There is Life After the Thesis

After chronicling my thoughts, feelings, ideas, and experiences throughout the thesis process on this blog (formerly entitled Rites of a Thesis), it seemed odd to me to simply let the blog go just because I had turned in my thesis and graduated. I don't want to merely "shelve" my thesis nor do I want all that I got from my time at Naropa to lie dormant. I want my thesis to continue to live and breathe and become, and I would like all the teachings and experiences I had during my time at Naropa to do the same. So I am keeping the blog (changing the title), and am commiting to myself to (w)rite on as I journey forward.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Keeping it Real

We ache to touch intimately what is real, to find the marriage of meaning and matter in our lives and in the world. We ache to feel and express the fire of being fully alive.
~ Oriah Mountain Dreamer

As I lay in bed this morning after writing my Morning Pages, I reached over to snuggle with Love (my dog), as she lay at the end of my bed. I relish this time of the morning - whether it is a weekday or a weekend. When I commune with my dog, I "touch intimately what is real." Her name says it all: she is a bundle of love in the purest sense of the word. It's that simple.

Meeting with my co-teacher, Meghan, at school this morning, we made plans for our classes' big upcoming event this Thursday: Greek Fest. We divvyed up who was going to do what/buy what and exactly what our plan was for the day. We noted some other transitions on our calendar for the rest of the semester and we chatted a bit about our personal lives. Meghan and I have led extraordinarily different lives, but our bond, even after just six months is strong, respectful and loving. And we laugh our butts off. We are alive.

This afternoon, I rode on the back of a Harley up to a town called Carefree, just North of Scottsdale. Though I wore a helmet, the feeling of being open to the elements and simply enjoying the ride reminded me of my connection to the present, my connection to the world...meaning.

This evening I put a twist on a Julia Cameron exercise from her book, The Sound of Paper. I pasted magazine images and words into an art journal that I have kept tucked away for so very long (the last entry was 2008). To just sit and create. To be present for matter and meaning. To express - to be "fully alive"...

These things that nurture my soul, nurture my thesis. They inspire, ground, and feed me. They keep it real.

"Reality is always richer than having a good time" - R. Brown
*(Though you can certainly have a good time in reality).

No comments: