I am in one of those contemplative spaces that always follows an important event. The intense build up is over, the event has been a success and your mind starts to make sense of it all. I find as a drift around the house restoring things to their usual place my mind is doing the same. In order to run an event like our fundraising launch it has to stay at the front of your mind. That way tiny details that make it special are not forgotten or lost in the chaos. That being the case, most others things in your mind get pushed out of the way. Today has been their chance to start pushing towards the front.
I do some of my best thinking when watering the plants in the tunnel. It is also where I feel at peace. That peace was slightly challenged by seeing just how much work has been stored up in the past few weeks. I just kept telling myself to step away from the compost bag as the potting on can wait one more day. I was delighted to see real progress though and to see little seedlings had become proper plants. Well done them.
Hazelbank has a new feel about it. It tells me that there is much to look forward to and I believe it. My little Hen Hut is still shining very brightly and I spent an hour in there mind mapping and was amazed how easily it came. I am a firm believer in the importance of space. I have finally created a space where I can think freely and the release is a great joy.
I worked on my emerging sister site that will actually take the place of this little blog at some point. This blog has taught me so much already that I am using that new learning to drive forward to the next natural step. This organic approach to planning suits me and I never feel under pressure. Mind you, I set myself time targets and I usually blow them out of the water almost immediately so I am not sure I know what it is to run behind. I had thought I would finish the year and then see what that took me. For goodness sake it is only the end of April and I am already off on the development site. That said I have the wonderful luxury of time to dwell, reflect and plan at an easy pace. I have lots of things floating about in my mind when I think of the new 'One soul, many hearts' site and I am just letting the really important ones rise to the top. I see the site as floating ink spots on oil and water. They keep moving and even joining and I am just hoping a coherent structure for the site will emerge from these rather beautiful blobs. I am mindful of a terrible art journey at secondary school when I was destined for failure at O level. At the last minute I created this imaged based piece using ink in oil and water trapped in a slide. I projected the slide onto the wall in the art classroom and kept moving it round. It picked up all the work from my classmates but then changed it as the blobs floated their magic in the space. My art teacher hated it but the external examiner loved it and I passed. Excellent!
I have to warn you I have something similar in mind for One soul, many hearts. I want to create a series of digital images both moving and still that can be turned into a complete story. I want the, now famous, blob technique to work its magic once more so that we see the story through new eyes. I know it all sounds a bit 'out there' but do let me give it a try..... I haven't decided on a launch date for the new site because I am not in that head space yet but when I do you guys will be the first to know. The intention behind the site has not shifted one cm. It is still going to be a force for good and everything that is positive. I am also still committed to bringing on board a young person to help build it as a way of passing the baton over - just a little!
So my contemplative day has been put to good use and I have also managed to move the Butterfly Tree fundraising campaign forward a little further. You should see a big blue button in the sidebar. This is my donate page that allows people to donate online with all funds going to the charity. This will solve the problem for all those of you who have kindly asked how you can donate to the campaign. By making my own page we can also all see how well we are doing. From the start of this I have never seen it as an Arran thing because so many of you reading this do not live on Arran. I hope this campaign will show just how well face-to-face and virtual worlds can work together for a greater good. I have lost count of the times my mind has taken me back to the VT that I saw where the young boy was slipping into a coma from Malaria. His mother holding his hand knowing he would never wake up. I constantly wish that lovely boy could come back to us but he can't and I can't do anything about that. I can still see his face and I will always be able to see it. I recognise that I have to turn that into a way forward and this is my way of doing it. With your help I want to raise a shed load of money to buy mosquito nets to save the lives of these children. It really is that simple. Hence my big blue button!
I have also posted the write up of our event all over the place and I would just urge others to do the same. Making social media work for us is vital to the campaign. Jane, the founder of the Butterfly Tree, has called our little campaign special. I believe that it is special as it is finding a new way to help. The effort involved so far has been heart warming and life affirming and this is just the beginning. I see it as a story with no sense of an end but where a shared ambition can create good endings by breathing life into a much needed battle with the humble mosquito. We are taking the fight to the little pests and protecting children from their lethal bite. 'Tis a good thing.'
I have also written an article for The Voice which is a fantastic digital publication with its home on Arran but its reach around the world. I will add the link as soon as it is published. Some of you guys are coming forward wanting to run little butterfly events of your own. Please let me help and just tell me what I can do.
You will see that I have updated the page on the Butterfly Tree on the top menu. I will add a running total of the number of nets the money can buy as I see that as the most important indicator. I have also added a Courses page and a Contact page today. We have all our courses planned for the rest of 2013 and fellow islanders might like to sign up. I will be donating some of my fees to the Butterfly Tree.
My meditation through writing course has one place left for the face-to-face version to be held at Hazelbank. Do let me know if you would like to join us. Just a reminder that, as this is my first meditation course, this one is free as your feedback will help shape my teachings. I have quite a few interested in the online version which is also free but I can take many more. All I ask is that you set some time aside to do some of the exercises that will be outlined on a pdf that will drop into your inbox once a month. There will be six drops in total, beginning in June and ending in December. I then hope to offer a residential course on Arran next year at a reduced rate for my first group of participants. So lots of look forward to. Interestingly, I have a real range of people interersted so far with lots of different reasons why meditation and the journaling of it will be useful to them. I am excited!
If I am honest tiredness is probably winning over the excitement so I am off to read a book and forget the world just for a little while.
Do message me anytime if you want to ask me anything or just fancy a chat!
Blessings to you all.
Until tomorrow. xx
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