thanks Jo
“Come with me | and you’ll be | in a world of | pure imagination” – Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
When you finally open your eyes and see what you’ve actually known all along, you fall into a place that takes your breath away. Since declaring myself a Talespinner, enchantment, magic, stories and connection have been lining up and demanding I notice them. I am becoming increasingly impatient to tell you the stories that are being whispered in my ear.
I want to tell you the story of the woman who saw her full beauty for the first time and was transformed into sparkling light.
I want to tell you the story of the dress that danced itself to pieces waiting for its owner to notice that it had gone on without her.
I want to tell you about the woman who took her shoes off while she stood under a tree and grew roots so deep that the earth moved with her when she danced.
I want to tell you about the woman who climbed out of her own mouth.
I want to tell you about the place where our dreams go to wait for us to dream them.
I want to tell you about the darkness that has taken seed and begun masquerading as a lover.
I want to weave all of these stories together and tell them to you so that we can both be wrapped in the truth that only stories can tell. But I can’t tell you all at once; I need to be patient.
My first book told the story of a woman waking up. This one will explain why she woke to find leaves in her hair.
“You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” – Mary Oliver
The picture above is from the portfolio of artist Su Blackwell. I’d never seen Su’s work before, but have very quickly become a huge fan!
“If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!” – Shel Silverstein
It’s taken until age 36, but I think I have finally remembered who I am. I say remembered because when it came to me I knew I had known it all along, but had put it away somewhere and forgotten all about it like a once-treasured doll now gathering dust on a shelf.
The process of remembering started last summer with the gentle knowledge of my Style Statement brought on during my participation in Jamie’s Circe’s Circle. During that time, Jamie also helped me to claim that I was indeed a writer, something I had not fully claimed before.
Then last week a book came in the mail and when I opened it and read just one paragraph I remembered a little bit more. It was not just about writing, but about stories – ancient stories – but it still didn’t feel complete. I am not and have never been a storyteller.
And then yesterday two things happened simultaneously: I had to write a bio for a guest post and I joined Jamie’s Year of Dreams circle and had to introduce myself. Bios scare me, so I decided to sleep on it. This morning I woke really early with a voice running through my head. “If you are a dreamer, come in…” I have carried this poem with me ever since I read it the first time. I had it pinned to the outside of my bedroom door when I was about 12, I wrote it on the wall of the craft centre I managed and I’ve scribbled it in nearly every quote or notebook I have.
“…for we have some flax-golden tales to spin…” and I remembered who I was.
So this morning the first thing I wrote was this:
“Last night I struggled to write a bio for a guest post I am doing on a friends’ blog and this morning I woke up with a new word for the bio: Talespinner. I’m not even sure it’s a real word, but it felt dangerous and magical and it feels more like the kind of writer I am aspiring to be. I write books that take ancient stories and wisdom and make them resonate with a contemporary audience. I want people reading my words to feel like they are sitting beside a campfire at the knees of their ancestors hearing stories that help them make sense of their modern lives.”
So there it is. Finally.
Yes.
xo
