The beginning of the year is a good time to get grounded.
I always find the new year needs some sort of an anchor point. Something to stabilize all that is to come.
This is where a Daily Practice really comes in handy! I know I forget how helpful it can be … when I drift off a bit. Then I return and remember that it is the one thing that sets the tone for the day.
Even if I am not stopping to colour a mandala in the morning, I do pick the mandala cards from my “on a positive note” deck each morning, and they still surprise and support me in ways that I find amazing.
The little cards at work …
My partner Mary Ann recently randomly chose a card for a particular purpose, but her reaction was, “no, that’s not a good card for this”, and put it back in the deck.
She then randomly chose a card again … and … yes, you guessed it, the same card came up!
I have come to understand that as much as we might have thoughts about the cards, the cards have their own thoughts, and the won’t be messed with.
Of course the same card coming up over and over is not new to me, or anyone who has used the cards. I have always seen it as the card will come up until you understand the reason it is coming up.
Of the 36 cards in the deck, I am sure there are at least half of them that I rarely get, and some of the remaining ones, I get all the time!
Lately I have fallen in love with drawing the Flower of Life mandala. For some reason, I have never drawn them before, but now they fascinate me.
They piqued my interest when I saw a short documentary called The Artistic Accountant on CBC Gem, about an accountant named Bert, from Halifax, who takes sacred geometry very, seriously. He is quite a jovial fellow, but deeply committed to getting his drawings a precise as humanly possible.
This got me thinking and reaching for my compass, and now I am slowing down to try and get these as precise as I can.
And let me tell you … this is NOT something you can rush! Even though the principle of it is easy enough, the doing of it requires a slow, thoughtful approach.
It is turning out to be an amazing meditation practice.
And the BIG NEWS for this year is my new venture …
house of appleton!
What is this? Well, it is an imprint under which books will be created.
After years of this little seedling hiding in the shadows, it came into full view this past fall, with the help of three poets. Each of them asked me to design their poetry books, and almost immediately I thought, “they should have a common imprint!”
Add this to the constant and ever-increasing presence of my grandfather Franklin Fletcher Appleton, publisher, PLUS my love of books, design, telling our stories … and pretty much this is the logical next step in my world.
You can read all about it and my grandfather at a newly created section of my website: houseofappleton.ca
Brava my friend. What a lovely way to express what you are involving yourself in these days. I too find the meditation cards very grounding and they always give me food for thought. Love your flower of life mandalas. I can see how these will take off.
Keep up the great work and writing about it. I love reading your blogs.
Thank you dear friend! Well … gotta keep life interesting and evolving … otherwise it just gets stale! ~s
This is wonderful, Sarah. All the best with it. One question: Are the books to be one-of-a-kind, or are you producing quantities of the same book?
Thanks Judy! These are printed books, so the quantity is unlimited! But I am also continuing on with the one-of-kind journals .. which of course are blank pages 😉