Eric Burton / Let The River Flow…..

This morning (Wednesday) was an interesting session; go down to the river, walk along it and find a spot to sit at and create something using natural materials , within a given time period, which has meaning and message to you and explain it to the group.

The river had been in flood and had burst its banks over winter with the heavy snow that had now melted and in the grey morning the noise of the river made its importance even more important. It is only where we are forced to focus something for a period of time that the object or area becomes more interesting and we are drawn to its wonder and beauty. The group saw this as an interesting challenge and from the outside of the tepee each went their own way in search of inspiration and creativity. I remember reading a book on creativity that by the age of 40 we have lost over 70% of the creativity we had at the age of 10…..how many people are living in those dead-end jobs ? When do they get the opportunity of letting  their river of creativity flow into their job or into their lives…or do they want to in the first instance.

I set off back to my seat on the river bend which I had occupied the previous day  and sought about looking for branches which would help me construct a weave structure of wood. Why a weave ? Over the three days and in Knoydart I am continually looking back gathering what was shared, talked about, discovered, explored and inputting it into the present  and then moving forward into the future which a new changed perspective / outlook/ disposition. The wood I selected had to be flexible and have some strength and length to it so that it could play its part and help hold the other pieces of wood together in a weave structure. Some of the wood I discarded as it was inflexible, or too thick, or the wrong shape. The difficulty was trying to weave all the different pieces together and once that was done holding the outside pieces together , I had to use some dead foliage ( nettles)  to bind some the outside twigs and this proved painful as the nettles were still jaggy and stung you in the hand – but being determined to finish the structure I went through the pain. The creativity product was finished and just in good time as the rain began to fall and I quickly had to get undercover in the emergency bag. The safety and warmth found inside an orange plastic bag is something to experience – a bit like being in a conservatory when it is raining outside….

The wooden weave was half of my creativity idea – I had to get the other part done in poetry form (very bad poetry form)..the feeling of writing poetry in the plastic bag was sublime…but it worked in that I stayed dry and warm and some thoughts came to me in a very quick period of time to try to sum up the thinking that lay behind the weaving of the branches ;

The Weave of Life.

We weave a wonderful journey throughout our life

It mirrors our happiness, the joy and the strife.

An intertwining of experiences and friends,

A journey that has no obvious end.

The weave it is made, but assumes a changing form

Reflecting the journey of life – with periods of calm….and storm.

An ever changing shape if we are open to change,

Or it can be static, solid structure that never gets re-arranged.

New branches come in and support our own frame

Making our lives different – never making them the same.

As people on a journey the tree of life is given to us,

We lose some of the branches – accepting that’s what life does.

The connecting to others makes for a strong weave,

As does our values and what we believe.

So I will go on seeking new branches to find,

Who influence my life – those who are loving and kind.