly why I have less words than usual. So appreciate you sharing your inner wisdom here.

  6. there must have been a reason I stopped by here this morning. thank you so much for introducing me to David Whyte, how have I never heard of him before and these questions, oh my, I perused them and find I will go back to them again and again.

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