Yes and no to being ready for summer solstice ... I'm not sure how we got this far so quickly
Paper boats or rock skipping? Not sure, but what came to mind with this question was the day we spent an afternoon with my kids racing sticks down a stream at Acadia where we stopped for lunch on a bike ride, how simple and how entertained they were for so long
I take beaches rocky or sandy, it's the water and the movement and the energy and the salt air that I crave. I grew up with short, stubby, rocky beaches and am always surprised at places where I can walk for hours along the shore, the beach stretching on and on and on.
I love that memory that rose for you of the racing sticks! I don't think I've ever even heard of that, though I fully get what you mean. That's a great memory.
Beautiful thoughts Amy! I appreciate the time you take to weave them together for us. I love to skip rocks but after all the hullabaloo in the news about the guy (purposefully) throwing a rock at a seal - I am now afraid: “what if a rock I skipped hit an animal?” Like if a fish or a bird emerged where I threw it!? I would be so heartsick I can hardly stand to think about it. Maybe I need to start folding boats 🙃
Ooooh... good real-world point, Lauren. I don't know that I've ever skipped rocks, honestly, but that's a valid thing to worry about. It would seem to be very random if it happened, but I hear you. I bet your kids would enjoy paper hats, at least :)
I love skipping rocks. Like throwing as hard as I can. I am just not sure I can do it anymore! It feels a bit unfounded but that whole news story just broke my heart!
I'm interested in the contrast between the confidence and the paper boats, the contradiction of it, the fragility of the vessel against the trust, the straightness of the spine, the staff, the absolute refusal to look back. There's something hard-won in there that I can't quite sort out.
I've always thought certainty required solid ground, but this makes me wonder if it might work the other way sometimes. A willingness to drift, to let things unfold.
Speaking of unfolding , of the projects you linked, I'm most captivated by the fairy house and moved by the dad who spent 2 hours a day making drawings for his kids.
I remember the What Do You Want post and how hard it was to put that into practice.
Friends here have a traditional solstice gathering, and Jim's birthday is always that day or the next. Plus Father's Day, which in all honestly, we barely acknowledge. But it all has a way of feeling swirly. I'm not ready for the heat of summer, that's certain.
Rock skipping feels more accessible than paper boats, and yet a sandy beach feels more comfortable than a rocky one. Oh, the irony.
Lol, working backwards... the irony of the rock skipping/sandy beach. So you, Elizabeth! Love that.
I think you picked up on an intriguing subthread in this fragment... the issue of trust in the unknown, determination, and the impermanence of the vessel. To sail off in a boat that will/should, by definition, become saturated and disintegrate... without worry (either blindly, or with resignation, or with blind faith)... it does challenge certain things. Yet none of those things are happening to the boat yet either...
Thank you for reading. And good luck with the holiday-rich weekend/days!
I used to be quite good at skipping stones, but the last time I tried I couldn't make it work. I don't remember having ever folded a paper boat, but your story has me intrigued! There's something in there about the journey of creativity and how vulnerable we must allow ourselves to be. It's a beautiful piece, and I think the fact that it feels incomplete to you is part of its beauty. ✨
Hard to believe the summer solstice is nearly here! I think I have yet to find what I've been looking for this year, but the search has been lighter and more joyful than last year. Here's to our continued journeys into the unknown!
"Everybody sails alone, but we can travel side-by-side." -- KT Tunstall, "Heal Over"
I love that your search has been lighter and more joyful this year, Joshua. That's such a hope-forward view of the year!
I appreciate the comment about me noting draft status... I've become more and more insistent on that... a refusal to set things in stone just because this "weekly" cycle demands it. It doesn't in any way mean there wasn't a lot of work involved. It's just my way of "being real" about it... and about what it means for all of us to be tied to cycles here that are very different than publishing in other forms.
rock skipping! sand! I can't get to northern Michigan fast enough this year, it seems. one of these years I'll be back for the solstice, but sadly not this year.
I know I've been seeing you do some -- and I know you did a waterfall. I'm obsessing a bit and doing a lot of digging around... but something is calling me... not the "crafty" side of it really (if anything, that's the part that's making me pause), but I think I need to play this out for a bit in my journal. So, maybe we can experiment together.
I can't believe we are already at mid-year. This year has been way more challenging than I expected, so I don't know how I feel about celebrating any part of it.
I love the water and have always felt a connection to it as an element (even though my astrological sign and several other energy folks have implied it isn't actually my element). Ironically, the older I get, the more sensitive my inner ear is, and while floating in the water in a paper boat sounds like a dream, my fantasy is tinged now with a real fear of nausea. The indignity of our bodies. I'd love to walk the coast, looking for sea glass and beach detritus. I have never been to a rocky beach, I have always been kind of land locked in Texas and forced to settle for the gulf. In my future dream of driving around the country with Augie and a travel trailer, we definitely visit all the coasts.
I don't think we have to celebrate the mid-year, lol. I'm sorry that the year is throwing so many things in your path. I love that future dream of driving around for beach visits! Sorry about the inner ear though. If water was something you enjoyed, I'm sure that's really not a fun reality now.
Yes and no to being ready for summer solstice ... I'm not sure how we got this far so quickly
Paper boats or rock skipping? Not sure, but what came to mind with this question was the day we spent an afternoon with my kids racing sticks down a stream at Acadia where we stopped for lunch on a bike ride, how simple and how entertained they were for so long
I take beaches rocky or sandy, it's the water and the movement and the energy and the salt air that I crave. I grew up with short, stubby, rocky beaches and am always surprised at places where I can walk for hours along the shore, the beach stretching on and on and on.
