project plans, and even manage schedules, yet I allow myself elbowroom and permission to shiſt these things if it feels like the thing to do in the moment. I suppose I might say that no matter what I have planned in any given moment, it is the mystery that we call Spirit that ultimately guides my actions.
Not only does the moment influence my choices and actions, but there are seasonal influences as well. Nature is truly at the heart of my life and – to me – Nature means spirit.
I find that I make more art in the winter months, when the garden is resting (I grow a lot of my own food). I also create more in my herbal dispensary in the winter months, leveraging the oils that were infused from fresh plant matter during summer, making balms and lotions and salves and soaps. I also catch up on straining, filtering and bottling tinctures and other extractions that have been waiting patiently on a shelf for months.
I find myself working with students in every season. We wander and learn and make things outdoors, depending on the season and the weather conditions of the moment, as well as in the dispensary.
Whether I’m making art, herbals or sharing my experience with others, it seems that roots and leaves, blossoms and seeds, the very spirit of the botanical world is having her say, guiding me and making her voice manifest in most everything I do! It’s all connected, each thing I do has a relationship with the other things I do.
pendants
A: I’d love to hear how you work in all of these things and remain so productive - you obviously stay busy.
R: Even though I rarely use recipes for cooking or do things precisely the same more than once, I do have patterns in my life that guide me and keep me from missing deadlines, commitments and other time-driven obligations. Heck, even Nature has patterns!
As I said, I do create schedules. Much of my scheduling is the result of external influences and they are oſten put in place to honor others in my life. Aſter all, if I’m teaching a workshop, I had better be well prepared and ready when the participants show up! If the calendula is blooming, I had better get out to the garden to harvest it! If the taxes are due, I better get them in the mail by the deadline. If I want to create my “Impressions of Nature” I had
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