serendipity and support

“Writing on one’s own blog is the easy route in so many ways. Deadlines and topics are self-imposed.”

~ Seth Daire, http://www.christianimagination.com/2010/01/03/writing-in-2010/

It’s Monday and I suppose I should write a new post. Not that I have nothing to write about, but sometimes a commitment to reporting is a burden rather than an anticipation.

Officially, I give myself one or two days off from seeking conversations. But sometimes the less you look for or engineer something, the more serendipitously it comes to you.

Conversation: Yesterday, as part of my Sabbath intention, I didn’t turn on the computer, but I did not take the business cards out of my purse.

Business cards are helpful little shortcuts for explaining what I do. Sometimes I will hold back, especially at church: I don’t want to turn ‘fellowship’ into opportunistic ‘networking’. However, over lunch with Roger & Holly and their daughter, I couldn’t resist passing a card to this fascinating grade 12 student who is already excelling in creative writing and wants also to be a marine biologist. I recommended some Madeleine L’Engle books to feed both interests, such as The Arm of the Starfish. She has already read A Wrinkle in Time and Many Waters. It was fun to feel that this conversation might help to “empower a [young] woman in the arts.”

Conversations: On Sunday morning I woke up with sharp, constant pain in my mid-back. Fortunately, today I had both chiropractic and massage appointments, back to back. After a very bad sleep, I was exhausted. During a very gentle chiropractic movement where Dr. Melrose pressed on a cushion on my chest, I started to cry, as if he was squeezing out sadness. He consulted with Alexandria, the massage therapist, advising her on how to proceed with my poor body, then advised me “behave yourself” and “no lifting.”

Face down in Alexandria’s room I confessed, “I’m feeling emotional.” She responded, “That’s alright. You just have a good cry if you need to. Those emotions aren’t doing you any good held inside. And you can talk about it if you want to.” So I wept, and I talked, and ended up having a bit of a counseling session along with the physical ministrations. Really, our bodies are so interconnected, whose idea was it to separate the body from the spirit? Gnostics? Fellow Regent College grad, Kirsten Jeffrey, struggles with some serious health issues and, as only a person with chronic illness can do, has some profound reflections on the importance of body:

“I nonetheless think that neither a faith-shaped worldview (ie me) nor a non-faith worldview (many of my dear friends) cohesively allows for a “well, our bodies don’t *really* matter” perspective. Not if your belief system – Christian, atheist, or otherwise -- is thought through logically. Our bodies do matter. They are more than simply the vehicles that carry us through the day – yet even in that role as vehicles, how they do or do not function has great impact on our emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual engagement with the world.”

Alexandria also asked, “If you were at home [i.e. Saskatchewan], who would you be talking to and turning to for support?” I told her “my girl friends.” She suggested that I need some conversations with girlfriends. Which leads to my next serendipity:

Conversation: Sue called me today. She is my favourite poet and knitting machine, Sue, aka the Accidental Poet/Housewife. She is also one of those kindred spirits with whom I have experienced instant connection. She was calling to invite me to present a one-hour session on creativity at Inscribe’s Spring Wordshop (not a typo) on March 20th at First Alliance Church in Calgary. Most gladly, I accepted the invitation. Also gladly, I welcomed the opportunity for a visit with Sue. Her voice and her perspective were balm for my soul. Thank you, Sue. And thank you, God, for ‘sending’ Sue today.

Oh, and an online conversation: I’m looking for ideas on how to promote and sell Notes from Over the Hill (www.marthamorgan.ca). Thanks in advance!