Most of us have been held captive by winter’s hold for so long now. Too long.
We’ve been isolated. Stuck inside. Alone.
Consider Lord Byron’s take on solitude.
Thanks to Edie Melson of The Write Conversation for sharing her creative photo that so accurately portrays Byron’s words.
I believe Bryon suggests, rather than isolating, solitude stirs us to introspection, which in turn feeds our soul and nourishes our creativity.
Do you agree?
I recently learned about a concept called Liminal Space. I’d never heard the term before so off to Google I went.
Liminality is a transition period where normal limits to thought, self-understanding and behavior are relaxed – a situation that can lead to new perspectives.
Psychologists call liminal space, a place where boundaries dissolve a little and we stand there, on the threshold, getting ourselves ready to move across the limits of what we were into what we are to be.
There’s an Irish saying I think fits liminal space: Reality is that place between the sea and the foam. The sea is deep and dark and scary. The foam is shifty and uncertain, disappearing before our eyes. We linger in the in-between.
Interestingly, the word liminality comes from the Latin limen, meaning a threshold.
Remember adolescence? That’s the liminal space between childhood and adulthood.
So why is liminal space important?
Liminal space is where we can grow and change. The space between the closed door and the open window.
After a time of processing this concept, I see I’m in a liminal space on my writer’s journey.
Or maybe it’s simply that a writer’s journey is a constant state of liminality.
Doors close and windows open.
Everyone’s journey is filled with them.
The hiccup is that you can’t experience transformation unless you let go.
Richard Rohr says, “Few of us know how to inhabit liminal space. If we are security-needy by temperament, we will always run back to the old room that we have already constructed. If we are risk-taking by temperament, we will quickly run to a new room of our own making and liking. Hardly anyone wants to stay on the threshold without knowing the answers…”
I have to agree.
Straddling a threshold isn’t a comfortable place. Fear of the unknown has us holding tight to the familiar.
We must let go of the comfortable and familiar and move into the uncomfortable and the unfamiliar— seize the possibilities.
Not so easy to do. Scary even.
Unless we embrace change. Unless we stop trying to make our old journey fit the new destination.
“I’m going to show the courage not to retreat back to what was and I’m going to be patient not to jump into what I think ought to be, but I’m going to stand in liminal space. I am going to trust that as I stand on the threshold it is pregnant with the possibilities of God.” – David Jensen.
Richard Rohr says, “Nothing good or creative emerges from business as usual. This is why much of the work of God is to get people into liminal space, and to keep them there long enough so they can learn something essential. It is the ultimate teachable space…maybe the only one. … it is the only position that insures ongoing wisdom, broader perspective and ever-deeper compassion.”
What about you? Are you at a threshold in your life? Are you ready to let go and learn something essential—to claim the possibilities behind the open door?
A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
Our soon-to-be neighbors stopped by last week to see if they could leave a child’s playhouse in the yard between our houses. They would have to temporarily take down the fence (the infamous privacy fence, that is) to move it into the back yard and planned to do that after they officially moved in.
That was no problem.
They also brought their chickens and wondered if we could keep them with our flock until they could build a chicken coop. This was also no problem.
They were already in a cage so we simply moved the cage into the back yard and planned to put the chickens into the coop after dark. We’ve discovered that chickens loose all their memories at night so when they woke up they would think they had always lived in our coop. 
The only drawback to this plan was the dachshunds. They were fascinated by the new chickens and while they could not actually get to them, their barking was very stressful for the birds.
So we moved the cage into the chicken yard behind the shed. It was much calmer for the chickens.
Now those of you with chicken experience may have noticed that the darker bird is actually a rooster. Our neighbor assured me it was a friendly rooster and indeed it was – until it came time to clip wings.
Wing clipping is an event at which I have only been the holder of the chicken. Rachel or Beekeeper Brian always wielded the scissors.
Since Rachel moved to college and Brian was at work, it was up to Chicken Wrangler Sara to expand her wing clipping experience and do the holding and the clipping.
It was harder than I expected.
I clipped the hen first and she pooped on me. Fortunately this was a day I did not have to go to work and had time to clean up properly.
