Julie Mariouw offered a session on May 23.
Julie Mariouw is fascinated by the role of the physical body in writing. She uses metaphor, the senses, polarity, and physical movement in her workshops.
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Silent Retreat
by Sinéad MacDevitt
“You’re running to stand still,” he said. Yes I realise that I’m running to stand still. If only
I could run to stay still. I am running a marathon towards my good night sleep. I run a
regular marathon towards the weekend. I run a constant marathon towards my holiday.
I run a perpetual marathon for a silent retreat whenever it happens. Despite the breaks,
I continue to run. As soon as the alarm clock rings, I hear the song “Run rabbit run”.
Although I am seated on the bus, my legs are in motion to the jogger’s rhythm. The
office is in my head, the computer is in front of me and people are hovering over me. All
go, go, go until five o’clock and beyond. Even when I pause on the bus, my mind is
racing, racing, racing, racing and running to stand still.
So I have arrived at the house by the lake. I am seated in the sanctuary: no
computer, no tablet, no phone, no clock, no watch, no sundial. A place where time is
signified by the light of the sky. I hear no movement but my breath. I hear no movement
but my heartbeat. I hear no movement but the sucking and swallowing with my tongue.
I feel no movement but the flaking of my skin. I sense no movement but the flow of my
blood. I sense no movement but the growth of my hair, my finger nails and toe nails.
Nothing seems to be happening but a thread of hair that changes its shade from blond
to brown or possibly from brown to grey. Nothing seems to be happening but the
passing of a second, a minute, an hour or even an age. Nothing seems to be
happening but the cholesterol that begins to decrease. The wrinkles on the face that
become smooth. The eyes that begin to sparkle and see the miracle of life.
Thank you for joining us to Write Around the World!
For the rest of the summer, watch our blog! We are sharing writing from AWA’s yearly marathon fundraiser, which happened this year all-online throughout the month of May.
We offer this series in appreciation for the incredible community of writers and workshop leaders that sustain us. If you’re inspired and would like to be part of the fundraiser, please donate!