Paying Attention Again ...

So I'm stuck on Chapter 2 of the Artist's Way.

In a good way.

There is something so profound about the "paying attention" chapter that Julia talks about in her book. Every time I reread the Artist's Way, I'm moved deeply by it. I've been particularly struck by the line about "The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention". I find consistently that in working through this material, I start paying attention in a new way.

And usually it's the little things.

I find myself feeling called to keep one flower on my dresser at home. Initially I wondered if this was just attributed to my Irish thrifty nature but then realized that even when feeling flush I still didn't feel called to buy the huge bouquet but rather the single flower. It's the details. When I have the big bouquet I walk by and think "huh, nice" but when I see one flower I get caught up in the details. The way it droops over the side of the bud vase, how one of the edges of the petal is starting to turn, how much water it sucked up from yesterday. This I never do with a bundle of fleurs.

We all know the phrase "God is in the details" which according to a little web search notes that...

"It seems generally accepted that this was something said by the German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) although almost certainly it was not invented by him. ... In the form Le bon Dieu est dans le détail, it has also been attributed to Gustave Flaubert (1821-80)."

Whoever invented it, the sentiment speaks to me. The details open up that part of myself that is moved by the creative whether it is Jessica scrinching (I don't care if it's not a word, it is now!) up her shoulders when she welcomes her sister into the world, or asking myself "what do I need right now?" (a cookie, to scratch my back, a fabulous song blasting behind me at work on my ipod, a vacation ...) or seeing the water glistening on this flower (see below) on the way to work, the smile a fellow bicyclist gave me as we passed each other biking on bike to work day, the tiny tiny little drops of color that Yvonne Hodges created in the painting (now in my study, photo above), to the sign from the trophy awards shop that said "welcome Amazon" on their sign board (is it a thank you to Amazon for doing business with them or maybe a wee baby named Amazon was born to an employee or perhaps it was a shout out to the members of a nation of women warriors reputed to have lived in Scythia ... the possibilities abound).



Seems fitting to end on a note by Julia: "The truth is that a creative life involves great swathes of attention. Attention is a way to connect and survive."

What's been catching your attention?

Best,
Kate

Photo at top of blog: Painting by Yvonne Hodges (and Artist's Way student's work). See more of her work here.