Listen….
Please take a moment to listen to two opening paragraphs from William Bartram’s Travels (Opening by Trip Shakespeare, from song “The Slacks”):
God Issues:
To read, write, and respond to William I have to get comfortable with the idea of God. Which is an idea that at times I am not so comfortable with. To define the Creator, the Almighty (to use William’s words) is to limit it, whatever it is.
Trusting the Unseen:
But if I don’t define my Higher Power, I am challenged to put my trust in something that I can’t define, I can’t see, I can’t touch, even with words. My God, my Goddess is an indefinable feeling, something I experience. Its only through trusting enough to leave my house in the morning and head to work, to walk out the front door to see how my day unfolds, or even by ignoring how blocked I feel and putting words down on paper anyway, that I begin to see and feel the evidence of the
love
of my Higher Power in my life.
God’s Beard by Beth Thompson
Echoing through Centuries
I feel a resonance with William Bartram across the centuries, for like him; it is in the Wonder of Nature that I feel closest to God, where I find the most assurance of Divine Presence. Its for that reason that my primary focus in my photography is on the Works of Nature, and I feel that is the reason that William’s primary focus in his writing is also on the Works of Nature.
Listen….
Yesterday I opened up my Artist’s Way Daily Meditation Book and found the following reading:
Dance of Desire by Beth Thompson
I love the way Julia Cameron points out irrefutable evidence that there is a creative force in the world that goes beyond me, yet one I can participate in, one that supports me and nourishes me as a co-creator.
Lust for the Divine
Last month I received a call for art from Jennifer Schwartz Gallery in Atlanta. The deadline is January 13, 2012. The call reads: “Show me lust. Make me feel a passionate and overwhelming desire for something, anything.” I have chosen 5 images from my Possible Perception series, and called the cull: “Lust for the Divine.” I’ve pulled from that cull to illustrate this post. Enjoy!
The Perfect Thirst by Beth Thompson
Oh, Beth, I love this work, this passion of yours. Reading the writings of William Bartram is so special. He was a great, courageous, loving man, who had the curiosity to head into the vast wilderness and explore and witness in nature the divine. I love what you are doing with his words and your work. Wonderful! Wonderment!
Thank you Christie. You honor me with your words too. And, William, he is special. I can sense a shift already in my photography and writing just from working with his words.