The World Depends on Our Participation
Oh joy, oh grief
oh sister-shifting-sands
where shall I stand?
And you say:
sit here
take my hand.
–Laurie Doctor
I had a different beginning to this post, but this morning I first want to acknowledge the grief in this world. It is easy for me to feel overwhelmed and at a loss for what to do. I remind myself that there are many ways to participate. We all need water and food, and beauty. I return to the resilience that comes from the practice of making, the resilience needed to restore hope. As makers our calling is to bring our focus close in, to repair the part of the world we can taste, see, hear, smell and touch. As makers, we are called to hold vision for the world, no matter the circumstance. So much is required of us now.
“…creator and receiver both, work in alliance with the works…”
Greetings to all new and returning readers.
Welcome to “A Silver Fraction”* —
a place for makers, writers, thinkers
& anyone who wishes
to leave an imprint, make a mark, inscribe,
write, sing, perform, or paint;
to anyone who wants to make an offering,
no matter how small,
to this world we were given.
William Wordsworth’s epic poem, Prelude begins with an invocation to the muse: O welcome messenger! O welcome friend! A captive greets thee, coming from a house of bondage… Wordsworth, like most of us who struggle with what we make, calls out as an inmate wanting to free himself from prison. He activates the muse through his writing, through his willingness to beseech and make transparent his longing. Muse embodies the sense of the invisible otherness that is not you or me — but happens when “…creator and receiver both, work in alliance with the works…” When the creator and receiver are working together there arises a third thing; something in addition to you and your work; a presence in the room. Modern artists of all kinds summon the muse, a name for this unseen presence, a name given to us by the ancient Greeks. What we make is only a testimony to a greater desire to enter this mysterious province. What we make is only a testimony to a greater desire to enter this mysterious province. We need, now, more than ever, the comfort of being still long enough to feel this presence. What follows are some thoughts on invoking this presence with our hands.