Orkney 2022

We are on for our long-postponed trip to Orkney, the land between the sea and the sky. Just 26 days until we head over the ocean, to several islands in the ocean - Iceland, Scotland, Orkney.

Some trepidation lingers from 2020's need to cancel our trip; I am hesitant to actually go overboard in planning or thinking about it in the event we can't go again. Covid-19 doesn't seem likely to stop us this year; however, Russia's invasion (oops, not allowed to call it that) of Ukraine and the war it is now waging (oops, can't call it a war) has me slightly spooked.

Regardless, the TripIt app is loaded - still missing one ferry trip. We are more relaxed this time, likely because we've been planning it for three years! Once on Orkney and with a car rented, we have more flexibility than usual as the car can be taken on the ferries to other islands in the archipelago. Other than making key connections of buses, trains and ferries, our schedule is quite relaxed.

The islands we plan to see are checked above, left to right, Mainland, Rousay, Wyre, Egilsay, Eday and Sanday. These islands contain - you guessed it - stone circles, standing stones, cairns, castles and more. There is evidence that the stone circle called Ring of Brodgar on Mainland predates Stonehenge by 500 years. If this is the case, then, this cultural phenomenon was developed in Orkney and migrated south to England.

Transformation & Hope - Part 5

I turned 60 years old while working on this section of the project which got me thinking about my own work of transformation. Of living. Of aging. Of hope.

In my first decades I looked forward to birthdays and cakes and special attention; I couldn't wait to get older and gain the privileges of maturity like driving a car, staying up late, graduation, drinking beer. With each leveling up of age, with each acquisition of perceived privilege, aging has become less momentous, less remarkable. Now I'm 60 there aren't many more privileges to gain or major milestones to hit.

Life seems to follow our sun's path across the sky: dawn, sunrise, mid-morning, noon day, afternoon, sunset, twilight, dusk and night. 

I have reached a sunsetting time, I think, with the sun shining less brightly, nearing the horizon and the closing of my day on Earth. I am crepuscular, like a deer, living on the edge of light and darkness, of building a career and retirement, of child rearing and empty nest, of acquiring home and wealth to planning life without income.

This isn't maudlin or depressing; it is as all my Grandmothers from the dawn of time have experienced. I am learning to celebrate it, own my truth my age myself as my last decades approach. Observing, noting, watching who I am, am becoming, want to be to claim to have to hold. I'm not getting anywhere with this scrutiny; yet, I examine.

Not certain what all this musing has to do with the work of the mandala except that holding creation in my hands, spinning yarn into creation, sun into mandala frees my mind and heart to wander, inquire, muse and dream. 

So here I am.

This section finished with a nice round of "flowers", clearly serendipitous with the Spring equinox just a few weeks away. I love how the Universe does this! The project is now ready to transform into a square; can't wait to see how this will unfold, like my life!