Sanctuary

💋

Spring burst through the door

& painted everything blush, cotton and neon.

The warmer breeze

has released an air of ease.

The mind drifts to summer holidays

in a heat that soars to 

near-African temperatures.

I'm ready for the adventure. 

Until then,

the days continue to be filled

with words & photography & editing for others.

And then I reward myself

by rummaging through the  hard drive

for one or two just for me,

for you,

like these ones.

I add my thing to them slowly,

smiling,

feeling the love,

wanting nothing but tenderness

& dreaminess,

as music fills the room.
There's freedom right there,
in that small moment.

It's freedom that always beckons,
and makes the thought of a total break
shine like a beacon.

To feel it rushing through the body,

leading by the hand to play (= to create), 

while I leave all expectations behind
(mine & others')
in a heap in the hallway.

And then,

at summer's end,

begin again,

with a clearer mind,

and a heart that's aligned.

(And I sit here writing this, thinking,

"but you've mulled on these same things before". 

 I look calmly in the eye and say,

"but darling, even if it's two steps back sometimes,

that, too, constitutes a journey.")

Let's make some sweeping sky circles this summer,
shall we?




x

Been waking up later.

Stretching in peace

after everyone else has disappeared. 

Sleeping sounder at night,

feeling more restful in the day. 

 I put the coffee on the stove,

quietly begin the day's work,

exercise in between,

then carry on. 

Today, a happy jumble in the kitchen

after last night's independence day get-together. 

A fridge full of leftovers,

and a heart warm with the afterglow

of friends who mean so much. 

Sometimes I don't quite know what to write here,

but I do want to share something,

glimpses even. 

Something of the thankfulness 

for this time of life. 

For learning to trust in the small steps. 

I've nudged a wish this autumn

for a workspace
shared with others,

and a chance conversation

a couple of weeks ago

got my hopes up
in the best possible way.

More of that later,

if it materialises...

All I can say is 

I've been blown away

by the generosity of people recently,

by a genuine desire to make others happy,

LOVE. 
Friendships that by now have become so solid.
A relationship with my husband
that can go through tricky patches,
but always returns to a clearing
bathed in light & peace.  
I think I've learned this recently
- sometimes giving space,
letting go even,
can bring a huge blessing in return
when the time is right.

x

(model: Minna Kosonen 

muah: Meghna Mukherjee)

"The white peony is the most fragrant 

& least tolerant of the sun,"

said the smiling lady at the flower stall on the market.

The queen of the garden,

in my opinion.

And always a loving reminder

of my Finnish grandmother, Hellin,

(which means "gentlest" in English,

pretty adorable really).

Her bed of pink peonies

in front of the porch 

of her yellow wooden house

is forever engraved in my memory.

I always felt they were her tenth child.

(Yes, she had nine human ones,

and I now

a gazillion cousins

on my mother's side,
even the toughest guys in the family
with that special attachment to the peony
- to her.) 

x