Without and within

Without,

The farmyard hums and buzzes with activity.

Two little girls return from a horse-ride.

Hens cluck their ownership of the whole yard.

The shining sun has called us out of doors,

away from the cosy stove,

which unusually, has not yet been lit.

Within,
lunch is being prepared silently,
as we sit and connect with our
poetic and creative selves.

The slow, steady chop of
each piece of carrot
can be heard.

The kettle is on,
for a welcome cup of tea.

Elderberry branches adorn the table
for the soon-to-begin drawing lesson.
Another chance for us to sit
and connect with our
artistic and creative selves.

Without,
the general hubbub of everyday life
in all its gorgeous and unique ordinariness.

Within,
an opportunity to sit
and connect with our creative selves,
in all its gorgeous and unique specialness.

Without,
life goes on.

A distraction?
Or a means of connecting our inner selves

with a greater, wilder, outer self.

Within,
becomes the means of cognising without.

Without and within become blurred boundaries,
bumping up against each other,
until there is no longer any distinction.

© 5 October 2013