Beauty Stalks

Hello Friends,

I photographed cat I met while out walking this week. It was up on a narrow ledge between a wood fence and some green ivy and other plants.

This morning, I posted the photo with the words “Beauty stalks the spaces in between.” Canessa Thomas, an artist whose work I really like, commented on Instagram that it resonated and she wanted to sit with that phrase.

That in itself struck me. Of course a visual artist would like that caption. Visual artists—and most artists, whether writers, dancers, musicians—all stalk beauty in one form or another. And we all seek out in between spaces, the cracks other people often overlook. That’s part of what makes art stop the rest of us in our tracks: someone highlighted a thing we may have noticed in a glancing moment, but did not allow ourselves the time required to stop and sink into that unexpected space.

Other people who notice things? Meditators. Folks who slow down enough to pray. Astronomers and botanists… Anyone whose work and interests require experiencing life beyond the status quo.

Liminal spaces are traditionally places of magic. Sunrises and sunsets. Thresholds. Edges. Seasonal turns. The pause between inhalation and exhalation. The places between life and death…

I gravitate toward these spaces and always have. They fuel my art, my magic, and the way I connect with the world at large. Noticing the liminal also requires me to notice the people falling through the cracks. Whenever we rally support for each other during tough times, we are saying: “Your life may feel on the edge right now, but we won’t let you fall.”

Wishing you beauty today, and the chance to notice whatever feels in between.

be well — Thorn

Needing a story to escape into? Books one of the Witches of Portland and the Panther Chronicles are still free.