The Benefits of Wandering (and a blessing.)
When I started Magpie Girl back in 2006, I was quite lost. I had left the mainstay of my existence, the church. I was finally out of the haze that is baby/toddlerhood. And I was trying to figure out what to do next. So I spent a few years letting myself be “distracted by sparkly things.”
And you know what? That fallow time, where it looked like I was succumbing to adult ADHD? That turned out to be a really good plan.
I learned how to be a coach and how to be withmate.
I honed my community building skills.
My writing voice became my own.
I also discovered that Magpie Girl’s next incarnation needs to be even more about art. More specifically, it needs to be written to artists of all sorts. Those who are just starting out and those who are mid career. I’m going to be especially focused on those people for whom art makes them feel just a little bit crazy. Managing the creative crazy is going to be our mainstay, and 8 out of 10 posts here are going to be things that directly or indirectly address that. (Are you feeling so relieved? Me too.) The other 2 out of 10? Those posts will feature artists I love – singers, dancers, painters, writers, and maybe the occasional burlesque performer.
(Oh I am so excited!)
Here’s the thing, dear readers: I think you should see this as a testimony.
A testimony to the goodness that is wandering.
A testimony to the transformative power of being distracted by sparkly things.
A testimony to the truth that
if you wander on, writing about this and that,
if you wander on, producing along the way
if you wander on, refusing to give up –
something good will finally get itself born.
Wandering for awhile could be the very way you find your voice.
This then, is my blessing for you today:
Listen to the podcast here:
Subscribe to Magpie Girl podcasts on Zune, or on iTunes, or via RSS.
May you one day look at all you have gathered and see a vision emerge.
May your accumulated good works become both the journey and the destination.
May your generous gifts return to you in friendship, and fans, and followers…
in admirers and supporters of all variations
And above all, may you find the place “where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meets.”*
For that, my friends, is where you are meant most to dwell.
Amen. May it be so.
*Frederick Beuchner, The Alphabet of Grace
14 comments
That blessing is going next to my Magpie tattoo on the bulletin board above my desk. Grateful kisses.
Here it is– it’s a little crooked, but I don’t mind.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jolieguillebeau/4369207613/
I love this. And may it be so.
i really love this.
but
what’s a withmate?
that’s beautiful.. my gypsy heart fills with joy! thanks for sharing
I’m glad it touched you, my friends.
Jolie, I love the artwork. Maybe we should send it out with the recording to people we like?
Kazari, withmate is a term midwives sometimes use. It describes the process of being with someone, and holding space for them, while they are at a critical point in thier journey/process. It’s a little like “helpmeet” but more communal. I believe it’s Celtic in orgin. I learned in when I read Margaret Guenther’s book “Holy Listening” on spiritual direction. I read it years ago, but I still consider it one of the most influential things I’ve ever read.
Feel like you are wandering around? Not sure you are getting anywhere? I have a blessing for you today http://www.magpie-girl.com/20100219/how-...
I love this, too. Withmate is really speaking to me. And please, please, please MORE ART!!!!
@magpiegirl Lovely.
Rachelle– you’re so smart! I love that idea.
And withmate– that describes you perfectly! Thanks!
looking forward to seeing where you are going. And I have added the Beuchner book has been added on my reading list. I am going through my own journey of the place of the church in the world-thanks for sharing yours.
Recent Tweet from TIME: We’re taking suggestions for this year’s list of the 25 best blogs online. Tweet your favorites @TIME. Magpie-girl (and Livesay blog) are my nominations!
Thank you for the lovely blessing Rachelle & thanks also to Jolie for allowing you to make us a gift of her beautiful image. I’m looking forward to the re-vamped Magpie Girl; more art sounds WONDERFUL! May it be so. x
[...] through this project. Here’s a small gift for you in celebration. Rachelle wrote a beautiful post a few weeks ago, and included a blessing for artists. I took her words and made a little watercolor [...]
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