Flannery O'Connor famously described the process of writing a book as "a terrible experience during which hair often falls out and teeth decay." I'm having one of those books. I've never been so emotionally and physically exhausted by a project or so completely grateful and thrilled to be part of the creative process. Final rewrites are now in progress. Two weeks from now, I'll be home in Houston painting my kitchen. That's the light at the end of the tunnel, and my spouse and children are patiently waiting for me to emerge. I just wish I'd made it through in time to participate in the "Womanhood on Fire" even tonight at Brigid's Place.
Per the Brigid's Place website:
This year we celebrate the saint’s Feast Day and the ripening of the New Year with movement and breath, poetry and silence, chant and rhythm. Leading us in this very special tribute will be noted speaker, author and feminist, Dr. Mylene Dressler...a noted author, speaker and feminist ... A former ballet dancer and university professor, she leads workshops in creativity, inspiration, and women’s empowerment, and has crafted a uniquely moving event for Brigid’s Place. Bring your hands, your heart, and your appetite for creativity and community. Food and refreshments provided. Come, kindle your fire.The creative life (for writers, painters, chefs, mothers, and all our ilk) is by nature a life of giving, and somehow we have it in our heads that our creative resources never give out. That simply isn't true. There's a limit to what we can give and a tangible need to feed the creative spirit in a way that keeps it strong. This isn't about taking a spa day, this is about reminding ourselves that the creative life is noble and important and availing ourselves of new resources in the form of inspiration, community, and raw energy. The creative life deserves celebration and reward, and the cynical world we live in doesn't always offer that. What an absolute joy to come together with other creative women for an evening of affirmation and oxygen.
I'll be there in spirit.
(Also upcoming at Brigid's place: Three Cups of Tea with Greg Mortenson.)
Comments
Rock on, Mylene, at Brigid's Feast. I'll be there in spirit, too.
We DO need, as creative people, to find ways to keep the fires burning (I experience this blog as a place we can turn our hands and faces to for warmth and spark).
The other day, I learned, through a friend, of a woman who had just been divorced and was feeling like "nothing"--as though she had been stripped of every imaginative muscle in her body. She was thinking of attending Brigid's Feast.
Come, I told her. You are not alone. We will share our fat and fiber. We will set you dancing again.
Thank you, Joni and Kathryn.
I'm under the weather and won't be there, but it sounds like a fabulous event.
Colleen, heading back to bed with a box of Kleenex
(Stupid tree pollen count...)
Last night's Benadryl and Tylenol PM combo seemed to help. Except for the part where I'm groggy this AM. Will try to exercise my way back - if I can get up out of this chair.