Being creative is about the process and I believe in the rushed world we live in, the process isn’t honoured as it should be. As a teacher and parent the amount of picture books that come out that are rushed are just not the same quality as the ones that have taken the authors and artists time.
Perhaps we can see a turn around in this as we come to realise over consumption in so many ways doesn’t give us what we really need.
This is wonderful, Sarah. I'm sure many of your great mate Tim's words are flowing through your mind as you contemplate the 'urgency' to write ... but a key takeaway I received from his memorial just now was to linger a little longer in the liminal. (excuse the alliteration)
Your words will come ... keep trusting your process because it works.
Hugs to you. Know all of us are holding you up at present in our hearts and minds. xx
Those images of Balzac’s editing! I recall what you’ve said about the formatting of your own books, the generous margins for notes and thoughts.
I admire your commitment to enquiry and soul-nerding; reaching back across time and finding connections. On the topic of having access to the works of creative thinkers… I asked in another post if you had once shared a list of writers, books, philosophers that you’ve referenced? Perhaps what I’m thinking of is included in ‘This one wild and precious life’, I only have an audio version.
How fantastic to have a Paris friend like Anna to help you get to the heart of things. As always thank you for bringing us along, it’s very nourishing.
You brought all that together... research, reading, hiking, thinking, writing, editing, scribbling in the margins and delivered to us a beautiful, gutsy book.
Glorious. Absolutely!! Thank you so much for sharing. How fab to read while enjoying my coffee this morning!! And finally(!) an explanation of why I loved to smoke so much!! I still say if it didn’t kill me I’d still be doing it! (bloody asthma and things that make you sick ruin all the FUN!) love you Sarah ! xx a stranger/friend xx
Not any more unfortunately 🤣 but I do still live a good coffee!! I am so impressed with how you regulate your coffee intake so as to still get that high!! When I was pregnant/breastfeeding I went on decaf. I still remember the first coffee I had after that 💥⚡️🤩😂🤣 hope you’re feeling better each day xx
I read this today... in the theme of taking time and care:
"My people are not threatened by silence. They are completely at home in it. They have lived for thousands of years with Nature’s quietness. My people today recognise and experience in this quietness the great Life-Giving Spirit, the Father of us all. It is easy for me to experience God’s presence. When I am out hunting, when I am in the bush, among the trees, on a hill or by a billabong; these are the times when I can simply be in God’s presence. My people have been so aware of Nature. It is natural that we will feel close to the Creator. Our Aboriginal culture has taught us to be still and to wait. We do not try to hurry things up. We let them follow their natural course – like the seasons. We watch the moon in each of its phases. We wait for the rain to fill our rivers and water the thirsty earth…
When twilight comes, we prepare for the night. At dawn we rise with the sun.
We watch the bush foods and wait for them to ripen before we gather them. We wait for our young people as they grow, stage by stage, through their initiation ceremonies. When a relation dies, we wait a long time with the sorrow. We own our grief and allow it to heal slowly.
We wait for the right time for our ceremonies and our meetings. The right people must be present. Everything must be done in the proper way. Careful preparations must be made. We don’t mind waiting, because we want things to be done with care.
We don’t like to hurry. There is nothing more important than what we are attending to. There is nothing more urgent that we must hurry away for.
We wait on God, too. His time is the right time. We wait for him to make his word clear to us. We don’t worry. We know that in time and in the spirit of dadirri (that deep listening and quiet stillness) his way will be clear.
We are river people. We cannot hurry the river. We have to move with its current and understand its ways.
We hope that the people of Australia will wait. Not so much waiting for us – to catch up – but waiting with us, as we find our pace in this world.
If you stay closely united, you are like a tree, standing in the middle of a bushfire sweeping through the timber. The leaves are scorched and the tough bark is scarred and burnt; but inside the tree the sap is still flowing, and under the ground the roots are still strong. Like that tree, you have endured the flames, and you still have the power to be reborn.
Our culture is different. We are asking our fellow Australians to take time to know us; to be still and to listen to us."
~ Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann
(Aboriginal activist, educator, artist and 2021 Senior Australian of the year)
Thank you so much Sarah. Reading as my coffee falls into my stomach, your words lift me just as the coffee does…a truly gifted soul-nerder. I read a while ago - cannot recall where - about the practice of self-hugging. It works, we all know the power of a hug. Hug yourself tightly, I know this is a painful time for you.
Love the Balzac coffee paragraph! And I love sharing in your soul nerding :) I always appreciate the way you share your perspectives, your interests and your vulnerability. Have been thinking of you through this tumultuous time you are having, although we've never met. Sorry for your losses. Xx
Being creative is about the process and I believe in the rushed world we live in, the process isn’t honoured as it should be. As a teacher and parent the amount of picture books that come out that are rushed are just not the same quality as the ones that have taken the authors and artists time.
Perhaps we can see a turn around in this as we come to realise over consumption in so many ways doesn’t give us what we really need.
That's interesting re the picture books.
I think we pick up on care...and when it's not there, it hurts our sensibilities.
Can’t tell you how much I love this post. Relate 100%, thank you for bringing it to ‘us’.
pleasure CK x
This is wonderful, Sarah. I'm sure many of your great mate Tim's words are flowing through your mind as you contemplate the 'urgency' to write ... but a key takeaway I received from his memorial just now was to linger a little longer in the liminal. (excuse the alliteration)
Your words will come ... keep trusting your process because it works.
