Ordinary Arts at Home

"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home 

are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."   

~ Thomas Moore

I have been spending a lot of time at home. Honestly, I've been hiding. My brother's death was certainly a shock to my heart and soul, but it has also been more painful than I could have ever imagined were I given to imagining such sorrowful scenarios. But as it stands, I am here and he is gone and I must keep moving. And whatever guilt or shame I experience, I know in my bones that forward momentum in the wake of his passing is good. It is natural. 

The way I have chosen to orchestrate my healing is via my home. I have reorganized the rooms. I have purged unnecessary household items. I've organized closets and shelves and pantries. I've created order out of chaos. I've re-shuffled my inner resources in order to attend to my grieving heart. Some might say that I'm busying myself with my home because I'm avoiding my grief. But that is not the case. My home is the instrument of my healing. 

These ordinary, small every day arts are my salvation. They keep food on the table, money in the bank, children comforted, my marriage at center, my work in process, my grieving heart buoyed and my soul sustained. The work I am doing at home is delicate, authentic, valuable and absolutely essential to my survival.