Actually, there’s not much that slows me down.
Think positively.
Visualize good health and vitality.
Work out at the Medina County Recreation Center,
Monday through Friday,
averaging three hours a morning before going home to work.
Today was a very full day.
When I got up this morning
- after forgetting to set the alarm.
Missed one hour of my workout.
Spent over an hour in the pool.
One-hour Yoga.
Breakfast with a friend
who introduced me to someone with similar interests.
Prepared the house
HeartSpace Spiritual Community’s Gathering on Sunday.
Participated in a one-hour International Call.
Scurried to the Office on Aging
Ukrainian Easter Egg painting with Judy Totts.
Picked up my suitcase and computer.
Drove nearly three hours
Benedictine Monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Met with my Wood Turning teacher.
Arranged for a session with our Wood Turning Mentor tomorrow.
+++
It was great fun learning to “write” a Ukrainian Easter Egg. Something I have wanted to do for a long time. That’s one thing about being 73, I am mindful that I am in the last leg of the journey. That means, if there are things I want to do and haven’t done, I’d better step on it and get them done. Today I “wrote” a Ukrainian Easter Egg. There are pictures of it here.
Art is very prayer-full. I call it Heart- Art. At the University for Creation Spirituality we called it Art as Meditation and every one of our Doctoral students were required to take an Art as Meditation class each time they came to study for a week-long seminar.
This is how it works for me. When I begin to focus on the art project, out of necessity, I push other intrusive thoughts out of my mind. This is not done by force. It is simply the outcome of focusing on the project at hand. Today Judy was teaching the art of Ukrainian Easter Egg Art. We were all beginners. Judy started very simply to teach the technique and produce a worthwhile outcome.
Each of us received an egg hollow shell that Judy had drawn some simple designs for us to follow.
Here is the magic of this meditative process.
The “writing” is done very carefully with a tool called a KISTKA. It is a piece of wood about the size of a pencil. On one end there is a very small funnel shape into which I put black beeswax. When heated over a small candle flame, the wax, having a low melting point, liquifies and runs out of the tiny funnel as I place it to the egg’s surface.
Sometimes the wax sticks and blocks the funnel. In that case I use a very thin wire on a stick to clean the funnel.
The method is very simple. Whatever I want to stay the color of the eggshell, I cover with the black wax. Then I dip into my lightest color. Always working from lightest to darkest color. Once it is the desired intensity, I remove the egg and wipe it. I continue to do this, each time visualizing what I want to remain the newest color, that’s what has wax put on it.
The Magic happens at the end of the process. When I have completed my wax writings, I gently move the egg across the small candle flame and wipe the melted black wax away with a soft cloth. Just like magic, all of the concealed color beneath the black wax shines through as the wax is removed.
My heart was so full when I saw that little bunny, symbol of Easter joy, love, fun, soft, bouncy, food scavenger after dark under the bird feeder. The vine that goes full circle around the egg from point to point is the Eternal Life line. The small flowering vine, so very delicate.
There are so many applications that can be taken from this experience.
Black Wax: the darkness that conceals my mystery and reveals my wonder.
The Rich Colors: gifts and talents, hidden just beneath my surface
A Hollow Egg: When I feel like just a shell of a person, it is time to move through the mysterious layers of my Being, to find the meaning of eternity now.
Magic: the way I experience the Divine, The Greatest Magician of All, in whose image I am intricately patterned.
How about you? I invite you to take a moment to reflect. What is hiding just beneath your surface? What are your rich colors, yearning to be seen? When have you most felt like a hollow egg? how did you manage that feeling? Would you do anything different? If so, what?
Thanks for being there and thanks for being here.
Much love as we continue this journey together.
Carol Vaccariello
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