I don’t remember when the smell of leaf litter became important in my life. Decomposing leaves improve soil, adding carbon, nitrogen, phospherous and other inorganic compounds as well as helping to maintain moisture and temperature at ground level.
On a warm August day, I had the good fortune to go foraging for Blaeberries with a beautiful friend of mine. Together, we chatted, scrambled and gathered. It takes a while for you to see the berries nestled in the leaves; so camouflaged by the exuberance of growth everywhere.
Found: adjective, having been discovered by chance or unexpectedly.
This word was delivered to me in a hand written letter. A moment of inspiration upon waking, from the aforementioned friend.
With this new phase of exploration, I’ve been thinking about the concept of being ‘found’ and the wonder of beginnings. Life experience has the unnerving effect of dispelling wonder, perplexity, astonishment and replacing them with understanding. Understanding makes it possible to predict and control how our day is mapped out giving us a sense of security and the comfort of what is known. How would it be if we could negotiate with our life experience? Learn to hold on to wonder: sustain our sense of wonderment in life and be guided by a sense of excitement in beginnings instead of the trepidation of the ending.
Wayfaring Geordie is my way of drawing a line under one phase of my artistic journey, and the beginning of the next. It is my intention to continue cataloguing my meandering thoughts and images of my adventures with art; to reconnect with my own sense of wonder and see where it leads.
Lar MacGregor 