Great & Small
I’ve been dancing with this book, almost put it down. It’s a mingling tale, and for anyone enchanted with herbs, you might like it for that delightful alone but it wasn’t until midway through, on Solstice eve that a line came through that silenced me. The speaker is about to lean into her power, in a way (I don’t want to spoil it for you) that will either cost herself or her most beloved sisters, depending on how she wields it:
She wonders if all great acts are secretly done for small reasons.
The brilliant move the author gave her readers is the peek into life’s mysteries. When the character decided to lean in, grace arrived in unexpected ways.
That’s the way of it when you live life in its greater meaning. That sometimes puts you in the midst of a community or on the fringe, and by the end of this year you have probably lived a capacity of both and maybe even wondered if you want to lean in more to life or a new way of living it. I have.
Life still has me leaning towards the magic of small things. I have recently, for the first time I know of—and that is probably not true—so let us say, for the first time in my entire adult memory am drinking out of tea cup my great grandmother gave me.
I thought it quite ridiculous for awhile, the cup, but raised too polite to throw it out. It’s a bit of a relic. It is so dainty with its violets, which were her signature. I have lived three lives, and in three time zones and that teacup has traveled from my home, back to my mother’s and then my brother’s for storage as I was galavanting out in the world, and then it was returned to me recently where it sat precariously in the basement.
Until last week, when on a whisper, I went downstairs, retrieved it and made a (delicious, by the way) cup of nettle and cardamom tea. It was brilliant green in this starkly delicate cup with the most enjoyable handle I have ever held. It is structurally ornate and not found in today’s soup mugs or stamped in China Target mugs. In fact, I think it was because of the cup that when my son took a nap this week (he doesn't nap anymore), I made a cup of tea, lit a candle (it’s Advent) and read a book (the book I was telling you about) and sat at the kitchen table, leisurely and enjoyably. When the door opened and someone came in, I thought perhaps we were living in two realities, them in the modern world and me in this world of small simple enjoyment.
I have resolved to instate more enjoyment and rejuvenation as a daily practice for the upcoming year. I often don’t have the introspection time yet, here I am, with my teacup and clear calendar wondering what I am creating through the action of my life, great and small, for my son, and those that I may never know that will secretly serve in ways they won’t understand until they do, and I, like Mildred, can wait. Perhaps, a bit of a boon both ways to lay termas down for the ones we love simply because they are.
There is so much love available to us, and I appreciate you reading my words here. I really, really do. Your support helps me live a life of alignment with my purpose and create a livelihood from doing it. That is actually what is ahead of us. Living in alignment, making way for unexpected grace. I do hope wherever you are when you read this that some little sliver met you in the moment, and perhaps even made space for your own teacup to find you, whatever it may be.
Let the magic of this time of year find you & may you move on the whisper.
xx,
Kate
Looking to write?
On the shorter side: My outlandishly talented friend, Ann Randolph is opening her UNMUTE December 26th and I cannot think of a better way to jumpstart the creative than her month long program.
On the longer side: Sit & Write is opening again in February. We have room for 12 mission-led writers to get their book out into the world. My colleague, Claudine Wolk and I are having a blast with the golden circle of writers we have and the brilliance that has transpired in watching their intention translate to words and pages. More soon on this, but if you are curious. We are starting connection calls last week of the month. One of our attendees said this class is “simply magic.”