The rooster, on the other hand, bit my arm. Actually, it was kind of a pinch since I’m not sure chicken have teeth.
In any event, it was somewhat painful, but I survived.
After the chicken scratch last week and the rooster bite this week, I’m going to ask for combat pay.
The next morning I discovered the hen roosting on the privacy fence. Obviously, I had not clipped enough off her wings.
That night, while she was roosting in a tree, the more experienced wing clipper Beekeeper Brian grabbed her and did a better job.
Now everyone, including the guests, go into the coop at night.
And stay.
More company and I’m excited to welcome Jane Carver to the porch today. She’s talking about imagination. One of my favorite topics since my imagination tends to run full throttle.
As a writer, my imagination creates whatever I want.
We writers fill notebooks with ideas, pages with storybook names, jot down dire circumstances then one day, we pull out an idea from here and a name from there and put it all together.
Once I’ve written something I want to share, it is time to edit, hone that manuscript until there is, no doubt, what I want the reader to experience.
I’m still working at my process. And always will. Any writer who says, “I’ve got this down pat,” is only fooling herself.
Writers are learners who constantly attend conferences, take classes, read and communicate with fellow writers as they hone their creativity.
There are no new plots–each has been told.
There are no rules to what an imagination comes up with, but there are guidelines to follow if you want that story to be the best it can.
The idea is to tell your story in a new way. The trick is to take what you learn and make it your own.
Write in a way that no one else does. Be fresh! Add tension, conflict, danger, doubt, suspense and maybe love if that’s your thing.
Polish and craft the words your creativity stirs up until you have a story that begs to be read and enjoyed.
Thanks, Janie for the encouragement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jane Carver is a former schoolteacher, a quilter, an artist
an editor,
a dual personality author, writing adult fiction as Jane Carver and young adult fiction as Jane Grace
a blogger extraordinaire writing 4 blogs weekly…amazing!
Want to learn more about Jane or her other personality, Jane Grace? Visit her website for adult fiction and her website for young adult fiction
Or stop by one of her blogs:
http://janiecarver2011.wordpress.com
http://RomancesByJanie.wordpress.com
http://JaneGracePresents.wordpress.com
http://WritingImagination2013.wordpress.com
You can also pick up a copy of her latest releases by clicking on the covers:
Intense (Young Adult Fiction) Sensitive subject but more about the compassion and help received afterward that makes up the story. Nova Dean dreams of going to Nationals in Debate but to do that she must beat Adam Parks and his team. Their rival is intense but not as much as the help Adam gives Nova after she’s raped. Only with his help can she take one step at a time back to a life she can endure. Only with his help are the rapists caught.
Return with Honor (Adult Fiction)
The death of Jud Longtree’s best friend gives the local police chief reason enough to suspect him of murder. With the help of Lottie Amberville, they use both logic and creativity to find someone who may have murdered more than once.
Sunday was a big night if you’re a movie fan.
I am and I’m not.
I love watching movies, but because I’m a writer, I tend to dissect the production, the story and the performances. That takes out some of the fun.
I’ve learned not to comment aloud after dodging popcorn, dirty looks and rather fluid sounds of shhh’s from those around me.
I love to watch the Oscars every year. It’s always a study in characterization.
For many years, I watched the Academy Awards with my dear little aunt. Sometimes stretched out together on her den floor or sometimes with long phone conversations afterward to discuss what had happened and who wore the best gown or which acceptance speech we thought was the best.
Aunt Bick was the consummate movie fan. Going to the movies was her most favorite thing to do. Unless you count watching the classic movie channel.
And, you always wanted her on your team in Trivia Pursuit. Her brain was an encyclopedia of movie trivia.
I think she got the movie-loving gene from her mother, my maternal grandmother.
When I was young, we’d catch the bus from Oma’s house to the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas. I remember we’d sneak inside with a Scarborough’s shopping bag full of pimento cheese sandwiches and Fritos. Oma was frugal. :)
Watching the Academy Awards on Sunday I was reminded of these two lovely ladies.
Especially my aunt.
