On, In, and Around Mondays: Breath on the Water
There are places we go that are undeniably artful. They give us what Luci Shaw calls "the sudden flash of understanding" that causes souls to cry out to other souls, "This is what I see and how I feel. Can you see it? Can you feel it too?"
Innisfree Garden is one of those places.
On Saturday, I went to Innisfree with a friend and my girls, and the day was like a peeling back. Look here, and here, and here. Can you see it? Can you feel it too?
The air saturated blue. Petals pink, folding and unfolding. Rocks that echo forever. New life on the path, trembling on baby legs. Water bubbling up or skating before the wind.
Shaw says it is the recognition of God's hand in nature that can inform our own art—mystery, glory, power... encountered. We see and respond.
Today, if our art feels devoid of response, perhaps we are in need of an encounter. Or someone beside us to whisper, "Yes, I feel it too..."
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Over at The High Calling, we're walking beside each other, discussing Luci Shaw's Breath for the Bones: Art, Imagination and Spirit: A Reflection on Creativity and Faith. Want to join us?
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On, In and Around Mondays (which partly means you can post any day and still add a link) is an invitation to write from where you are. Tell us what is on, in, around (over, under, near, by...) you. Feel free to write any which way... compose a tight poem or just ramble for a few paragraphs. But we should feel a sense of place. Would you like to try? Write something 'in place' and add your link below.
If you could kindly link back here when you post, it will create a central meeting place. :)
This post is also shared with Laura Boggess, for...
Labels: Breath for the Bones, Luci Shaw, On in and Around Mondays
posted by L.L. Barkat at 8:00 AM
11 Comments:
Love that last photo!
Glynn just posted about you and your reading together -- and his invitation sounded quite enticing.
Must go see if she is on ibooks!
I'm so thankful for you and other bloggers who encourage me to see God's hand everywhere. This week,I saw it in the city.
My friend Deborah Barlow (at Slow Muse) wrote this morning about James Gleick's views on digitization projects and "what happens when we move beyond the thing itself". Like her, I share the view that the thing itself matters. Your post illuminates so well why that is so.
Thank you for expressing so beautifully why I feel dry as a bone right now. I have been too long in the city with no opportunity to "encounter" God in nature, and I am feeling the lack. It's not that I can't find Him here, it's just not the same, that's all. What a treat to see this beautiful place through your eyes!
so beautiful. i love this. my daughter would give her right arm to be that close to a fawn!
Oh! There's a student of Rembrandt who did exactly that for me! Lots of others, too, I must admit. :)
Look at that little baby--spots and all! Now that is a deep sigh. I wanna go to Innisfree Garden too...
That's what it feels like to be in the presence of art - an encounter. I love that we also use that word, at times, when we feel deeply connected to the Lord. An encounter. God breathes life into us all through art.
These photos are stunning - and that cute deer! Oh my. I'll bet your daughter's heart was beating fast just imagining petting that cute little thing.
You are making me want to reread Luci's book ! I just might have to.
Even though it's a little too hot right now, love the summer. The green! Nice pics.
I can! But it looks like an alien planet compared to my view.
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