Introducing the 'Facing North' Blog

Words keep bubbling up within me. They demand to surface and be shared. 

Have you ever experienced the force of creativity well up within you without knowing where it came from? I really hope you have, because it is magical!
It is a gift of wonder that creates joy. 

It has been six months since I made the decision to leave my meaningful job to focus on being an artist full-time. I honestly never thought this kind of happiness was possible for me. My days are full of listening to the creative force and following where it is leading. I have arrived into my own soul. 

I dedicate myself to spending as much time in my metalsmithing studio as possible. What I didn't expect was that I would also be writing. It seems to just happen. I have hesitated to commit to doing something like a blog because I honestly thought this might just be a passing phase, or that the flow of words might just stop. 

Recently people have encouraged me to put my writing in a place where they can access it. So, I'll try my hand at a blog and see how it goes. I am grateful that my words are meaningful to people. 

I am calling my blog 'Facing North'.
I grew up in Northern Ontario on the shores of Lake Superior. The landscape demanded that I learn humility and respect. To this day I find the season of winter to be the time when my inner life is most active and I am most responsive to the movement of the spirit. 

I wrote the following: 

I stand facing North.
It is the direction of snow and ice and winter and glistening beauty.
The North embraces the life that is left when all else has fallen away.
It is the place of unseen growth in the inner life of soul and sparkle.

It is the direction of the old and the wise.
The elders are found standing in silence together,
facing away from the sun toward the beauty of the borealis.
They know the transformative power of learning to walk in the dark.

I am a girl of the North.
I know what it means to be humbled by the wind
and shaped by the ice,
to find nourishment in the evergreen and resilience in the stars.
I live my life walking in the direction of the elders.
There is much to learn by facing North.

by Robin McGauley