Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A Room Of My Own


When I was growing up, I shared a room with my sister.A small room.I did homework in bed; the room was too small for a chair and the desk was stamp size and wouldn't hold a book and a notebook.To keep that room neat with two of us was impossible.What I do remember most and with fondness is the window and the maples beyond, lit by the street light.They were my friends and when I looked out there, I was in a different place.

In her essay,"A Room of One's Own",Virginia Woolf posits that there would have been a plethora of women writers through the centuries if they had had a spot to call their own.A place where a woman could ,undisturbed, spread out her thoughts and come to some conclusions.Without guilt.

That,however,is the past.Today,I am in a room of my own.It faces the back yard where there are trees and grass and in my garden, the nodding yellow heads of the swamp
daisies.Beyond the trees,pine,oak,maple and tulip,is the floodplain and the Flint River which I cannot see.Living near the floodplain assures me that I will never see a house behind me.Just green and brown and grey.

I have three windows in the room which makes it very bright.I do yoga here,listening to music on my P.C.I write,keep up with friends and pray. Around me are pen and ink drawings, old wooden tables and books.And in the corner is a chair, not unlike the one in the painting that I have attached by Gwen John.That picture speaks to me on such a deep level.It says,peace,solitude,writing and simplicity.Margaret Forster wrote a novel about that painting, she was so moved and infatuated with it.It's called "Keeping The World Away".Reading it was a pleasure.

From these windows, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and like ghosts, four deer will have moved onto the grass from the woods.I have seen turkeys wander through and saved a blue jay that had been caught and pinned by a hawk.His flock mates set up such a racket that I had to go out there.

I am blessed to finally have what my spirit needed and didn't know it.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

connection in the streets.

Today,my daughter and I had lunch in the Virginia-Highlands area.It was a lovely time and I was so happy that we had gotten together.As we were walking back to our car, a woman with red hair and desperation written on her face, came towards us.I knew what she wanted.

She said that she was hungry and homeless and as I opened my wallet, she said,"My name is Sharon."I said,"That's my name, too."
She thanked me and asked me to pray for her and that she would pray for me and that I was not to worry because the angels protect her.
Since I have recently been led to believe that same thing about myself, I was astounded by her words.And as I type , I do pray for her.

I know what you are thinking;she took it to a bar and that is a real possibility.There were many bars close by and her face did have a reddish tint.But,maybe things are not always exactly what we think they are.Perhaps, Christ was on that corner letting us each know that we are loved.That's how I felt as I walked away,loved and part of a huge story that is mostly unseen.