Hugs to you. Know all of us are holding you up at present in our hearts and minds. xx
I'd love to hear how the memorial went from your perspective...
Reading Balzac at the moment ❤️ this resonates deeply after returning to the frenetic doing of ‘normal life’ post Euro adventure x
What are you reading?
Père Goriot, I’ve got to build my way up to La Comédie humaine!
Those images of Balzac’s editing! I recall what you’ve said about the formatting of your own books, the generous margins for notes and thoughts.
I admire your commitment to enquiry and soul-nerding; reaching back across time and finding connections. On the topic of having access to the works of creative thinkers… I asked in another post if you had once shared a list of writers, books, philosophers that you’ve referenced? Perhaps what I’m thinking of is included in ‘This one wild and precious life’, I only have an audio version.
How fantastic to have a Paris friend like Anna to help you get to the heart of things. As always thank you for bringing us along, it’s very nourishing.
Here you go Nicole: https://www.sarahwilson.com/2020/08/one-wild-precious-life-science-source-references/
Ah, merci XX
Pretty rad seeing it all in a list like that!
You brought all that together... research, reading, hiking, thinking, writing, editing, scribbling in the margins and delivered to us a beautiful, gutsy book.
Have just gone back to the audiobook - I think I need a hard copy as it could easily serve as the list I am seeking.
Wonderfully uplifting yet humanistic. 🥰
Glorious. Absolutely!! Thank you so much for sharing. How fab to read while enjoying my coffee this morning!! And finally(!) an explanation of why I loved to smoke so much!! I still say if it didn’t kill me I’d still be doing it! (bloody asthma and things that make you sick ruin all the FUN!) love you Sarah ! xx a stranger/friend xx
Did you get the cavalry charge with your coffee? x
Not any more unfortunately 🤣 but I do still live a good coffee!! I am so impressed with how you regulate your coffee intake so as to still get that high!! When I was pregnant/breastfeeding I went on decaf. I still remember the first coffee I had after that 💥⚡️🤩😂🤣 hope you’re feeling better each day xx
Thank you Sarah. You make our differences feel so cared of.
Oh, that's wonderful to read.
Oh God "the recognition of it all" as you say - thanks. His editing gives me the warm fuzzies (and the rainy, ramshackle).
I included the Maison de Balzac in my recent Paris travel guide!
https://kenshostudio.substack.com/p/the-city-of-light
A delightful read Sarah! I FELT your joy and the delight of discovering Balzac's words (and a little of his world).
Really? I was totally delighted that morning.
yes! And it came through. magic.
I read this today... in the theme of taking time and care:
"My people are not threatened by silence. They are completely at home in it. They have lived for thousands of years with Nature’s quietness. My people today recognise and experience in this quietness the great Life-Giving Spirit, the Father of us all. It is easy for me to experience God’s presence. When I am out hunting, when I am in the bush, among the trees, on a hill or by a billabong; these are the times when I can simply be in God’s presence. My people have been so aware of Nature. It is natural that we will feel close to the Creator. Our Aboriginal culture has taught us to be still and to wait. We do not try to hurry things up. We let them follow their natural course – like the seasons. We watch the moon in each of its phases. We wait for the rain to fill our rivers and water the thirsty earth…
When twilight comes, we prepare for the night. At dawn we rise with the sun.
We watch the bush foods and wait for them to ripen before we gather them. We wait for our young people as they grow, stage by stage, through their initiation ceremonies. When a relation dies, we wait a long time with the sorrow. We own our grief and allow it to heal slowly.
We wait for the right time for our ceremonies and our meetings. The right people must be present. Everything must be done in the proper way. Careful preparations must be made. We don’t mind waiting, because we want things to be done with care.
We don’t like to hurry. There is nothing more important than what we are attending to. There is nothing more urgent that we must hurry away for.
We wait on God, too. His time is the right time. We wait for him to make his word clear to us. We don’t worry. We know that in time and in the spirit of dadirri (that deep listening and quiet stillness) his way will be clear.
We are river people. We cannot hurry the river. We have to move with its current and understand its ways.
We hope that the people of Australia will wait. Not so much waiting for us – to catch up – but waiting with us, as we find our pace in this world.
If you stay closely united, you are like a tree, standing in the middle of a bushfire sweeping through the timber. The leaves are scorched and the tough bark is scarred and burnt; but inside the tree the sap is still flowing, and under the ground the roots are still strong. Like that tree, you have endured the flames, and you still have the power to be reborn.
Our culture is different. We are asking our fellow Australians to take time to know us; to be still and to listen to us."
~ Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann
(Aboriginal activist, educator, artist and 2021 Senior Australian of the year)
Thank you so much Sarah. Reading as my coffee falls into my stomach, your words lift me just as the coffee does…a truly gifted soul-nerder. I read a while ago - cannot recall where - about the practice of self-hugging. It works, we all know the power of a hug. Hug yourself tightly, I know this is a painful time for you.
Love the Balzac coffee paragraph! And I love sharing in your soul nerding :) I always appreciate the way you share your perspectives, your interests and your vulnerability. Have been thinking of you through this tumultuous time you are having, although we've never met. Sorry for your losses. Xx
"nerd it up lovers" is my new favorite sign-off!
ps..I apologise for my own nerdiness, but bourgeois is spelt like this!
haha...i was trying to write (phonetic version of the abbreviation) "bougie"
ha ha thank you for demystifying that! I knew it was a trickster grammar move :)