My First Kolam

So this morning I set my alarm for 7a.m. (yes I know it's meant to be Dawn but I went to bed at 2 and had consumed much Wine.. tomorrow I aim to awake at Dawn.. in fact I will attempt to do so for the duration of the 21 days.. weekends optional...)

I awoke and quickly dressed. I made some hot water with Lemon. I emptied the bin and took out the recycling. I then swept the front of the studio (and in front of the neighbours up till where their detritus outside their units began.. we give rather than throw things away here..). Then I filled up a bucket with water and I mopped the area. Then I collected a bowl filled with rice flour that I bought yestersay at the Vietnamese supermarket on Mare Street and with my finger I mady my first Kolam..
Afterwards I washed up and cleaned and tidied the whole place. Partly because there is Yoga here tonight and I must do it anyway and partly because this exercise definitely raised my awareness of my environment:

It was early and so I played no Radio or Music, instead listening to my own thoughts and more aware of my environment. This gave a lot of pleasure to everything that I was doing in addition to the satisfaction of getting housework done so efficiently making the day ahead feel much clearer.

I have been looking for a place to find peace in myself and a way to hear myself and people have suggested meditations or religions or counselling or therapy. I have looked a little at these options but I basically believe that the greatest enlightenment comes from the exaltation of the everyday and external stimuli is exciting and inspiring but the real work is a little more mundane.. in a good way.. Or maybe this is simply a first step, in life as well as it is in "Art"..I liked everything about this ritual. It felt good to clean the space outside, which I normally never do except after parties. Then drawing and thinking about all the people who might walk past and over it.. my neighours and others, and I thought about them and I felt loving and was delighted to be washing up afterwards and hearing "HEY LOOK", from the 5 year old next door as they passed my front door. It may have been about something else but I think not. I'm not saying it's some great "work of art" but it is a work of Love and of Concentration and it feels healthy and right.

Tomorrow I intend to wake up at Dawn (4.42 a.m..eek) and to repeat the ritual and this time to experiment with colours. (Afterwards I will probably sleep for a few more hours). In the evening Verity is coming over to help me with the 7000 year old woman piece.. this is all feeling rather healthy..