The Magic of Place & Presence
The Magic of Place & Presence
What Shirley Valentine and Wallace Stevens can teach us
Dear Friend,
Earlier this week, I took a ‘Shirley Valentine Day.’
Have you watched the play turned into a 1989 movie, Shirley Valentine? Shirley’s a British woman in her 40s whose entire life has revolved around husband and kids; she’s always put her needs last as was (and still mostly is) expected for women through this ol’ patriarchy that surrounds us.
Briefly: Shirley gets invited on a cruise to Greece with a friend, decides to go, has a passionate love affair, tons of self-discovery and falls back in love with life and importantly, with herself. She transforms.
I didn’t take off for another country, just New Jersey, the neighboring state. I wasn’t looking for a love affair. Just time with no work or family responsibilities to read my delicious book (the riveting How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair). And to be in the energy of the ocean, who I think of as the Great Mother. To swim in the ocean’s waters and then dig my toes into the sand and read.
I am grateful for my work, my family, my home. But when I take Shirley Valentine days every few months, days for myself and with myself, I feel presence in a different way.
Away from who I am in relationship to others, I return to the presence not only around me–but living inside me. My life force, spirit, soul.
I sense that presence, too, in daily life when I make space for creativity, time to write. It’s no easy thing for any of us to carve out that time.
These weekly messages from me are gentle reminders for you. A little nudge. To see how taking five or ten or maybe fifteen minutes a week for expressive writing can invite another presence in.
This week, I’ve chosen an excerpt from one of my all-time favorite poems, The Idea of Order at Key West by Wallace Stevens to inspire our writing. It’s a long poem that you can read here. Click the arrow above and I’ll read you this beginning of the poem and our creative prompt.
She sang beyond the genius of the sea.
The water never formed to mind or voice,
Like a body wholly body, fluttering
Its empty sleeves; and yet its mimic motion
Made constant cry, caused constantly a cry,
That was not ours although we understood,
Inhuman, of the veritable ocean.
The sea was not a mask. No more was she.
The song and water were not medleyed sound
Even if what she sang was what she heard,
Since what she sang was uttered word by word.
It may be that in all her phrases stirred
The grinding water and the gasping wind;
But it was she and not the sea we heard.
Take those words in…read or listen another time. May these words inspire our creative spirits to come out and play!
If you have a friend who might appreciate some creative play, invite them to join us!
Writing Practice: Set aside 5-7 minutes for this practice. Write in a journal or open a ‘Journey with The Season’ document where you can return each Sunday.
Prompt: This poem explores the relationship between the natural force and rhythm and mystery of the ocean and the source of the woman’s voice, her powerful singing. There is a relationship between the sea and the woman’s voice.
Think about a place in nature where you feel deeply connected, a sense of relationship. Your ‘song’ may be hiking, gardening or simply sitting by a tree that brings you comfort.
Close your eyes and imagine that place, where you feel connections and presence. Describe that place in sensory words–what you see and hear there, the colors and sounds and texture of that place.
Describe yourself in that place. You could imagine a narrator observing you, as Wallace Stevens does with the woman singing by the sea.
What would someone see about your relationship to that place? About the sense of presence that you feel there?
Deepening Practice: As you move through the week, notice when and where you feel a sense of presence. It may feel like a presence comes from a place outside of you or it may feel like a sense of presence coming from with you. It may be a relationship between your outer and inner worlds. Write down what you experience, describing whatever you sense and feel.
May you fall in love with life and sense your inner presence through the week. With love, Gabrielle Ariella
