Self-Reflection
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And so the sun sets…
Today is day 7 of my 365 challenge to write a post every day. And so far this is the 7th post I’ve published. 7 for 7!! As the sun sets on this first week, I’ve been struck by a few things… The first is that I’m taking more photographs with the specific purpose of sharing them alongside my words on my blog. Which reminds me of when I first started blogging all those years ago, and began snapping shots to illustrate my thoughts and stories. Something about personal blogging and photography marry together so beautifully – drawing forth both words and images. I am as surprised and delighted by…
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Seeking Form
I find myself thinking about blogging a lot. Or specifically, how I don’t blog *enough*. Like there’s some magical optimum number of posts per week that I’m failing to hit publish on. Because, the thing is, I used to blog a lot. Often 2-3 posts a day. Back then it was about community and comments and conversation. Which, to be honest, is now mostly met for me through my engagement with FB. So, blogging needs to have a different function. And I haven’t figured out what that is. In fact, I’m beginning to consider that maybe I’m just not a blogger. For the last couple of years, the majority of…
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Homecoming: To the Land, To the Self, To the Soul
This image is made from two photos. The first is of the shoreline of the kyle as it snakes around to the cottage where I lived when I was 20. The second photo is of me and my daughter posing in front of the cottage. As I shared yesterday, I am journeying back up north for the summer solstice to where I used to live – a wild and magical land. And when I use the word magical, I don’t mean the airy fairy kind of glitter and glamour. This landscape is marked by the most powerful of elements; it is windswept and rugged and bleak and beautiful. And there…
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Petitioning the Selkies – A Proposal
16 years ago this summer, I moved to the far north of Scotland with my tiny daughter and a very pregnant belly. My beloved had found a job working in a rural high school, as we needed to bring in more money to support our growing family. I should add at this point, that I have always been a city girl. I was born in the Scottish central belt, and have lived most of my life in Edinburgh. Now, if you’ve ever been to Edinburgh, you’ll know it’s not exactly a big city. But, a city nonetheless. Our move up north was like nothing I have ever experienced – before…
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Confessions of a Selkie
So, I have a confession to make. I have never read Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ Women Who Run With The Wolves from cover to cover. It’s not that I haven’t had the time. And it’s not that I don’t respect the work that went into structuring this incredibly important book. In fact, I’m sure a lot of thought and effort when into the ordering of the chapters. Instead, it’s been a choice. My choice. You see, for me, this book is alive. It’s a living, breathing expression of women’s psyches as beautifully depicted and explored by one of our most important storytellers. It holds deep wisdom for all of us who…