Whenever I came to town, Aunt Bick and I would head to one of the multi-screen picture show theaters. We’d grab a big bag of popcorn loaded with movie theater butter, and her favorite Dr. Pepper drink and watch as many of the year’s nominees movies as we could.
We never missed an Academy Awards television production.
So I was there watching last Sunday when Ellen DeGeneres ordered pizza.
I heard John Travolta slip up on Idina Menzel’s name and sympathized because I’ve slipped up on pronunciations more than once myself. Interestingly, his slip-up raised her profile more than if he’d pronounced her name correctly.
I loved that Lupita Nyong’o won an Oscar on her very first nomination. What an inspiration her acceptance speech was.
Matthew McConaughey’s tribute to his father in his acceptance speech brought a tear to my eye.
I pictured my Aunt Bick stretched out on a cloud staring down at the action.
What about you? Are you a movie fan? Did you have a favorite Oscar moment this year?
It is Mardi Gras time.
French for “fat Tuesday,” Mardi Gras is the last hurrah before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.
A time for eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual fasting.
If you’re in New Orleans, Louisiana, the city synonymous with Mardi Gras, it’s also a time of revelry.
Laissez les bons temps rouler as they say. A Cajun French phrase which is literally translated from the English expression “Let the good times roll.”
There are parades along St. Charles Avenue. People stroll through the French Quarter where all manner of fun abounds. Organizations, known as krewes, sponsor parades and balls.
At midnight, the police halt the festivities by riding their horses down Bourbon Street and announcing the party’s over. The street sweepers follow pushing the crowds toward home. It is now Lent.
Fat Tuesday celebrations aren’t limited to New Orleans.
While not observed nationally throughout the United States, traditionally ethnic French cities and regions throughout the country have notable celebrations.
King’s cakes, beads and masks even appear here in our little corner of the Rio Grande Forest.
So are you celebrating Mardi Gras?
A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
I’ve come to the realization that white chickens are the most trouble to keep. At least that’s true of our white chickens.
If you remember, one of our white chickens went over the back fence and led us on a wild “chicken hunt.” If you don’t remember, read here.
Then there was the “hen in a hive” who laid her eggs in an empty bee hive for several weeks. Read all about that white hen here.
Fortunately, our white hens lay regularly and their eggs are extra large. It makes them worth the trouble.
One morning this week I went to open the coop and made this discovery:
The silly chicken had managed to get stuck in the quail cage.
She was quite distressed and kept pacing back and forth which is why the picture is so blurry.
While I was standing there one of the other birds landed on my shoulder on its way out of the coop. I forgot how uncoordinated chickens are first thing in the morning.
Of course, I was dressed for work, in a white shirt, which now had chicken prints on the shoulder. I wiped it off and hoped no one would notice – which they didn’t.
As I was putting on my swimsuit the next morning, I noticed a scratch on my shoulder.
That gives a new meaning to the term “chicken scratch.”
Welcome with me our first guest blogger for Company’s Coming Thursday. Her thoughts on life resonate with me. I’m thinking they will with you too.
by Jody Payne
Don’t look down. But it’s okay if you hold your breath while looking up. That’s what I’m doing today as I post this on Judythe’s blog.
I have to admit I have no idea why anyone would give a hoot about my opinion of anything, but I’m always willing to give an opinion.
Sometimes, I see myself as one of those pebbles you find on the beach.
I’ve been washed and polished and tossed ashore. Then, just as I start to feel the sun on my face, I’m thrown back into the ocean by a wave with the force of a tsunami.
However, next thing you know, there I am on the beach again basking in glorious sunlight.
Is this how you see your life?
Probably.
I do know this much; life, with all its troubles, all its anguish, is a miracle.
Yep, life is a total miracle to be enjoyed even when we’re in the deep, way over our heads and wondering if this time we’ll ever surface again.
Do this for me, for yourself and everyone you love: Vow to take time to understand you’re being cleansed and polished.
Trust me; next time you are tossed ashore, you will discover you are stronger and your life will be more beautiful than ever.
What’s going on in your life right now?
