Tag: Stillness

Swimming in Silence …

A reflection by my friend, Kay Gibbons.

Once a month I take myself out of the fast flowing stream of life and go to a quiet space . Like being a still eddy near to the waters edge . In this place I seek and rest in ‘the still point at the centre’….

Of late I have done little spontaneous painting and drawing – making marks on paper , letting the brush go free fall and the pen trail behind on a journey of exploration … scroll through and you will see the development from blank page , paint , pen and ink …..

Initially I imagined the painting was a selection of leaves , a joyous expression ‘of being’ and as my pen drew a line here, another there the shapes of the leaves turned into fish , akin to a much earlier style of work by @kaygibbons_art.glass.sculpture

This maybe a work in progress on many levels- I can envisage loose brush strokes of paint on glass with the fish swimming vertically within a larger panel of clear textured and coloured glass; I can also see more fish with the drawing becoming a playful gathering joining me in the still waters of the eddy at the edge of the stream ….

Swimming in Silence in my Quiet eddy at the edge , bringing it into the centre…..

and on into another day …….

For more of Kay’s work, follow her on Instagram ~ kaygibbons_art.glass.sculpture or via Google.

Sit Awhile

Photo: Emmanuel Head. This striking structure, built between 1801 and 1810 by Trinity House, is one of the earliest daymarks built in Britain (possibly the earliest one). A daymark is a navigational aid for shipping, and this one stands 35 feet high. A good place to sit awhile. Photo taken by Gill Henwood.

My friend Gill Henwood recently stayed on Lindisfarne (Holy Island), Northumbria. Near the ruins of the Benedictine Monastery, is a cliff top walk along what is known as The Heugh (pronounced ‘Hee-uff’). It is believed that this rock was utilized by the Celtic/Anglo-Saxon monks, as part of the early monastery, built in 635AD when King Oswald, newly reclaiming his father’s kingdom, sent to Iona for a monk to begin the work of bringing the Northumbrian people to the Christian faith. St Aidan set up his monastery on Lindisfarne which becomes an island twice a day. It was near enough to Bamburgh, the King’s castle to allow Aidan free access to the King and yet quiet enough for the young Anglo-Saxon novices to learn the Gospel of Jesus, the prayers, the sacramental life and the lessons of mission.
Because Lindisfarne becomes an Island twice a day, it can welcome tourists and visitors but also it can flow into silence. Both purposes are valid but it is good that sometimes, being still allows the voice of God to enter our hearts, where we are converted by Love for a life of love.

We are invited to Sit Awhile and allow the multi-faceted island re-create us from within.
Gill’s poem below takes its inspiration from this.

Sit Awhile

A place to sit awhile
to listen…

sea splashing as the tide retreats
oystercatchers piping as they fly on the wind
swans overhead in their pair…

to see…
seal heads bob up in the surf
cormorant fishing in the seaweed
ships on the horizon far off
the low silhouette of the Farne Islands.

But nobody here
‘til the causeway opens
and the coaches arrive.

I feel…
wind ruffling my hair
the breeze brushing my cheek
a Presence balming my soul
the Spirit enlivening all.

Lastly …
the gannets skimming the waves.
Stunningly beautiful.

Holy Island,
indeed.

Gill Henwood
October 2023

Northumbrian Gannets