Time

'You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by.

Yet some of them are golden only because we let them.'

J.M.Barrie

I must apologise for the lack of time spent writing my blog over recent weeks - a combination of work and wanting to spend my precious 'golden hours' with family has led to an unintended hiatus. I have, however, been stopping by each day to read your thoughtful musings. 

Today actually marks the 150th birthday of J.M Barrie, the creator of 'Peter Pan' - a story which focuses on one boy's attempts to halt the passage of time, to avoid ever having to grow up. While there are times when I too desire time to stand still - so I can relish a moment or catch my breath - there are also instances when I appreciate time's flight. 

When I can look back at a weekend all too quickly gone, I know that it has slipped by in a blink of an eye because I have made the most of every hour and become lost in those moments, enjoying the company of loved ones and friends. For that I feel truly blessed. 

3 things

I have been wanting to write this post for a while now and it was the inspirational words of Faerwillow over at ~serendipity~, with her thoughtful 'giveaway' that have provided me with a clear sign to get my thoughts down.

Three is a number which many would say they find magickal or sacred. In physics, we consider our universe to have three spatial dimensions; many Christians consider the Holy Trinity to represent the three aspects of their deity; in Hinduism, the Trimurti - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - represent 'the creator', 'the preserver' and 'the destroyer' of life and creation. Similarly, Bhuddhists look towards the 'three jewels' for guidance, Judaism is filled with symbolic 'threes' including the three sections of the Hebrew Bible.

In Wicca and neo-paganism there is the Triple-Goddess - three representations of the stages of life the Goddess travels through during the year (maiden, mother and crone) - as well as the threefold law of return by which many choose to live.

Much like Faerwillow, I find that much of my life is influenced by this magickal little number and during this Spring season of renewal I have been reminded of a daily ritual I used to perform, particularly while I was studying at university.

During this time I found that so much of my day was taken up with intellectual pursuits and I felt my life was out of balance as a result. Consequently, I took up the practice of setting myself a 'threefold' task each day. I had to make sure, by the end of the day, I could say I had done three things: one to nourish my body, one to improve my mind and one to soothe my soul or spirit.

This is something I wish to take up again now. As so much of my time is focussed upon teaching others, I wanted to ensure I was also continuing to learn, grow and create myself.

And so today, my three will be as follows...

~ a run through the woodland walkways near my parents' home ~

~ watching this week's fantastic Wonders of the Solar System programme ~

~ photographing my rare Snake's Head Lilies in the garden ~

Don't forget to check out Faerwillow's wonderful post and giveaway right here...



Brightest blessings!

Storyteller

Oh how I love this woman’s writing. Alice Hoffman paints landscapes and sculpts characters, for the reader to become entangled with. Her stories are earthy, deep and thrum with a resounding heartbeat. As I read them I always feel, simultaneously, like I am experiencing both the sensation of a tingling summer breeze in a foreign place and the warmth of knowing I have returned home. Truly magical.

The River King did not disappoint, although it did not enthrall me quite so much as THIS ONE, which succeeded in capturing the ferocity of love, with a retelling of Wuthering Heights at its heart, and THIS ONE which was both brutal and beautiful at once. 

I am looking forward to being captivated by the next.