Thinking autumnal thoughts

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Dear Monty,



     



The year whips past at speed, taking time out of time I contemplate the coal tip garden and the upcoming Orchid Festival at : gardenofwales.org.uk 6th and 7th Sept. This time I am not alone, I shall be in the company of the talented botanical artist  Polly O'Leary :  blog.pollyoleary.co.uk. I met Polly last year and she took time to have a chat and visit my stand, if you come along you are in for a treat.

Inspiration came this past week from watching a programme on BBC 4 about Chinese art. Watching that somehow connected me to heaven. The flow of a calligrapher's brush on the paper scroll - the sheer beauty of it - a humble and contemplative act carried out like a ballet - a visual dance. It seemed like a connection from spirit to hand and from hand to paper.

Unlike this laboured work - I can only see the cairn as a pimple now (thanks to Anne Wareham X)

I also sung a song of joy and melancholy reading one of my favourite books of the Bible - the book of Job. The book oozes with wisdom, it says to me in its simple and beautiful way - worldly piety - building up hedges for protection - worldly position, knowledge and fame are all meaningless. What counts for me is the connection to a truth beyond our reasoning - a truth which we cannot lay claim to creating - thank God, because we seem to think we know all :

We assume much
We know little
Judgement is now pronounced in a stream of decoded digits

I think we have forgotten how to rest, how to have a shabbat  - how to take our hands off for a while.

I breathe in autumn
It comes in the change of birdsong
Breath hangs in the air
Dew gathers
The gardens bones begin to be revealed
Growth slows
Boundaries need re-definition.









Paul.

Comments

  1. Charles Hawes17 August 2014 at 15:05

    So true about fame *checks visits again for today's blog post. I have made a scripture link today in a post I am writing (Abrahams Bosom). Bet this won't get to you. They never do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul Steer17 August 2014 at 15:20

      Ha ! me too #checks visits - maybe it's my piety showing - your replies are coming in thick and fast - blogger seems to be working today.

      Delete
  2. Charles Hawes17 August 2014 at 15:07

    Ps. You are speaking to me, though. I struggle with rest. Even the idea makes me uncomfortable.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charles Hawes17 August 2014 at 15:08

    Where's my crows?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul Steer17 August 2014 at 15:22

      Too late Charles - sealed behind glass forever. It looks better in the flesh - even if I say so myself. Pity about the pimple analogy though - just can't shake it !

      Delete
  4. JohnK17 August 2014 at 15:26

    Well Paul, after a very hectic couple of days (and today's not much better), taking my time out of time to read your blog has calmed me down. I'm still a bit jealous of your garden - it has a shape I could work with; my boundaries are too square for my liking. Looking forward to meeting you in September but, in the meantime, please continue with the calm (though maybe a bit less melancholy).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul Steer17 August 2014 at 15:32

      Thank you John, it seems once a melancholic always a melancholic - is there such a thing as melancholics anonymous ?

      Delete
  5. Anne Wareham17 August 2014 at 16:15

    That programme on Chinese art is fantastic!

    But it's not autumn yet....#hangingontosummer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul Steer17 August 2014 at 18:58

      Yes - I like Andrew Graham Dixon he always seems to tease out the spiritual side to art-making. Autumn is a comin but like you Anne I'd like a bit of warmth back please.

      Delete

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