Inhale/Exhale

May 22, 2025 - Journal Entry

Today I found my breathing space by having a home day. I edged the front garden beds and thought about my need for clear edges in my life. I like knowing where to go and what to do and when. Without edges, my day becomes a muddy mess and I wear myself out trying to do too much, all at once. I thought about God’s whisper to me once several years back to “Think good thoughts. Dream good dreams. Plant seeds of hope.” I thought about this as I plucked out buttercups which have a stranglehold on our front yard. I need to put positive thoughts, actions and dreams in place of my negative ruminations. These days, I am a live wire. I feel everything intensely and passionately. Where once I stuffed my feelings, now I feel them to a heightened degree.

This week I realized afresh that my inner writer and artist fuel each other. They aren’t rivals but rather the best of friends when I let them play together. I see how my painter benefits when my writer puts words to the art helping me and others to connect deeply to the content of my work. I also see how my painter inspires my writer who has now written several brilliant poems in response to my paintings. And also a whole book in response to my knitting performance. Too, I realized that different parts of myself are stimulated in different ways. I got so excited at Poetry Group, my passionate nature really came alive. Perhaps the writer is my inhale (awakening) and the artist is the exhale (calming & soothing.)

Image Credit: “To turn to face each other” watercolor by Christen Mattix