The extent to which we are divorced from the complementary rhythms of restfulness and creativity is the extent to which we are cut off from patterns of well-being within ourselves and in our relationships. If we fail to establish regular practices of stillness and rest, our creativity will be either exhausted or shallow. Our countenance, instead of reflecting a vitality of fresh creative energy that is sustained by the restorative depths of stillness, will be listless or frenetic. This is as true collectively as it is individually, and applies as much to human creativity as it does to the earth’s fruitfulness. Creativity without rest, and productivity without renewal, leads to an exhaustion of our inner resources…..J. Philip Newell

between symbols and metaphors, we wait in the breathless moment to listen….this is the clearing time, where angels step in with divine creativity…..like pulling rabbits from hats, we are suddenly able to ‘see’, to unearth an uninhibited grace of color and form and texture….this is the artist, this is us making sacred art….

Be. Here. This moment. Now is all there is, don’t go seeking another. Discover the sacred in your artist’s tools; they are the vessels of the altar of your own unfolding. Look at this cup of holy water, washing clean the brushes. See the blank page, awaiting your blessing. Gaze on the colors before you, each one a name of God: Saffron, Cobalt, Azure, Ruby. Say each one slowly and taste its juice in your mouth Let this be your prayer. Brush them across the page. First the small strokes, then the larger sweeps. Lose track of all time. This too is prayer. Listen for the words that rise up: Awaken. Envision. Sing. Alleluia. Place marks on the page saying I am here. Watch as word and image dance together. Luminous. Illuminated. This is your sacred text. This is where God’s words are spoken, sometimes in whispers, sometimes in shouts. Be there to catch them as they pass over those sacred lips, tumbling so generously into your open arms…..Christine Valters Paintner

finding the deepest green

A major obstacle to creativity is wanting to be in the peak season of growth and generation at all times- but if we see the soul’s journey as cyclical, like the seasons- then we can accept the reality that periods of despair or fallowness are like winter- a resting time that offers us a period of creative hibernating, purification, and regeneration that prepares us for the births of spring….Linda Leonard