Staying Curious
And feeling connections
In my writing group this week, we shared a poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. She writes of becoming a person who talks to an avocado and also to the dust bunnies under her bed.
It made me curious about my connection to all things — both inanimate and alive.
I am sitting in my cozy, cheerful art studio surrounded by my creations. Each piece speaks to me and reminds me of the moment of its creation. There are assemblages, paintings and collages. Was it made at a workshop or during an online art class? Was I feeling serene and settled when I created it, or was there something inside me waiting to be revealed?
I think about my connection to books and music. I have written before about the soundtrack of my life — the constant hum of songs that fill my mind. As a voracious reader, I feel a deep connection with many of the characters who come alive on the page in the books that I read.
And then there are the plants in my yard. When we moved two years ago, I had to leave behind my herb garden, my peony bed, and my beautiful irises. Most heartbreaking of all was leaving my garden pond with its water lilies and koi fish. One year at the end of the season, my beloved dog, Smooch, had a sushi fest and finished off the fish still in the pond. Yum?
My handy husband has promised me a new pond.
This spring I am also thinking about my connection to the actors and designers with whom I will collaborate in our next production. I hope to feel a deep and meaningful connection with all of them, because that is when people offer the very best of themselves to a project. I am nourished by the collaboration. There is real joy in the rehearsal room.
And then I return to my art studio — my quiet, peaceful space — where I can rest and breathe and think, preparing to meet another day, another rehearsal, another challenge.
There will be plenty of those.
The actor who becomes ill.
The patron who struggles to buy a ticket online.
Someone will surely complain about the lack of bathrooms.
Perhaps there’s a porta-potty in our future.
So when the world swirls and the challenges mount, we rely on our connections to each other.
And we stay curious.
About people.
About art.
About the strange and ordinary companions that fill our days — even the avocados and the dust bunnies.
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You inspire me!!