What started as doodles the other week on my studio wall is turning into a pattern layered with meaning. It seems like a new layer of meaning comes to me each day I'm in there working on it. On one level it is a reflection of gemstones being mined from the depths of the earth. So it's kind of like the landscape of the earth where riches are found if you dig deep enough. At the same time, it is starting to resemble the shape of a crown, a crown of high value.
If you think about it, mining is a laborious and slow process. But the wealth that is discovered is what makes the process worth it. The hidden gems represent true sustenance and meaning, things most people live without.
Some thoughts: sometimes we become deadened to the deeper layers within ourselves. We get used to subsisting on the surface, and in the process forget that it doesn't satisfy. In many ways we grow numb. But sometimes all it takes is a glimpse of something of huge value down in the depths to awaken us just a little, to cause a faint stirring deep within. These stirrings matter. They are most often trail markers brimming with life.
Karen, you are really speaking to me today, in ways I desperately needed and didn't realize I did. I am so grateful to be reminded that there is so much beneath the surface that I've lost sight of, and it's very much worth the digging and the finding.
You've completely changed the direction of my thoughts this morning with what you wrote, reminding me that fears are really tiny things that are of my own making. I can look to the treasure at the end of my scary exploration to keep me digging. Those fears are just unimportant.
Thank you, thank you!
Emily in Portland
Emily, that is so great! I love it when things like that happen. Especially when we don't even realize how our thinking needs to shift. But then somethings happens to shift it. It's like the universe steps in to meet a need we didn't even know we had. Glad that happened for you today!