Contemplative Musician, Soundwork Practitioner, Music Facilitator & Mixed Media Artist
I spent the weekend with these harmonious souls walking a wee part of the Bruce Trail on an Autumn Retreat with the theme, Letting Go. The trail was quite difficult in parts and because of the drizzle, it was also slippery. This meant that I needed to pay attention to where my feet landed. This part... Continue Reading →
A year ago I drew this labyrinth in the sand on my favourite beach. Dragging my fingers in the barely-warm April sand felt wonderful after having spent three days in a nursing home. My mother was struggling so overwhelmingly. The only thing I really knew how to do was play the piano for her and sing the... Continue Reading →
Being a mystic is one thing. But showing up for everyday life is another ball of wax. Angeles Arrien, Ph.D., an American cultural anthropologist (d. 2014) taught The Four-Fold Way™ , emphasizing four major principles that integrate ancient cultural wisdoms into contemporary life or as she interpreted it "walking the mystical path with practical feet": The Way of the... Continue Reading →
"Say 'goodbye' to Patriarchy," said my husband as he passed me the captain's chair. 1977, a very special wedding gift from my parents. A suitably expensive Roxton maple dining room set; 4 chairs and a table. We have gathered around that table for the last 39 years. We still love the table. Whoever designed the... Continue Reading →
“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16
by John O’Donohue No one knew the name of this day; Born quietly from deepest night, It hid its face in light, Demanded nothing for itself, Opened out to offer each of us A field of brightness that traveled ahead, Providing in time, ground to hold our footsteps And the light of thought to show... Continue Reading →
Discovering a new path is always exciting if not a little scary. I pulled into the parking lot at Lorne Henderson Conservation Area (#SCRCA) at the same time the park ranger was finishing her rounds. I started out on my normal walking route and then noticed fresh footsteps in the snow so I thought I'd... Continue Reading →
I needed a long walk this afternoon. My feet took me to a large treed park. It happens to be a cemetery. The grounds are sprinkled with a few stone buildings, most about one hundred years old. One of these larger mausoleums is ornamented with a wee stained glass window. You can't see the coloured glass from... Continue Reading →
Questions are the keys that cause the secret doors of the psyche to swing open. - Clarissa Pinkola Estes ( Women Who Run With the Wolves) p. 52 Photo credit - Door in Bergen, Norway - Evelyn Ward de Roo
snow squeaks under my feet earth converses as I walk bearing witness to my life
Hanging together In desolation and hardship Juice becomes sweeter
sun breaks through clouds parted with hope connect to the Light
THE BASKET- Sheri King Ward, 2014 𝐌𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬. 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨... Continue Reading →
I Hold My Life Up to You Now Patient God, the clock struck midnight and I partied with a strange sadness in my heart, confusion in my mind. Now, I ask you to gather me, for I realize the storms of time have scattered me, the furies of the year past have driven me, many... Continue Reading →
Wise words from Dag Hammarskjold seem appropriate for the new year. Each morning we must hold out the chalice of our being to receive, to carry, and give back. It must be held out empty - for the past must only be reflected in its polish, its shape, its capacity.
This Christmas is so very new and different. We have our own gift of the boy child. Our first grandson. So this poem is particularly poignant as I ruminate over my daughter's home birth. A Poem for the Season: Before Jesus by Alla Renée Bozarth Before Jesus was his mother. Before supper in the upper room, breakfast... Continue Reading →
I heard a wonderful documentary on CBC radio today about teaching students to self regulate or quiet the self. I ruminated on it while I was sitting in church. One very positive thing about participating in organized religion as a child was that even though I was required to sit quietly in church it actually... Continue Reading →
The gate image has served as a symbol throughout history. In her book The Second Half of Life, by Angeles Arrien, she says: "Gates are often considered places of initiation or entryways into holy places, sacred grounds, or spiritually significant transitions. Deep archetypal feelings may surface when we are "at the gate". Instinctively we recognize that we... Continue Reading →
I can never remember ever thinking of Hallowe'en as something other than a wardrobe problem. Hallowe'en comes one day after my birthday, thusly my celebration was marked by friends coming to my party dressed in their costumes. In hindsight I've never really enjoyed Hallowe'en, and as a HSP it was and still too overstimulating. But... Continue Reading →
When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. ~Rumi
Evelyn Ward de Roo 