see me, Monotype of the Day #843

see me, monotype 12 x 14” Sybil Archibald

see me, monotype 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 111 of year 3

We want the world to see us for who we are, but often we refuse to see ourselves and our fundamental goodness. We like to focus on our brokeness, but what of our light.

Oremus
By Pádraig Ó Tuama

So let us pick up the stones
over which we stumble, friends,
and build altars.

Let us listen to the sound of breath in our bodies.
Let us listen to the sounds of our own voices,
of our own names, of our own fears.

Let’s claw ourselves out from the graves we’ve dug.
Let’s lick the earth from our fingers.
Let us look up and out and around.

The world is big and wide and wild
and wonderful and wicked,
and our lives are murky, magnificent,
malleable, and full of meaning.

Oremus.
Let us pray.

From https://onbeing.org/programs/padraig-o-tuama-and-marilyn-nelson-a-new-imagination-of-prayer/ Also see Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community https://amzn.to/3mCfzN0

boat, Monotype of the Day #840

boat, monotyoe, 12” x14” Sybil Archibald

boat, monotyoe, 12” x14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 108 of year 3

I added ink directly onto the plate on top of the left over from last night’s print. I like the effect.

KEEPING OUR SMALL BOAT AFLOAT
By Robert Bly

So many blessings have been given to us
During the first distribution of light, that we are
Admired in a thousand galaxies for our grief.

Don't expect us to appreciate creation or to
Avoid mistakes. Each of us is a latecomer
To the earth, picking up wood for the fire.

Every night another beam of light slips out
From the oyster's closed eye. So don't give up hope
that the door of mercy may still be open.

Seth and Shem, tell me, are you still grieving
Over the spark of light that descended with no
Defender near into the Egypt of Mary's womb?

It's hard to grasp how much generosity
Is involved in letting us go on breathing,
When we contribute nothing valuable but our grief.

Each of us deserves to be forgiven, if only for
Our persistence in keeping our small boat afloat
When so many have gone down in the storm.

Source: Robert Bly's Facebook Page

the artist is empty, Monotype of the Day #839

the artist is empty, monotype, 12 x 14” Sybil Archibald

the artist is empty, monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 107 of year 3

Today Like Everyday, We Wake Up Empty
By Rumi, Trans. Moyne & Barks

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down the dulcimer.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

From one of my favorite Rumi Books, Unseen Rain https://amzn.to/2G7FVXE

For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.  You can purchase this monotype here.