About Me
I’m an empty nester, living with DH and our rescue dog. From way back I’ve always had a yearning for the spiritual, and as an incorrigible bookworm, dreamer and introvert, nursed a fellow feeling for the ‘other.’
Over the past 25 years, this yearning has sustained me through a spell living overseas, seen me through three churches, theological study, and in and out of a time as a Franciscan tertiary. It inspired me to train as a spiritual director in 2009-10 in the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth and Sarum College.
Retreat making and pilgrimage have played an integral part in my faith journeyings. I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent much time in solitude and silence in the beautiful countryside of Somerset and North Wales, including the famous Jesuit Centre, St Beunos, where I made the 30 Day Ignatian Spiritual Exercises eight years ago. I’ve walked sections of the Wayfarer’s Walk and the Way of St James (part of the Santiago de Compostela route) with my husband. But the highlight has got to be our great Silver Wedding ‘expodition’ in 2011; when we walked from Durham to Oban before spending a week at Iona Abbey.
Creativity? Well – we make all kinds of discoveries about ourselves as we grow older: Who would have thought that the shy child who couldn’t ‘do’ art at school would have stumbled across the wonderful world of visual journaling, poetry writing, blogging and festival-going!
Although I say I’ve come late to creativity, the part of me that is still five years old smiles whenever I read this quote by Hugh MacLeod:
Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away… Being hit years later with the ‘creative bug’ is just a wee voice telling you, “I’d like my crayons back please.”
Welcome to Holding Heaven.
About copyright: Unless otherwise stated, all poetry, prose and images in this blog are copyright to myself. You are welcome to use short excerpts of the latter for your own personal use or on your own blog, with appropriate acknowledgment and preferably a link back to Holding Heaven.
Thank you
Disclaimer: The Views and opinions expressed in Holding Heaven are my own and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policy of any individual or organisation with whom I’ve been, am now, or will be affiliated in a personal or professional capacity, unless explicitly stated.