"...And still, this drive toward gratitude. Still this tug to pull over the car and marvel, this impulse to offer the world our attention.."
Rosemary Wahtola Trommer writes in her poem, "Obeying the Impulse", about allowing ourselves to stop, listen, slow down and let the beauty of summer in, "to offer the world our attention". She writes of listening to ourselves and the need to soak up the natural world, to allow ourselves to indulge the "tug to pull over the car and marvel....as if being very still and alert is as vital to the moment as scurry and swerve, scamper and stride".
This summer I notice I need even more to stay in touch with gratitude and a sense of wonder as we unfold from the cocoon of the 2020 pandemic. As my social world is opening again, the desire for quiet is still with me. I have need to marvel and meander and mark these days of new warmth and light with mention of grace - with noticing the subtle changes happening around me, each strawberry that ripens, each time I say "yes" or "no" to an invitation.
This summer I am obeying this impulse to stay close to myself and bring intentional gratitude to my days by once again setting up an outside studio so that I can be close to the season. I invite you to join me in this practice by setting up a space outside to write, make art and observe nature, to nurture your soul and imagination. I have written about this practice in Summer Art Making to give you some inspirational ideas.
Mid summer, I will be hosting a two day workshop which is an extension of the "Nurturing Resilience: Art & Writing as Sacred Practice" workshop I did in the spring with Portland Women's Writers. We will come together two Sunday afternoons, July 25 and August 1, for art-making, writing and poetry. During the workshop we will celebrate and deepen into the summer season. In doing so, we will build our art making and writing practices - enhancing resilience and sacred connection with ourselves. To register click here.
Please visit the Summer Studio for art-making inspirations, writing prompts, imagery and poetry that I hope will bring you inspiration and joy. I have added a few new pieces of art in my Sales Gallery and continue to extend the 30% discount to you. If you would like to come to my studio to see my work or pick out a piece, please let me know and we can schedule a time, I would love to show you around!
I invite you to "obey the impulse" to deepen into summer, pull your car to the side of the road, roll down the windows and let the warm breezes re-fill and re-new your spirit. Allowing in your natural warmth and the gratitude and the growth of this season.
In love, light and grace,
Margaret
Obeying the Impulse
by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer
The world exists just fine without
our appreciation. It is not for us
that the dandelions bloom in tides of yellow
across the valley floor. Not for us
that the elk stream in a slow brown current
before disappearing into Englemann spruce.
And then there are the tiny empires
of grasshoppers, ants and bees—
and the underground realms of prairie dogs
and worms and rhizomes and moles—
intricate and entirely oblivious to praise.
And still, this drive toward gratitude.
Still this tug to pull over the car and marvel,
this impulse to offer the world our attention,
as if being very still and alert is as vital
to the moment as scurry and swerve,
scamper and stride. Perhaps it is.