Again & Again, Sparkles
on the glimmers of our ordinary life & the spark of what's to come
Creativity can live in repetition as much as it lives in new experiences. It can accompany us in even the most familiar rooms, in the morning light that falls across the kitchen table exactly as it did yesterday, in the slow rhythm of making something with my hands simply because it feels good to do so. It can be sparked by a moment of sketching the same milkweed pod I have sketched dozens of times, or while slicing a loaf of bread, knocking off a few rows of knitting on a garter stitch shawl, or filling a Zentangle tile with the patterns I use most because I know them by heart. Lately it can arrive while catching a glimpse of my current diamond painting shimmering as it catches the afternoon sun.
None of these moments are necessarily earth-shattering or impressive, they ask only that I be present. Often we assume that a creative life depends on a constant diet of inspiration, travel and extraordinary experiences, but I have come to understand that I find that my deepest wells of creativity when I am much closer to home.
Maybe this is one of the quiet gifts of growing older. The need to chase the big fireworks has softened. I have become less interested in building a remarkable life and more interested in inhabiting an ordinary one completely. The quieter my life has become, the more clearly I begin to see and hear the magic in it.
I have grown to notice what truly nourishes me and what only distracts me. I have stopped (mostly) measuring my days by how much I have accomplished and instead appreciate them by how deeply I have inhabited them. Home is more than the place where I live, it is a way of meeting the world and a way of paying attention, of returning, again and again, to the things that restore me and fuel me to keep creating my offerings. It’s not because I have something extraordinary to say, but because every brushstroke, every pencil line, every word and sentence written, every small creative ritual reminds me that my quiet, ordinary life is already enough, and that yours is, too.
I have also been dreaming up new ways to share all the glimmers with you, in hopes that you will share yours, too. The world needs more glimmers. The Sparkle Practice will be a home for gentle daily creative practices that bring sparkle to our ordinary days. Because the world doesn’t need more extraordinary people. It needs more people who have remembered how to notice the glimmers. Look for more about The Sparkle Practice, coming soon.
Also, I have written many times about my lifelong fascination with sparkles. Here is a link to a flowing piece from a while back: As Ancient as Stardust
And now, friends, tell me about your glimmers as of late. Would love to read them.
The combination of music and nearly daily immersion in nature in its many forms, often including photography. Looking closely. Listening closely. Being close.
This year, my husband and I decided to cut back on the vegetable garden and add more flowers and herbs helter skelter. The weeds are overwhelming but we are not looking to make our garden pristine. What we ended up with is a beautiful and safe space for bees and butterflies and a few hummingbird moths. When I look at our garden, I feel so blessed that we have this amazing place to do this but also that in some little way, we are helping to make a haven for these wonderful little creatures....bunnies and deer included.