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CLAPPING WITH MY HEART (Episode 97)

CLAPPING WITH MY HEART

 

 

This morning I am glad of the smell of cold air with a tinge of earthiness as I push my nose close to the gap of the hotel window which does not open far. Yesterday the corridors smelt of warmed bodies and hot food, and with no draught to waft it fresher it was not the kind of smell I wanted in my nostrils if you catch my drift! Hence breathing out the window to note the scent first thing this morning rather than facing a possible revisiting of last night’s findings. I am hoping that you will join in with what the air smells like where you are for my 100th blog (it is only three weeks away!) and I am sending positive vibes for clear scents that awaken your senses in a good way.

 

Alt text suggests this week’s photo depicts a statue of a person falling off a hill. I say it is Ronnie making the most of jumping for joy whilst visiting the statue of The Angel of the North.

 

This week I have been reflecting on how much joy it brings me when poetry and coaching combine. There is something there about the role of poetry in coaching and something too about seeing where I have got to in my journey and how well I know myself since I changed my career after thirty years. That’s quite a lot to think about so my brain has been interestingly busy on my walks this week!

 

In simple terms I summarise this to myself as poetry giving me the words to express myself and coaching giving me the confidence to enter rooms. Of course there is much more at play than this... friendships, welcome, connections... but I am enjoying finding the spaces that bring all this together. Having two hugely important elements of my life mingling and intertwining feels refreshing and I am excited to see what else will evolve from this mix.

 

This week I have been clapping with my heart. If you have shared time with me then you may well have experienced my joyful clapping alongside moments of connection and moments of hilarity – a vibrant, energetic clapping that is spontaneous in its appearance. This week I shared space with people that led to the gentle heartfelt clapping of pure gratitude in recognition of human kindness – this I call clapping with my heart. It happens softly in the presence of friends. It happens empathetically when being part of a group joined together by words and love. It happens when people recognise one another and take time to say so. It happens when I lie in bed after taking time to stand under the night sky and wait for shooting stars.

 

Here's to all kinds of joy... exuberant joy, cartwheeling joy, and the kind of joy that rests in the heart and echoes.

 

This week’s poem (a poem that gives me joy in a prose poem kind of way) was written recently in recognition of the times it is difficult to find peace.

 

EVENSONG

 

Today I am in church again. I have come for silent reflection in one of my favourite seats, but it feels a little closer to the edge than usual. Shuffling footsteps in the aisle have me predicting who might be about to go past. Slowly and steadily polar bears are settling into the pews around me. Their black claws lightly clasp copies of The Book of Common Prayer. One across the aisle is flicking the pages randomly as if speed reading, another puffs out fishy breath in celebration of finding the right page. One on the row in front asks me if I am going to sing today. I open my mouth to answer but nothing comes out. The bear smiles encouragingly before turning back to face the altar. The pair who held one another’s hands to get to the front row wink at me when the rector says we’re going to the pub afterwards. There’s a dubious stain on the opening pages of my hymn book. I keep it tightly shut, resist the urge to look again at the hint of fingerprints within the brown.  And I am worried that the youngest bear is going to bite the gold cross and I won’t know whether to try to stop him or not.

 



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