Whether it's a few pots by a fire in Burma or a state of the art home in the hills of Los Angeles homemakers take what they have and create a safe space for
themselves and their families. Like an artist who faces a blank white page and fills it with the contents of her imagination, we take the lifeless materials that
sustain our lives and infuse them with livingness, safety and order. Ours has not been a celebrated art, perhaps because of its day in and day out quality
and the constant creation and destruction involved, its mercurial, timeless nature. We need to remind ourselves that we are creating art everyday and enjoy
the magic of the process.
Hearth tending is at the core of my work and continues to sustain me during difficult times. This week I found myself sick with a virus and taking care of a
child without someone to spell me. All the memories of being sick with CFS and raising Nicole on my own came flooding back pulling me down into a current
of despair. In my panic I cleaned the kitchen. Sometimes when life becomes overwhelming all we can do is create a little pocket of order, feel what we are
feeling and ride it out. Yet, if we leave it at that we are prone to having our homemaking become desperate and controlling. This is where meditation can
add its support as a great refuge. While sitting watching the breath the chaos doesn't matter, I'm safe in the moment. Chaos becomes just one more thing
to note before returning to the breath.
I think the combination of homemaking and meditation make a powerful pairing. Creating a home filled with light and beauty, safety and wholesomeness
addresses our human need to create order out of chaos. Meditation addresses our spiritual need to embrace the chaos in a safe space without imposing
limits on it while we meditate with choiceless awareness. When we homemakers get addicted to creating order out of chaos meditation gives us the space
and fresh air we need in order for our homemaking to stay real and in the moment.
Ours is a practical art form. It will not be placed in a museum nor will it receive applause. Yet it is practiced throughout the world and throughout time. We
have come up with unique metaphors, tea as rest, quilting as comfort, each hand creating a unique home, a unique life. As we move into the winter, into the
holiday season where we will share our homes with family and friends, I invite you to think about the beauty and order you are creating, to take time to
meditate and allow the chaos its due and to honor your everyday expressions of life.
themselves and their families. Like an artist who faces a blank white page and fills it with the contents of her imagination, we take the lifeless materials that
sustain our lives and infuse them with livingness, safety and order. Ours has not been a celebrated art, perhaps because of its day in and day out quality
and the constant creation and destruction involved, its mercurial, timeless nature. We need to remind ourselves that we are creating art everyday and enjoy
the magic of the process.
Hearth tending is at the core of my work and continues to sustain me during difficult times. This week I found myself sick with a virus and taking care of a
child without someone to spell me. All the memories of being sick with CFS and raising Nicole on my own came flooding back pulling me down into a current
of despair. In my panic I cleaned the kitchen. Sometimes when life becomes overwhelming all we can do is create a little pocket of order, feel what we are
feeling and ride it out. Yet, if we leave it at that we are prone to having our homemaking become desperate and controlling. This is where meditation can
add its support as a great refuge. While sitting watching the breath the chaos doesn't matter, I'm safe in the moment. Chaos becomes just one more thing
to note before returning to the breath.
I think the combination of homemaking and meditation make a powerful pairing. Creating a home filled with light and beauty, safety and wholesomeness
addresses our human need to create order out of chaos. Meditation addresses our spiritual need to embrace the chaos in a safe space without imposing
limits on it while we meditate with choiceless awareness. When we homemakers get addicted to creating order out of chaos meditation gives us the space
and fresh air we need in order for our homemaking to stay real and in the moment.
Ours is a practical art form. It will not be placed in a museum nor will it receive applause. Yet it is practiced throughout the world and throughout time. We
have come up with unique metaphors, tea as rest, quilting as comfort, each hand creating a unique home, a unique life. As we move into the winter, into the
holiday season where we will share our homes with family and friends, I invite you to think about the beauty and order you are creating, to take time to
meditate and allow the chaos its due and to honor your everyday expressions of life.
all material copyrighted, Jacqueline Kramer, 2007-2008
| November 2007 - The Homemakers Art - Creating Order Out Of Chaos by Jacqueline Kramer |
| N ewsletter |
| The Hearth Foundation - Copyright 2007 - 2008 Wendy Myers Web Designs - Copyright 2007-2008 |
