Artist: Cherie Payne
Title: Anchorage
Medium: Oil on canvas
Contact: cherieblossomart@hotmail.com
FEATURE ARTICLE
The Art of Grace
My canine friend Misty was stretched out on the floor so gracefully the other day that I just had to take a photo and post it on Facebook. Only seven months old and still growing in several different directions at once, her long body was stretched out elegantly, her slender legs were crossed over with her front paw perfectly lined up with her nose – she was a picture of grace. OK, so maybe I am a little biased. When we think of things that are graceful though, we tend to think of natural things, like the elegant shape of butterfly wings or the curve of a flower’s slender stem. We find these shapes and lines harmonious or soothing, and so they are copied in art and architecture as we strive to surround ourselves with beauty. However, whilst it is true that static objects can be graceful by the nature of their shape and proportion, gracefulness is usually revealed to us through movement. The way the water in a pond ripples, the way a swan glides or a person dances, all reflect a certain degree of gracefulness. So what is it exactly, that makes a movement graceful?
I trained for many years as an aerial acrobat, performing choreographed dance on a long silk drape (actually it was polyester, but that is a technicality). I spent long hours building strength, developing technique and pursuing the mysterious art of grace. Amidst all the gruelling physical training and toe-pointing exercises, what I learnt is that we are graceful whenever we are doing something well, with ease, without force. For the possum walking on the power line, the eagle soaring high in the sky or even my friend Misty stretched out on the floor, this is easy enough – they are simply being true to their nature, without undue effort or self-consciousness. However, for the person who wishes to master a certain skill there is work to be done, and that work is as much about unlearning as it is about learning.
The things that prevent us from being naturally graceful are held in the internal places where we resist, where we are unbalanced, lacking in strength, focus or acceptance. When we resist a certain movement, for example maybe we don’t like going upside down, or we feel uncomfortable stretching our belly or we have a stiff neck, we reveal the places in ourselves where we are holding tension. Discovering the cause of that tension will allow us to relax into the movement and return to our natural grace. Our centre, or core, is our position of greatest strength and it takes a certain amount of core strength to be balanced in our lives as well as our bodies. There are many distractions and temptations that pull us away from our centre, and if we stray too far we are likely to fall over, both literally and figuratively. Focus means putting your attention on whatever it is that you are doing right now. If our bodies are doing one thing and our minds another, we rarely display much grace or cohesion in any of our endeavours. Finally, without acceptance we are not fully present, and whatever we resist will usually persist, until we find a way to make our peace with it. That includes our limitations, our failures and our hurts. Since we cannot learn to walk without falling down a few times first, we need to find acceptance so that we are able to learn from these experiences.
Whatever you are passionate about, whether it is dancing, creating, cooking, writing or sport, if you repeat and refine it enough it will eventually become effortless, and in that moment, you are graceful. What is perhaps more important than the attainment of technical skill however, is what you have learnt from the process of revealing the natural grace you have within. In removing the obstacles that prevent us from experiencing this natural grace, we bring ourselves closer to the fullest expression of our essential self. If we consider an alternative definition of the word ‘grace’, we find that it means ‘Divine gifts and power’, and it seems to me, that would be something worth revealing.
Misha Hoo Shamanic Practitioner 0457 253 573 Email: shamaness@mishahoo.com
REGULAR FEATURE
Siddha Story – The Apple Trees Discovery
In a great oak forest where the trees grew tall and majestic, there was a little apple tree. It was the only apple tree in that forest and so it stood alone.
Winter came. As the snow fell to the forest floor, it covered the branches of the little apple tree. The forest was quiet and peaceful.
One night the little apple tree looked up at the sky and saw a wonderful sight. Between the branches of all the trees, the little apple tree saw the stars in the sky, which appeared to be hanging on the branches of the oak trees.
“Oh God, Oh God,” whispered the little apple tree, “How lucky those oak trees are to have such beautiful stars hanging on their branches. I want more than anything in the world to have stars on my branches, just like the oak trees have! Then I would feel truly special.”
God looked down at the little apple tree and said gently, “Have patience! Have patience, little apple tree!”
Time passed. The snows melted and spring came to the land. Tiny white and pink apple blossoms appeared on the branches of the little apple tree. Birds came to rest on its branches. People walked by the little apple tree and admired its beautiful blossoms.
All summer long, the apple tree continued to grow. The branches of the tree formed a canopy overhead as they filled with leaves and blossoms.
But night after night, the little apple tree looked up at the sky with the millions, and millions, and millions – and millions of stars, and cried out, “Oh God, I want more than anything in the world to have stars in my tree and on my branches and in my leaves, just like those oak trees.”
And God looked down at the little apple tree and said, “You already have gifts. Isn’t it enough to have shade to offer people, and fragrant blossoms, and branches for birds to nest on so they can sing you their song?”
The apple tree sighed and answered simply, “Dear God, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but that is not special enough! I do appreciate how much pleasure I give to others, but what I really want more than anything in the world is to have stars, not blossoms, on my branches. Then I would feel truly special!”
God smiled and answered, “Be patient, little apple tree.”
The seasons changed again. Soon the apple tree was filled with many beautiful apples. People walked in the forest. Whoever saw the apple tree would reach up to pick an apple and eat it.
And still, when night came to the forest, the apple tree looked at the stars in the oak trees and called out, “Oh God, I want more than anything in the world to have stars on my branches! Then I would feel truly special.”
And God asked, “But apple tree, isn’t it enough that you now have such wonderful apples to offer people? Doesn’t that satisfy you? Doesn’t that give you enough pleasure and make you feel special?”
Without saying a word, the apple tree answered by shaking its branches from side to side.
At that moment, God caused a wind to blow. The great oak trees began to sway and the apple tree began to shake. From the top of the apple tree an apple fell. When it hit the ground, it split open.
“Look,” commanded God, “Look inside yourself. What do you see?”
The little apple tree looked down and saw that right in the middle of the apple – was a star. And the apple tree answered, “A star! I have a star!”
And God laughed a gentle laugh and added, “So you do have stars on your branches. They’ve been there all along, you just didn’t know it.”
Universal Storyteller