tolerate uncertainty

On Thursdays, in class, we pause. We pause to check in, to see where everyone (all four of us) is on the page--or should I say, in the clay. Then, we talk a little bit about a book we are reading, and then write. The book is called Art and Fear and the topic is control. A perfect time for community, reflection, connection, and space. Pausing....taking a moment...to remember our breath, to let it fill our bodies, down to our toes and fingers and back and bellies to be nourished by its presence....and exhaling.... only to breath in again. My friend Ellin says that it is important to remember that the one thing we have in common with everyone around us is that we all breathe the same air....we all need to breathe. It is essential, obviously, for life. But the action of breathing mindfully is vital, as well. We need to remember to pause so that the stuff of our lives don't suffocate us. We need to breathe so that we can rest in the tangle of life and wonder, marvel, at it all. We need to breathe to remember there is space around us, and that one step at a time, the journey will inform us. The most risky thing God did, according to Barbara Brown Taylor (amazing teacher, writer, Episcopalian priest) is breathe life into the forms created from the earth of the ground. Ruach--the breath of God. Indeed this breath life within us sings to us to create as well. And so we do...we become risk-takers, creators, leaving a little bit of ourselves in everything we make, every cylinder, every bowl, every mug...and we don't know where those creations will end up. Part of the risk, then....letting go...and being able to tolerate uncertainty.......