A Borderless Land

(image source unk)

 

"there is a stand of undeveloped jungle.. a place

of indigeneity within each of us..that can never

be domesticated. it is a borderless land..beyond

personality and convention..even beyond thought..

where pure creativity arises. like the signature

song of a tropical bird..the spiraling of an

arbutus tree..the evening scent of a jasmine

bush..there is an essence in each of us intended

to be expressed. few make the trek into this

creative wild..because the path requires great

vulnerability. to come into our true originality..

we must surrender the layers of numbness we

use to protect our hearts"

"many take the path well worn..but they are only
given a half lived life. to those willing to brave
the unknown path..the dark thicket.. a
remembering of love..magic..and purpose
returns. there is a wild woman under our skin
who wants nothing more than to dance until
her feet are sore..sing her beautiful grief into
the rafters..and offer the bottomless cup of her
creativity as a way of life. and if you are able
to sing from the very wound that you've worked
so hard to hide..not only will it give meaning to
your own story..but it becomes a corroborative
voice for others with a similar wounding."
~toko pa turner

Standing to Applaud Lucy Hilmer

vulnerability….scary stuff

why is it that we would chew our own foot off rather

than expose ourselves to others?

this was especially the case in my younger

years although as i age it becomes less of an issue…

(which is kinda scary considering a glimpse of my younger

 self was way easier on the eye). 

i think for women body image is one of our greatest 

vulnerabilities so when i came across photographer

Lucy Hilmers series of selfies taken each year on

her birthday…dressed in only her underpants..socks..

and shoes…i wanted to stand and applaud!

she began taking her pictures on her twenty ninth

birthday and continues today at the age of sixty nine.

she did admit that she kept them to herself until

recently but is now publishing a book of the series.

at an age when society tells us we should just fade

into the background Lucy Hilmer has the courage to

shout…

look at me….

i'm still here…

i matter…

i am enough...