During the fall months, I found myself watching the trees with renewed interest. I have always loved witnessing leaves turn from deep green to gold, russet and red. However, this year, my attention focused more on the way that the trees were pulling their energy back into their core. Their energy was no longer focused on growth and expansion, but on turning inward and drawing that energy back to the centre, allowing all that is extraneous to drop away. It had me thinking about transitions and simplifying, allowing what needs to fall away to go so that a new phase can emerge.
These ponderings had me turn my attention inward, from my gardens to my home. I found myself wanting to go through each room and begin to purge the stuff that I no longer use and to create space for something new. As I went from room to room, gathering up items to donate, I felt overwhelmed when I came to my office space. I have shelves full of journals and I wasn’t sure what to do with them.
I decided to create some time each day to pull a journal from a shelf and go through it. I typed up the notes I wanted to keep and shredded what could go. In the midst of this activity, I came across a pleasant surprise. I discovered little poems I had written tucked away in those journal pages. It felt like something new wanted to grow from them. There was an energy and excitement stirring within me as I gathered the poems together in a document called Glimmers and Shimmers. The poems captured snippets of insight, wisdom and guidance that helped me slow down and be more attentive to life as it was unfolding.
Gradually, as I gathered these words together, an idea formed to use these glimmers and shimmers to create a deck of inspiration cards.
Working with this creative energy, I found myself going through pictures I have taken on my travels around the Maritimes. Sometimes I could remember where I was when I wrote the poems and I found images that resonated with the words. I haven’t felt this kind of creative excitement in quite a while. It was enlivening to partner the words with just the right image and to find the software and printing company that could turn the idea into a reality.
Late in the fall, Pocket Poems were born. I was thrilled when I walked into my kitchen one afternoon to see that while I while I was away, my husband had picked up the package with the printed decks of cards inside. I have to say that I cried with delight when I opened them. They were even more beautiful than I had imagined.
I heard it said once that beauty saves us. When we turn our attention toward beauty, whether it is a flower, a tree, or a child laughing, our soul is nourished. I have the feeling that these Pocket Poems have a purpose of their own. They want to contribute to the beauty, to be something that nourishes and enlivens the soul. So, it is with great delight that I now have the opportunity to share these sets of Pocket Poems with you. They are available to order through my website here: Pocket Poems. As I write this newsletter, I have the feeling of setting butterflies free, as the words that started as glimmers and shimmers captured in journals take flight and wing their way into the world. If you purchase a set, I hope that they will inspire you and offer you a sacred pause in your day.
Blessings,
Kathy