What survives, December 5, 2017

As part of my Advent practice, I enjoy receiving and reading posts from other writers and artists who join me in this daily observation. My friend Helen Hiebert  posts paper craft tutorials and other inspiration with the title of 25 Days of Paper. Today’s will teach you the classic snowflake cutting technique, you know you need to do that!

I also read posts from My Soul In Silence Waits. I’m meditating on this by Alexandre Dumas from The Count of Monte Cristo

There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life.

Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, ‘Wait and Hope.’

The news from the past couple weeks weighs me down like a heavy backpack during the last mile of a 10-mile uphill hike. This times feels like that for me. This mix of waiting and hoping for something to change, unsure about what will survive. With effort, I focus my thoughts on the good news of the day, the progress of my students, the smile of my husband, the joy of making a delicious meal, the practice of daily practice. This is what I want to survive.

Today’s prompt:

Go through your collage supplies. Choose scraps from your most recent collage, plus five other papers that call out to you. Do not ask why you chose them. Then, create something from those papers, whatever you like. You don’t have to use all of them, but you can only use those papers.

Everyday through December 25th, I’ll be making a 5×5 inch collage, writing a short entry on this blog and sharing a prompt for those who might want to participate along with me. You can follow my progress by subscribing to this blog through the sidebar on the blog homepage, or by following me on Instagram.