I agree the days move quickly now, Sara.
I love that memory that rose for you of the racing sticks! I don't think I've ever even heard of that, though I fully get what you mean. That's a great memory.
I love your perspective on the water.
Beautiful thoughts Amy! I appreciate the time you take to weave them together for us. I love to skip rocks but after all the hullabaloo in the news about the guy (purposefully) throwing a rock at a seal - I am now afraid: “what if a rock I skipped hit an animal?” Like if a fish or a bird emerged where I threw it!? I would be so heartsick I can hardly stand to think about it. Maybe I need to start folding boats 🙃
Ooooh... good real-world point, Lauren. I don't know that I've ever skipped rocks, honestly, but that's a valid thing to worry about. It would seem to be very random if it happened, but I hear you. I bet your kids would enjoy paper hats, at least :)
I love skipping rocks. Like throwing as hard as I can. I am just not sure I can do it anymore! It feels a bit unfounded but that whole news story just broke my heart!
I'm interested in the contrast between the confidence and the paper boats, the contradiction of it, the fragility of the vessel against the trust, the straightness of the spine, the staff, the absolute refusal to look back. There's something hard-won in there that I can't quite sort out.
I've always thought certainty required solid ground, but this makes me wonder if it might work the other way sometimes. A willingness to drift, to let things unfold.
Speaking of unfolding , of the projects you linked, I'm most captivated by the fairy house and moved by the dad who spent 2 hours a day making drawings for his kids.
I remember the What Do You Want post and how hard it was to put that into practice.
Friends here have a traditional solstice gathering, and Jim's birthday is always that day or the next. Plus Father's Day, which in all honestly, we barely acknowledge. But it all has a way of feeling swirly. I'm not ready for the heat of summer, that's certain.
Rock skipping feels more accessible than paper boats, and yet a sandy beach feels more comfortable than a rocky one. Oh, the irony.
Lol, working backwards... the irony of the rock skipping/sandy beach. So you, Elizabeth! Love that.
I think you picked up on an intriguing subthread in this fragment... the issue of trust in the unknown, determination, and the impermanence of the vessel. To sail off in a boat that will/should, by definition, become saturated and disintegrate... without worry (either blindly, or with resignation, or with blind faith)... it does challenge certain things. Yet none of those things are happening to the boat yet either...
Thank you for reading. And good luck with the holiday-rich weekend/days!
So me. ☺️
I used to be quite good at skipping stones, but the last time I tried I couldn't make it work. I don't remember having ever folded a paper boat, but your story has me intrigued! There's something in there about the journey of creativity and how vulnerable we must allow ourselves to be. It's a beautiful piece, and I think the fact that it feels incomplete to you is part of its beauty. ✨
Hard to believe the summer solstice is nearly here! I think I have yet to find what I've been looking for this year, but the search has been lighter and more joyful than last year. Here's to our continued journeys into the unknown!
"Everybody sails alone, but we can travel side-by-side." -- KT Tunstall, "Heal Over"
I love that your search has been lighter and more joyful this year, Joshua. That's such a hope-forward view of the year!
I appreciate the comment about me noting draft status... I've become more and more insistent on that... a refusal to set things in stone just because this "weekly" cycle demands it. It doesn't in any way mean there wasn't a lot of work involved. It's just my way of "being real" about it... and about what it means for all of us to be tied to cycles here that are very different than publishing in other forms.
Thank you for that lyric line!
Actually - I'm back to say, sincerely, thank you for commenting on the piece. It means a lot.
rock skipping! sand! I can't get to northern Michigan fast enough this year, it seems. one of these years I'll be back for the solstice, but sadly not this year.
Thanks, Francesca. I know you are looking forward to that trip!
I'm pretty obsessed with interactive elements in journals and cards. I would love to have companion to take this creative journey with !
Also the paper boat story made me think of the Muddy Waters song "Just to be With You" especially these lyrics- On a ship that's made of paper
Oh yeah, I will sail the seven seas...
I love the lyrics to this song ♥️
You have such a great memory for lyrics, Melissa!
It's a curse
I know I've been seeing you do some -- and I know you did a waterfall. I'm obsessing a bit and doing a lot of digging around... but something is calling me... not the "crafty" side of it really (if anything, that's the part that's making me pause), but I think I need to play this out for a bit in my journal. So, maybe we can experiment together.
Yay!!
I can't believe we are already at mid-year. This year has been way more challenging than I expected, so I don't know how I feel about celebrating any part of it.
I love the water and have always felt a connection to it as an element (even though my astrological sign and several other energy folks have implied it isn't actually my element). Ironically, the older I get, the more sensitive my inner ear is, and while floating in the water in a paper boat sounds like a dream, my fantasy is tinged now with a real fear of nausea. The indignity of our bodies. I'd love to walk the coast, looking for sea glass and beach detritus. I have never been to a rocky beach, I have always been kind of land locked in Texas and forced to settle for the gulf. In my future dream of driving around the country with Augie and a travel trailer, we definitely visit all the coasts.
I don't think we have to celebrate the mid-year, lol. I'm sorry that the year is throwing so many things in your path. I love that future dream of driving around for beach visits! Sorry about the inner ear though. If water was something you enjoyed, I'm sure that's really not a fun reality now.