finding balance...and a few side-notes

Whew! First of all I want to apologize for my absence from the Finding Water blogosphere. Where has time run off to? Lately, I've been playing a game of catch-up in my personal life and, in the process, seemed to have accrued a growing dose of guilt for not touching base with all of you.

Luckily, Week 4 is about "Uncovering a Sense of Balance." I can't help but agree (whole-heartedly!) with Leah that this week's focus on faith, simplicity, and forward movement comes with perfect timing. Sometimes I find myself wondering if Julia Cameron is reading my mind, or if we're just that predictable! I don't know and I don't care--because, either way, I'm left feeling a little bit amazed!

I also want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you for participating in Finding Water. We have grown into a very large and very wonderful group! I feel a powerful sense of support radiating out of this community of creative thinkers and, even though I've yet to figure out a way to keep up with everyone on a regular basis, I am so incredibly grateful for all of you!

An image that struck a chord with me from this week's reading was one of a fruit tree. Julia Cameron writes:

We are creations and we are intended, in turn, to be creative ourselves. Like the fruit trees, we are intended to blossom. The trees put forth their froth whether there will be admiring eyes or not. So, too, we are intended to flower in our art even if our art does not meet with a welcoming reception. We must make art for the sheer sake of making art. That is being true to our nature. That is being true to our path. (107)

I like to think of us as a forest of fruit trees. I like to imagine all of our roots and our branches overlapping, gently touching as we grow higher into the sky and deeper into the earth. In this way we become a network of growth and inspiration for one another. We are each connected to the next, simply by being true to our own inherent nature.

And so, thank you for that. From my heart, thank you.

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A note on adding new Finding Water participants:
Now that we have entered Week 4, we will no longer be adding new participants to the blogroll. Why? Well, mostly because we feel that by beginning this late in the game it would be too hard for new individuals to catch up with the rest of the group. Anyway, rushing through it is only doing a disservice to yourself. There is something to be said for experiencing all 12 weeks of Finding Water in their entirety. Each week's experiences build upon the next--and between the readings, morning pages, artist's dates, walks, and unexpected synchronicity, you just never know what you might discover!

If you have just now stumbled upon this community of bloggers and hope to embark on the Finding Water journey, by all means, we invite you to do so! We won't be adding more participants to the blogroll, but if helps you to read posts here, visit other Finding Water blogs, or begin blogging your own experience, you are more than welcome to do so! You might be surprised by how much it helps to read about the experiences of others--even if that means digging through a few archives of fellow Finding Water participants. We are a community of creative thinkers who are blogging The Art of Perseverance; we're a circle of support, but our circle is not closed. Although we won't be adding any more people to the blogroll, please, feel free to stop by for inspiration any time.

If you've left a comment prior to this post then, yes, you should have been added. However, if anyone has already asked to be added to the list and you don't see your name, PLEASE let me know and I will add you! I've been doing my best to keep it all organized but I'm afraid that, with this many people, I'm bound to have missed someone!