Thursday 26th March, 2020
Stone By Stone
It seems that what many of us are facing, is more than the obvious fear of loved ones getting sick, getting sick ourselves or the fears surrounding livelihood. It’s facing the loss of a world as we’ve known it. It is everything we had planned, were creating, had worked for and were looking forward to. Many of us have found our dreams to be empty; a palace built in the mind that we mistook as permanent. We need to give ourselves permission to grieve the loss of our projected futures so we can return to the present and remain responsive to whatever is required of us in the now.
In the now, we are left with the immediacy of our thoughts and emotions. I suspect we may discover that some of our greatest resources are our inner riches; the qualities that bring out the best in us. Perhaps you will unearth surprising courage and creativity, generosity, or the ability to reach out and receive. Perhaps you will find trust and ground in the realms of the great unknown. Let us stay open to the gifts we can potentially discover throughout this challenging time.
Last year I was finishing an album when I had to move from the home that had become my sanctuary. A friend answered the call to creative action and helped me film a video before I left. The process was healing and I feel grateful to have this outlet in my life. Whilst a lot of my music feels somewhat inadequate to speak to what we are facing right now, Stone by Stone speaks to our attachments, crumbling fantasies and the heart-break of leaving behind something you love. Even if it did just exist in the mind.
The brokenness I felt at the time was real, yet so was the accompanied sense of solidarity I felt with the land I had connected with so deeply. Right now, I feel the same sense of solidarity with my fellow human beings across the globe.
In the last week at my old home, a bird made a nest above the front door. With it’s permission, I captured it in the video. Whilst it was a very inconvenient nesting place for the bird, it’s presence offered me comfort. The happy ending to my story is that I have found my new home. Thankfully, in the midst of breaking chaos, I landed. Many thanks to Gizem Darendiologlu for her playful input in filming this. This is my first attempt at creating a video to accompany my music. I pieced it together when the bushfires were ravaging the country earlier in the year. Back then, it felt like paying homage to all that was lost in the fires. And now ... something else again. May this offering bring you something you need at this time. In love and solidarity, Marianne