Everything is illuminated.

 

My husband and I have pretty much been in self-isolation on our farm since the very beginning of the Pandemic. That's over a year ago! Honestly, it hasn't been a hardship, since we're pretty self-sufficient and we both love our home. It's been a year of heightened creativity for me -- writing my novel, painting illustrations to go with the story, and playing my concertina.

But now, the time has come to re-enter the world. I did this in a huge way this past week. I visited my 97 year-old dad and we re-connected in a way that felt authentic and profound and fun. In his typical manner, he joked that he is like the Wonderful One-Hoss Shay, a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes about a one-hundred-year-old carriage that went all to pieces all at once. My dad read the poem as a boy and memorized most of it! That's just the kind of guy he is. He also memorized The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I do believe in another lifetime he might have been a Shakespearean actor! The truth is, I have always known my father to recite poetry, but having been isolated, living on that far away island called "COVID" for over a year, I am newly reminded of how very lucky I am to call this wonderful man my father. Oh, and by the way, he is nothing like that One-Hoss Shay at all. He is strong and sharp! Re-entering the world has made me feel as if I had had just awoken from a long sleep, then debarked from a plane and herded through customs to finally arrive on the shores of the most exotic, most fascinating, most delightful foreign country.

And do you know the name of this delightful country? It's the world we live in.  It's called Planet Earth. And it's a beautiful place! It's always been there waiting for me. It only took a Pandemic and isolation and then a startling re-entry to get me to truly open my eyes!

Before you know it, we will not have to keep our social distance, but until that moment comes, here is my wish for you: enjoy the re-awakening. Take your time. Observe this beautiful moment of transition.

You will find that everything is illuminated!

Your creative assignment for this week is to take the phrase "social distance" and somehow turn it upside down through your art. Whether it's a story or a painting or poem or a piece of music, make the concept of social distancing new. Make it your own.

And as always, have fun!

Love,
Jamie