the flock, Monotype of the Day #673

Day 303 of Year 2 (Actually Day 308)

Today I made eggs for breakfast and when I lifted the pan, something I have done many times, it was just too heavy and it slipped from my hand, broke my plate, and clattered to the floor tossing eggs everywhere. It's sometimes difficult for me to understand the limits of what I can and cannot do because they change from day to day. One day I can do something, the next day it's not possible, and then two days later it could be fine again. The hardest part is not the limitations, it's the uncertainty. Learning to live with this flux has been a wonderful lesson in detachment. I have adjusted to the unknown and learned to live and even thrive. There are a lot of unknowns in the world right now, I share my story hoping to show that it is possible to find a measure of peace even in the midst of a storm. My love to all those who are suffering or sick.

Allow
By Danna Faulds

There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt,
containing a tornado. Dam a
stream and it will create a new
channel. Resist, and the tide
will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry
you to higher ground. The only
safety lies in letting it all in –
the wild and the weak; fear,
fantasies, failures and success.
When loss rips off the doors of
the heart, or sadness veils your
vision with despair, practice
becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your
known way of being, the whole
world is revealed to your new eyes

From Go In and In: Poems from the Heart of Yoga https://amzn.to/2z4S7oD

you are the key, Monotype of the Day #637

Day 267 of Year 2 (Actually Day 272)

Sometime it feels like we are very small and insignificant in the face of world events, but there is one place where we can always effect change, inside.

Instructions
By Danna Faulds

Hold the silence like
a mother holds her child.
Hold your ground while
all around you structures
crumble into nothing.
Focus on the still point
in your center until you
are filled with light, until
Spirit speaks to you in
words you understand,
until the love in your
heart grows so strong
it must be shared.

From Prayers to the Infinite https://amzn.to/2RoF47y

alight, Monotype of the Day #559

Day 189 of Year 2 (Actually Day 194)

Allow
By Danna Faulds

There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt,
containing a tornado. Dam a
stream and it will create a new
channel. Resist, and the tide
will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry
you to higher ground. The only
safety lies in letting it all in –
the wild and the weak; fear,
fantasies, failures and success.
When loss rips off the doors of
the heart, or sadness veils your
vision with despair, practice
becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your
known way of being, the whole
world is revealed to your new eyes.

From Prayers to the Infinite https://amzn.to/2RLldih

the unknown, Monotype of the Day #406

Day 41 of Year 2

The unknown calls to an artist. It is filled with both promise and fear. While studying medieval mysticism in college, I was struck by a book called The Cloud of Unknowing. A lot of it centers around the need to let go of the language describing God, because that only puts limits on something that is limitless. I love the idea of applying this concept to the creative process. Imagine consciously unknowing, letting go of, all thoughts and judgements that create boundaries for your work. How would it be to surrender to unknown possibilities? What freedoms and new horizons would be opened by lifting all self-imposed limits? I feel the excitement of the unknown coursing through my veins, do you?

Breaking All the Rules
By Danna Faulds

There are moments when rules
are meant to be broken; when
bursting out of context is the
sole way to see with new eyes.
There are fences built only to
be torn down. The slats look
solid, but no one drove the nail
in tight. There are barricades
around the heart asking to be
breached. Sooner and later we
all run out of excuses for
staying small and safe.

messenger, Monotype of the Day #402

Day 37 of Year 2

White Dove
By Danna Faulds

In the shared quiet, an invitation arises like a white dove lifting from a limb and taking flight.
Come and live in truth. Take your place in the flow of grace. Draw aside the veil you thought would always separate your heart from love.
All you ever longed for is before you in this moment if you dare draw in a breath and whisper "Yes."

Source, Monotype of the Day #397

Day 32 of Year 2

If you look closely at this monotype, you will see the ghost image from the leftover ink of last night's print. I'm becoming obsessed with these ink remnants because I can feel their purpose. My first memories of making art are from about 4 years old in preschool. I made faces of strange and monstrous creatures from clay. It was clay that first taught me art materials have inner purpose and desires. Clay is teeming with life, filled with microbes and molds, and is an active participant in making art. If you don't listen to the clay, it won't cooperate, structures will fall apart and cracks will form. Sometimes you will come to clay with an idea only to find it has other, better ideas if you will only listen. The same is true with ink. From the moment it is applied to the plate, it leads the way, gently nudging me to a final image. We are partners in exploration, each made better by the other's creative impulse. Letting go of fixed ideas and surrendering to this partnership is an important part of making art. The leftover ink on my plates calls out. I can feel its desire to express itself. Who am I to deny it its purpose?

Let it go
By Danna Faulds

Let go of the ways you thought life would unfold:
the holding of plans or dreams or expectations–Let it all go. Save your strength to swim with the tide.
The choice to fight what is here before you now will
only result in struggle, fear, and desperate attempts
to flee from the very energy you long for. Let go.
Let it all go and flow with the grace that washes
through your days whether you received it gently
or with all your quills raised to defend against invaders.
Take this on faith; the mind may never find the
explanations that it seeks, but you will move forward
nonetheless. Let go, and the wave’s crest will carry
you to unknown destinations. Let it all go and find the place of
rest and peace and certain transformation.