Midnight Static

Insomnia has the peculiar ability to seize and ultimately enhance the human capacity for roaming thought. Like static hanging in the air, it brings to attention the ironic crackling energy that permeates an otherwise restful and silent reality.

A point of reflection tonight seems to be in regards to religious identity. Unlike most of my late night tendencies for contemplation, however, I know the stem of this particular train of thought, and in turn, its root. 

As part of an introspective exercise, my son was instructed to learn more about the religious identity and customs held within the family. The purpose of the exercise was to help establish not only a religious identity for the child, but to also give them the opportunity to reflect and explore what that identity may mean or define for them. Being taken slightly aback, though nonetheless willing and enthusiastic to be of help in this exercise, I suddenly found myself in the role of spiritual tour-guide.

While I was raised Buddhist and my husband a declared Agnostic, neither of us have ever believed it to be of necessity to impart any religious beliefs or conditioning to our children beyond the scope of their own personal curiosity or expressed desire. I've always held spiritual belief to be of immense value regardless of its form or name, but have also always been very aware and respectful of the mass diversity of spiritual and religious calling. Much to my son's delight, this range of interest in religion has equipped me over the years with a wide array of books, items, and knowledge eager to be shared and discussed.

As much as I would like to say that it is a profoundly human desire to be connected to existence and to subsequently understand its nature, I can't honestly make that claim as I do not, and feel I cannot, speak for anyone (or anything) besides myself. It was in this point that I found the root to my approach in sharing spiritual and religious knowledge with my son. 

Part of the beauty of religious belief is that the exploration and study of its inherent variety of thought and perspective can become comparable to that of doing so with language. There have been and will continue to be innumerable languages throughout human existence, and while some are related or have outright borrowed from one another, there is something intrinsically unique to the application of a language's own words. While simple aspects of life may be easily and agreeably translated (e.g. the color of the sky or whether something may be hot or cold to the touch), there are many more things that can escape the purpose of shared reality. Every language has its own way to describe emotional, physical, and spiritual experience, yet some have ways to transcend communication where others may be at a loss for words. Much like the exploration of linguistic variety, through the exploration of differing belief, you can discover and, in turn, identify your own inherent dogmatic language.

It is with this in mind that I hope to help my children, and myself, continue to find what it is that speaks truth to our individual hearts, minds and spirits. My own internal truth may not in fact be resonant with their own, but it will nonetheless be part of my duty as a mother, and honor as a fellow being, to find those shared words of acknowledgment and appreciation for whatever it is that brings light and empathy to their worlds.

A Waking Wind

Despite the beautifully bright weather today, my mind feels excessively clouded. Whether from the tail-end of the cold I've been battling or the sense of impending change, my mind absolutely cannot settle. I'll pick up a book and begin to read, only to find a page or so later that I've not only been completely oblivious to the words on the page, but equally so to the thoughts that are running through my mind. 

There is a strange sense of excitement without knowing the source, as though my mind has been filled with the buzzing and humming of a thousand worker bees sensing the beginning of spring.  
I suppose it could be a natural sense of restlessness brought on by the inhalation of the first breath of the wakening earth. Being on the cusp of change from the quiet and introspective calm of winter to the rush of newborn energy and inspiration of spring can do wonders to the mind, body and spirit. 

Winter's embrace loosens more and more each day, heralding the rapid approach of new beginnings. Those who have spent the cold months in dormant repose will likely respond to this shift like a wave of oxygen reawakening on a cellular level. For others who found themselves well protected in chrysalides, however, this shift may present itself as the first glimmer of light piercing through a secure confinement. Like standing on the edge of a great frozen lake, cracks in the ice are now forming, shooting out like couriers of transformation. 

For those who stand on the shore of that lake, the cracks in the ice mark the impending revelation of a new reflection, waiting beneath the surface. A question now hovering in the air; how will one greet the face that will look back?

Hello to the Wandering Mind

Hello to the wandering mind that's happened upon this introduction!

My name is Evie Patterson, and I'm creating this space as a place of open communication not only with the world around me but myself as an individual. I have one of those minds that tends not to ever quiet down, always lost in some train of thought or ensnared by a sudden inspiration. Reflecting on the multifaceted reality that I find myself in a state of constant awe and contemplation of. 

I tend toward the use of writing and dance as my choice mediums for the expression and exploration of concepts that strike a chord within me, and so it is likely that these will play a large part of this blog. Fair warning, at times you may feel as though you've stepped on a stray bit of sod. 

For the sake of simplicity, however, and the enjoyment of listing (which I am very much a fan of), I thought a good introduction would be ten random facts about myself which might serve to illustrate some of my background and foundation as an individual.

1. I was born and raised in the DC metro area which exposed me to a brilliant array of cultural, spiritual, and educational experiences.
2. In school, my favorite subjects were history, anthropology and religious studies.
3. My list of "Places to See" (aka my Wanderlust Check-List) is immense, though my current top five are the Isle of Skye, Varanasi, the Arctic circle, Dolgellau, and Vancouver.
4. I grew up in a one-bedroom apartment with my family of five so the concept of sharing became essentially a law of physics in my life.
5. My spiritual foundation as a child was a combination of Drikung-Kagyu and Nyingma Vajrayana Buddhism, however I consider myself an inherently spiritual being and find solidarity with numerous spiritual and religious sources from around the world.
6. My ethnic background is Scandinavian, Slavic, British, Mediterranean, and Central Asian.
7. Some of my favorite authors include Charlotte Bronte, G.K. Chesterton, Ernest Hemingway, Susanna Clarke, and Philip Pullman.
8. I am extremely fond of British television/comedy (some favorites being Red Dwarf, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, and Black Books).
9. Tea is my default beverage.
10. If I could have any super-power, it would be the ability to speak and understand every language in the history of humanity. 

I've always been somewhat socially awkward and shy in how to proceed in ending a particular train of thought. Not from a desire to necessarily call something to an end, but rather from the notion that nothing really ends. And so, for the time being, I'll pause in my musings and return when I've something more to say. What I've begun is something that likely will never truly end, but continue and reshape itself in its purpose of growth and momentum. What is written here will merely be marked checkpoints where an interlude was offered in the midst of transcendent roaming.