Can you remember a time when your life was at its darkest? And then, voila! You were thrown back on the shore to rest in the sun.
If you’ve never been in the depths of real trouble, never been afraid this time you’d never get a happy life again, I’m thrilled for you.
I also think you’re lying.
Tell us the truth. We’ll all feel better. I’m just sayin’…
Jody Payne is
a writer (fiction and non-fiction),
a horse woman (dressage, no less),
an animal lover (just ask her two rescue dogs Annie and Janie or my two four-legged boys, Toby and Buster),
and most of all she’s southern through and through.
Want to visit with Jody more? You can find her on FB: https://www.facebook.com/jodypaynesays or her website: www.jodypayne.net
I’d never heard of Derrick Coleman, who plays for the Seattle Seahawks, until his team tromped our Denver Broncos. He and his team were amazing on the field.
Then I read an article in the Savvy Signing newsletter and learned Coleman has been deaf since he was three. He wears a skullcap under his helmet to secure water-resistant hearing aids during games and quarterback Russell Wilson takes his mouthpiece out during huddles so Coleman can read his lips.
Two other deaf defensive players have been part of the NFL – Bonnie Sloan was the first deaf player to play in the NFL in 1973 for St. Louis and defensive player Kenny Walker joined Denver in 1991.
Coleman attended public school where he played sports. Instead of giving up when other kids made fun of him and told him he wouldn’t be able to do something, he’d turn his hearing aids off.
His success on the field has made him an inspiration, but his actions off the field, have made him a role model.
He says he did the Duracell commercial so his story could encourage kids in the deaf community to fight for their dreams. His story as the first deaf NFL offensive player to play in a Super Bowl is awe-inspiring to all.
Coleman: “Nobody is perfect. I wear a hearing aid, some people have glasses, some people have depression. Everybody has something. But as long as you don’t let that get in the way of what you want to do, you can do anything you want to do.”
Watch the Duracell commercial and be inspired. [btw, I’m not promoting Duracell, but Derrick Coleman.]
Spring is coming. Officially, the season arrives on March 20.
Here in our Colorado mountains, we can feel springtime in the air as the temperatures warm above freezing. Soon it will be time to sit on the porch and visit.
In anticipation of the season, there’ll be a new category on my blog called Company’s Coming for guest blogging.
Company’s Coming is not a Texas-ism or a Judythe-ism, as my friend calls my made-up words.
The idea is from an old Porter Wagner country western song. Never heard it? Have a listen.
My favorite line in the song is
We’ll run out to the henhouse and wring a neck or two
We’ll have chicken and dumplings and some yellow gravy too
As a little girl, whenever anyone was coming over to our house for a visit, Daddy would say it was time to go out to the henhouse. I was very confused because, you see, we didn’t have a henhouse. I thought chickens grew in the grocery meat counters all wrapped in cellophane!
I’ll not be wringing chicken necks, but I will find a welcome mat and spread it out with cheer for guest bloggers.
Guest blogging is writing for someone else’s blog in case you’re unfamiliar with the term. I guest blog from time to time for other blogs hoping to gain exposure for my books and traffic for my blog.
But guest blogging doesn’t have to be limited to authors or those with something to sell.
We all have stories to tell. Stories we share in conversations all the time. Why not in a guest blog post?
Company’s Coming is an opportunity for anyone to share their thoughts and opinions like my daughter, Chicken Wrangler Sara, does on the Miller Farm Fridays.
Whether you’re an author or a reader, a mom or a dad, a teen or a senior citizen, you can write a guest blog. Simply compose an article or an essay on any topic and submit.
There are only three guidelines to be a Company’s Coming blog guest.
Once you’ve decided on a topic, follow the specific directions on the BE MY GUEST page here to submit.
You can email me or use the comments section below with any questions. I’m looking forward to some exciting company and great blog conversations.
Like Porter Wagner says, change your apron, shine your shoes, and put your new dress on we got no time to lose because our first company on the porch will be this Thursday, Feb 27.
Stop by and meet my friend and fellow writer extraordinaire Jody Payne http://jodypayne.net/
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