It’s one of the things I love best in life. To gather. My whole blog nods to it…the title and why I’ve named it how I have, the whole ethos behind what I believe. We share our story to encourage others. We share little bits of what we’ve learned along the way; bad and good to thread into the tapestry of others experiences too. Life is better shared.
That’s why, in the midst of a busy season, the easiest thing I could have done was to sit in on that Friday night…recuperate from the weeks of busyness and to spend time doing the great necessity of life – resting. But I felt a real urge to go and to gather with these women…many of whom I’d never met. Maybe it was the thought of something different, maybe the thought of a lovely meal. Lots of it was about gathering around a table and sharing life.
The Assembly was about gathering creatives. Mel Wiggins had gathered women with a similar outlook on life. Creativity. We made smudge sticks with the amazing Elizabeth of @blowyinthewind, ate delicious food prepared for us by Sarah at The Little Pink Kitchen and sat at a table that look like it had dropped right out of Pinterest set up by Grace and Saviour!
Creativity. It’s a word that can evoke different reactions in people and Sara shared about her feelings of creativity on Smashed Avocado. I totally got this. I was with her in many respects. The night has made me wrestle with some things and I think that’s the sign of a good evening. Once I’ve teased them out I might share them here.
I believe we all carry the stamp of creativity, it’s not what we do…it’s who we are. The choices we make everyday, how we arrange our home, how we dress. All creative.
So, under the stars, gathered around a beautiful table simply sat a group of women. Sharing life. Encouraging and motivating. Taking time to notice the stamps of creativity in the ordinariness of life and what that looks like. Like with any group of women that gather; finding common ground. The stories of life that entangle and unfold, that are real and unfiltered.
We need more of the gathering. Life through screens can only take us so far. We need to see the wrinkles of a face that creases into a smile; to look into the eyes of the one who shares the heartache of a sick or lost child and for those who yearn; to hear the heartiness of a laugh that has heard a good story.
To gather more. With many types of people.
A new manifesto for me.
xx
A lovely read, so nice to see the pictures from the night.
It was such a good night…your smudge sticks are still laying on my hearth Elizabeth! I love them, haven’t burnt them yet! xx