musings

…is to show your hand.

~E.V. Lucas

I am not marching today, tho’ I have in the past and will again. But my fingers are marching across the keyboard, and scrolling through my photos looking for those with hands. There are many. You may know why this is my theme today.

The quote at the top of this post goes on…

“There is no diplomacy like candor. You may lose by it now and then, but it will be a loss well gained if you do. Nothing is so boring as having to keep up a deception.”

I wouldn’t say I’ve been deceptive all of these years online, sharing thoughts and pictures, my mind and my heart. But I’ve not been entirely open…I’ve not brought up politics…I’ve not felt free to express all that I might, if I did not make my living through my online businesses. It’s tricky. Especially, perhaps, when my work is meant to create and share peace and beauty…

…but also truth. My truth. And my truth is that my heart is sore and aching. The solid ground my feet have felt and known beneath me for most of my life, is trembling. I feel so much grief over what is being lost, what is being done.

And tho’ I am finding so much to read and learn and keep up with…I’m not finding what I am most seeking now, what those of us who are safe, home, living our everyday lives, are really feeling about it all? The cruelty…the damage…the suffering. This is not normal. And yet, most of the dear woman I’ve long visited in my online hedgerow are not speaking of it. And nor have I, until now…

I’ve been wondering what to do, what will be my response? And I’ve done a bit of this and that, but especially looked within to find the truest answer. I haven’t been able to grasp it fully, but this post is a start and in the weeks to come, I hope to breath some life into this website of mine and make it a place to find, in addition to peace & beauty for all, new resources.

It feels time to refocus on Make Do & Mend the Earth, both as a response to what is unfolding and because the earth, more than ever, needs our caring. I will make a blog list with kindred places to visit when you need company. And more sharing about how I’ve disentangled myself from the too-large-and-powerful companies we encounter in our daily lives. I won’t be strident, or focusing on politics, just on what feels right and helpful. I’d like this spot to be the sort I am looking for now…not focusing on current events…not ignoring them, but sharing about my everydays, including the feelings and questions that are coming up and coloring my days.

I will be passionate and gentle, as I authentically am…just more free than I’ve felt in the past. Wisteria & Sunshine will remain a politics-free zone, tho’ always a place where we may trust that our emotions and well-being will be held lovingly. My hope is that those of my customers and members who view the current situation in our country (and the world) differently than I, will not find it unwelcome to let me be more truly me in my own public spaces. And now I’m taking a deep breath and clicking publish.

xo

Lesley

It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.

~Nelson Mandela

Well! My March break turned into something much longer and ended up being nothing like I hoped it would be. We could all say that about March 2020, I imagine? I am well, and dearly hope you are the same…as well as can be, anyway. Tho’ I’ve gone quiet everywhere except Wisteria & Sunshine, I plan to leave a proper missive here sometime next week. I’ve been very, very busy in studio creating the school year Daybook things for the past five weeks, but will have my shop filled. By Saturday, fingers crossed.

Before I then start filling orders, and take a real break from work in late August, I’d love to try to find a new rhythm here. It feels more hopeful now that I’ve left Facebook, post only now and then at Instagram, and have been sinking into a more analogue life…if it can be called analogue with all the hours I still spend in front of the computer and my daily escape with another episode in my current series on the telly. Perhaps a less social media life is more apt?

So I’ll see you soon.

xo

Lesley