Words

I have always loved Kahlil Gibran. I know I was in my late teens when I was introduced to his work, though I have no idea how that came about... except that it was the 60's... a time when his writing, especially The Prophet, made a big resurgence. (Ah... the 60's...!)

That I have owned a copy of this book since I was that age says a lot about my love of words. The right words have the capacity to carry me far away... and at the same time, to bring me so deeply inside, so squarely home. They can melt my heart in an instant, leave me breathless, inspire, bring understanding, wisdom even, touch places that are - weirdly - beyond language. Certain poems, song lyrics, quotes, that single paragraph in a novel can be magical, and can captivate me like few other things. In fact, to say that I love words doesn't begin to cover it. It's a love affair, plain and simple.

There has been a longing in me for quite a while now to begin incorporating words with some of my photos. Since I began learning about typography and the art of design a couple of years ago, since discovering the beautiful fonts that people are creating, I have wanted to venture out into a whole new branch of creating; combining in my art images, words, fonts, feeling...  though I haven't said a word, because fear and anxiety have stopped me. Fear and anxiety, those god-awful twins, that can so keep me paralyzed...

I am in a seven-week Wisdom Goddess course that is exploring the Hindu goddesses. This week we are studying and meditating on Kali... always known as the great destroyer, yet now what I'm learning is that what she destroys is untruths and things that keep us stuck, and that what she desires more than anything for us is absolute liberation and freedom. This morning, while sitting against a big beautiful oak tree meditating, I offered Kali the cloak of fear and anxiety that I have worn since I was at least five years old. It was heavy, beyond cumbersome, there was fear even in the removing of it, but I was able to, and I handed it up to her, where she danced atop a roaring fire. I watched as she dropped the garment in the fire, sat mesmerized as it went up in flames and was quickly reduced to ashes. All the while she continued her dance and stared lovingly, so incredibly lovingly, straight into my eyes. And now here I am, a few hours later, putting into words what I have been afraid to say... which is, what I want to do with words.