Retreat

My Oriental Wisdom calendar has this quote for today, "Every person needs a retreat, a 'dynamo' of silence, where he may go for the exclusive purpose of being newly recharged by the Infinite." Today is also World Prayer Day.

It is a cynical world we live in and the thought of a prayer or spiritual retreat is laughable to many people. I embrace the idea however. We need to be able to get away, even if it is only for a few minutes, to recharge the inner batteries that are being drained by day to day living. My retreat is art and writing.

Life can be too hectic sometimes and I feel drained at the end of a long week at work. My job has a great deal of stress built into it. No one is really happy there. By the time Friday night comes I am ready to just vegitate for a while. I usually spend time doing a live chat with friends from the Prisoner newsgroup and of course Friday also brings some of my favorite science fiction shows on the SciFi channel.

I'll probably spend this weekend doing research on the web to try an find out what some of the flowers my niece wants in her wedding bouquets look like. I have to confess I am florally challenged. If it isn't a rose, lily, daffodil or iris I probably can't name it. I need to find silk versions of flowers that I can make into fans for her attendants.

My greatest solace is in being able to create my art. I feel that God has given me this talent and I want to develop it to its fullest as a thank you to him/her. I know many people enjoy my art. My parents were my biggest supporters. My Dad kept every picture I ever sent him and when he passed away my mother had my brother print them off and keep them. Mother loves to see the artwork I do since I use each new picture as a screen saver.

Find your center and let God into your life and you will find peace. After a hectic week at work I'll be doing that this weekend. In order to be my best for those around me I need to be the best for me and that means being at my calmest. God soothes my soul and I thank him/her for that.

The picture is called "Rainbow Palace" and is the dwelling place for the characters in my short story series.