Flying Mind

The little dog is constant. With me every moment, mostly a welcome presence: charming, funny, expectant, quick to register delight. Time free of him seems impossible, and not exactly welcome. We are a pair, as Kendall has said. Are we one? At times... But I still crave time and focus for creative work. Even time for sitting still and letting the mind go where it will...

On a recent morning, I found such a moment, took my coffee into the studio and sat on the couch. Lumen brought me a toy. I threw it automatically, but he was absorbed long enough for my gaze to float free and to alight upon an old wire sculpture. "Flying Mind", afloat in a shadow box and resting upon a stack of art books, attracted my mind as well as my eye.  It was suddenly new again but sending out ancient wisdom. It's stillness was essential, yet it moved me. 

Time to get the camera... A gentle rearranging for the camera's eye, and an added object to lend a playful touch... A grapefruit off a neighbor's tree. Click, click! Intention was accompanied by mystery. Both wanted realization. And where was the little dog? Coming and going, curious about the game I played, but not distracting. Anyway my eye was caught and held as my mind went flying with the possibilities a flying mind can reveal. This was a restful moment, as well as stimulating. Ideas were attracted, but soon became overwhelming. I was hungry, needing breakfast. Lumen needed brushing. Down to earth, Leify...  

Later, I wrote in my journal. (You are getting an edited version of that writing.) Because, yes, my immediate urge was to blip a photo, share the experience rather than to start a new sculpture, drawing or painting. Is it all the same? Dear friends, what I value most is that the mind can still fly.  So be it...