Coming Full Circle

Walking the spiral is different than walking a labyrinth. I am a builder of labyrinths...they are a beautiful tool for moving meditation. I even created a technique to make a hand labyrinth in my book, Awakening Your Creative Soul. But walking an ascending spiral is vastly different. Imagine you are in an incredibly old and mysterious hall and at the center is a wide spiral staircase. You peer up into the vastness of it and you see the sky through the distant oculus. Life is like walking up this staircase because as you circle upward through the years of your life, you can see your surroundings from new perspectives.

I awoke from a dream the other day and found I had come around. What I discovered in coming full circle is that I had arrived at a place where I began my creative journey, but with a different point of view. I have always been attracted to myths, fables and stories. My first memories were of an owl sitting on the edge of my crib whispering to me in a language I didn’t understand. I came to trust this owl and I would sometimes get glimpses of the meaning that the owl whispered to me. I created from this place of magical thinking. Why not? As a young child the world was filled with magic and mysteries. I made up stories, songs, and drew magical worlds on my bedroom walls to the dismay of my parents. I listened to the stories of the elders and of the land. I was rooted in that place; the plants, people and animals spoke my language.

Years later after we moved to another town, I lost the magic. I was adrift and I sought to connect with the mystery again but using external means. I took a detour during those years, but then I returned to climbing the spiral staircase. I saw my memories from childhood and from a higher perspective I was able to see that I could reconnect with the magic through art. Climbing upward there were times when I lost sight of my vision. I looked away, or I kept looking up or down, not paying attention to where I was in the moment. When I focused on being exactly where I was, I could hear the whispers of the owl again and I felt reconnected.

Life and the years continued to have me climbing the spiral staircase at different speeds. Some years dragged on, and each day was a struggle, but I kept on creating. Some days and years were filled with joyous creations, and they moved quickly. I found ways to carve a living out of what I loved to do, to create. I was alone with my art, and I felt I could survive if only I stayed small and crept up the stairs like a mouse. Then one day I heard the owl say, you don’t serve the world by being invisible. So, I took off my cloak of invisibility. It was overwhelming in the beginning, but I kept climbing. I began to see my life and where I had been from a higher perspective. I began to feel the magic stirring in my veins. I felt the roots from long ago awaken and the whispers of the owl became clear, and I understood what she was saying.

There is magic and wonder around you always. Take off the veil and create your magical places. Share the journey with others and dance under the stars. Each moment is one of eternal wonder. I have come full circle back to my creative explorations that were born out of the pure joy of spirit. No more expectations of what the art is supposed to do. I have returned to the place where I am rooted. I can create mud sculptures that will return to the earth, build light castles in the sky and tell the stories of the landscape.

I am much older and wiser now and there are certain freedoms that come with wisdom. I don’t care what others may think. When their opinions land on my shoulders they are lighter now and I can let the owl’s wings brush them off as if they weighed only as much as a hollow bone. I welcome the years when I have the freedom to slow down and live in the eternal present. I invite you to join me in creating from a sense of wonder and awe.