Give it all

I have a new friend who feels like an old friend, a forever friend, and in correpondence with her I felt moved to share the following quote from Annie Dillard.

One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, everytime. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is a signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly is lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes. –Annie Dillard in The Writing Life

This quote is just as relevant for a way to approach a relationship as it is for writing, or anything else you hold dear. I have been consciously attempting to apply this principle to the way I live. As a child, and young adult, I was a chronic withholder, protective of who I was and what I considered mine. The reasons for this withholding are no longer important. What does matter, now, is to practice savoring each moment, and giving all I have to it.

About HOPE: I appliquéd, pieced and stitched the flowers and words, by hand and machine, onto a felt backing. The “frame” is gessoed felt. After the gesso dried I collaged music and words onto it. I used white dimensional paint as highlights around the words and music, and copper dimensional paint on the edges. The “medallion” was made of paperclay, and sewn on, with a bead. Everything was covered with acrylic medium, after which I added a few painted details to the fabric component.

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