“Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.”
~ Rumi
This is an underpainting called “Kiss of the Arising” and it ended up becoming, later,
the painting Cosmic Dreamer (available at Musette Atelier)
Red Thread Letter #901
The Death of Effort
Greetings Dear Ones!
This week I am traveling and celebrating Jonathan McCloud on his birthday! I am so grateful for this man and his love. Truly we are joyful in love
We are in the Blue Ridge Mountains to honor his birthing place. Yet in this photo we are inside a conservatory becoming flowers.
For the past 7 years, Jonathan’s work for the Intentional Creativity Foundation has been entirely volunteer. Yet it’s more than that, it’s an offering of his love and wisdom. Those of you who are part of the Imprensiva Musea Membership get to learn from him. When you come to our Sonoma retreats you get to experience his amazing food and wine. I’m actually amazed. At him. I love him so.
AND, I have exciting news! One of my birthday gifts for Jonathan was to work with him to set up his Cooking Show and Channel for you to explore the Intentional Creativity Approach to food, wine, and wellness! This was part of his 60th birthday self commitment and it’s LIVE now. Subscribe to The Intentional Table and get instant access to his first audio: A beginning from the Blue Ridge Mountains with Jonathan McCloud.
SUBSCRIBE HERE
Today I am sharing a poem aka riff I wrote back in March, The Death of Effort. I waited to share because as soon as I wrote it I felt differently. It was a day when my entire system decided that we weren’t going to be ‘efforting’ the same way we had been. Yet right away, the hustle came back and I found myself still efforting.
I want to acknowledge that there are moments when life is seamless and flowing. There are also moments full of hustle and struggle, especially during this entrepreneurial post-covidian era. Rather than seeking ‘balance’, I honor the cycles we go through and find the beauty along the way.
If you are wrapped up in the busy, take a 15 minute pause and read my writing below or listen as I read it to you on my audio podcast. Then, get quiet with a cuppa and listen for the Muses riddle behind the hustle…
Today is Work in Progress Day #WIP, so come over to the Red Thread Cafe and share what you are working on. Or, come over to the iMusea App and check out my weekly inquiry #letthemusechoose. If you are not in the app, you can search ‘imusea’ on your Android or iOS and join us in this space.
Below the writing, check out our upcoming events for 2022 and 2023, including the Cura Circle tonight at Musette Atelier with Kerry Lee.
I look forward to making art together soon!
The Death of Effort
Today begins like every other day
but not exactly like every other day
Something feels different
There is a stirring
in my spirit bone house
Carefully coded patterns are all askew
and the Graces curves are all akimbo
The Flurries are burning colorful platitudes
and the Muses are eating
lightening for breakfast
They grin with sparks shooting
from their charming teeth
At first, I want to run
I shiver in their defiance
They got this party started
without my known consent
The maverick rituals of the
internal possy are
rarely kind, yet
almost always essential
Essential to soul anyway,
yet dangerous to routine
and illusions of security
Ready or not
initiation is here
and the only thing I have to do
is say yes or go back and
I am not prone to going back
I approach my Muses
as casually as possible
Although trying to act cool with Muses
is just a waste of posturing
“Good Morning Muses
what did you have in mind?”
“The death of effort!”
They shout as if waving a banner
declaring a victory
“The death of effort”
“What??” I say
“The death of effort!”
(Shiiiiiiiiiittttttt)
I stammer, I sputter, I falter
“But….effort…hey, that’s my thing
Be good, do good, do more, be more
ignore the pushback,
push back yourself
Defy and Dismantle Systems
You know, Defying and dismantling systems,
Takes effort!”
“So you like the hustle, do ya?
We thought you said you wanted
joy, you think joy comes without
a release of something cherished?
Sorry not sorry
that you have to give something up
to dissolve the barrier to joy.”
You have to give something up to dissolve the barrier of joy
I pause…
“Well, I do like hard work…..”
“You don’t need to defend
your efforts to us,
we are here because of them,
you have nurtured the spaces
where few dare to tread
Muses, Graces, and Flurries don’t
come to the lazy
We are not talking about work
We are talking about approach”
“Approach”
“Oh no!” I cry out
The Muses are using my own
medicine on me, is that even fair?
“I don’t want a fight today,” I say
They say to me
“Don’t act so surprised
You invited this change
and now you act hurt by it
Get over yourself!”
I straighten up my footie furry jammies
and try to look the Muses in the eyes
(The lightning sparks really are so distracting)
Finally, I say “Okay,” I say “I’m here for this,
whatever THIS is”
“THIS is the death of effort.
All you have to do is reveal
the next sentence.
The funeral
is already over, you are late,
we did all the work for you,
now go on and find the words,
but don’t work at it,
they have to tumble out.
What’s your next sentence?”
And just like that
they are gone,
Poof!
Back to the spirit bone house where they live
I make tea
like I do every day
and settle in to listen
for the next line
in the riddle of the Muses
In a flash
Here it is at the tip of my tongue:
‘The death of effort
is the kiss of arising’
I know exactly what it means
The striving has served me well,
but the arising has already always
served me better
How many times have I said:
“Notice the arising?”
All the time
I say it ALL the time
The coming days will show me
how to navigate the new terrain
A land where I am moving
to my own internal rhythm
I know there will be consequences,
to lay down the self-assigned tasks
the saving, the mending, the tending,
the doing and the stretching
I give the part of myself
who was in charge of effort
a new designation:
I say to her
Notice the arising
Follow the flow where it goes
Let the heart show the way
No need to try to be good
You are good
just be who you are
there is no one else to be anyway
Let all of your work arise
and pathways will appear
and energies will adjust in time
I breathe a sigh of relief
The sigh comes from the deep tummy place
where secrets are kept
awaiting epiphanied minds
I lean in for the kiss
of a new day
and a new way
Dear Hearts, how I cherish you. How much change we have gone through and are going through. More changes are coming for me, and I imagine the same for you. Have a beautiful day and may there be moments of no struggle, and moments of no hassle. May there be entire hours and days, potentially weeks where there is resting into beauty. You are beauty embodied.
I wrote this in March but then immediately felt like I was hustling again and so I didn’t want to send a Red Thread Letter about it. It’s ready enough to share….just know that I know…there is lots of struggle going on for many of us. But..still…there are moments of ease if we watch for them.
