Karen Gold offered a session on May 27.
Karen Gold is an AWA workshop leader and narrative medicine facilitator who has facilitated writing workshops for clinicians, artists, shelter residents and various community groups including the Danforth Jewish Circle in Toronto, Canada. Her work has appeared in journals, textbooks and anthologies including the recent reflective essay ‘A Radical Clearing: Mary Oliver and Relationality.’
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The Wonder Of The Moment
by Sinéad MacDevitt
(Dedicated to Father Daniel O’Leary, RIP)
I am climbing the incline of Glencomeragh House of Prayer in Ireland. It is the month of June in 2013. Before the sun sets, the air is still so still except for a throbbing sound. Could it be a breath or a wing beat? Could it be an animal, a bird or an insect? So much is happening during this moment: seen and unseen. So many creatures seem to share this precious moment. It’s almost as if we are breathing the one breath. Yes, the one breath. We inhale at the same time and exhale at the same time. It’s as if we are living this story during this time. The same time as the mating of the cows. The conception of a calf. The birth of a foal. A bird’s first flight.
I am intoxicated by the variety of smells: primroses and bluebells, honeysuckle, blackthorn
and new mown grass. The budding of a blackberry. The swelling of the apples. The sweetening of the strawberries.
I am awed by the oak tree that has grown to lift its branches to praise of the summer of summers. The season celebrated by Father Daniel O’Leary.
I savour this moment as if there is no tomorrow. Who knows what will happen this time next
year?
The sky is a blue canvas. Streaks of crimson form the shape of a river. Rising over the river
is a deep blue shape like a veiled figure. Could it be a message from the creator? Something
that words can’t describe. Could it be a message revealed in the form of symbols and shades?
Something that a camera cannot capture? Something that a linguist cannot translate.
Whatever it is, I believe it is an image to be observed while the sun sets, meditated on in
silence until nightfall. It’s as if something is about to happen. I believe it is an image to be
internalised during my sleep. An image to be remembered when I depart from Glencomeragh.
During the darkness, perhaps this image will revisit and begin to be understood.
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!