My mind is a whirl-by Jan Francis

My mind is a whirl. 

By Jan Francis

The days have been passing in a bit of a trance...they float together as driftwood on a stream, tumbling through the current in its various moods.

Even at night my dreams are full of colour and movement. Something is changing and that something is not in my control.

These energies are ungrounding and unearthing all that I thought I knew and felt safety around. So challenging and so confronting. 

I hear the background chatter of society as it gives out continuous feedback and ideas on what is needed and where we should put our attention. All helpful and relevant, except that I am being pushed to go within and find out what is there....waiting for me. 

Silent thought brings me back to painting, as today again I stand in front of my canvas, which is a continuation of yesterdays and the day before.

I let go into a free-fall of colour and feelings,  a slip into the unknown. 

This energetic movement and jockeying for position is not just mine of course. It’s here in the the one heart. Prodding us all to look at what is calling.  What in our lives has been put on hold, or buried as not available? What pain pushed down as unacceptable or shameful, what desire brushed away because we do not have the skill, the talent or the worth? 

The deep presence of Nature on Salt Spring Island and the connection of other women is a delicious treat that I am anticipating gloriously.

Sharing our paths and taking the time to let the conversation and paint flow. To let go of any idea about how we can heal or how that canvas should look and to just dive into whatever presents itself. Every mark sacred and every word a blessing and prayer.

I welcome anyone who has yet to notice that call which is nudging them to respond. We can be present together to allow this unfolding celebration and the discovery of that which thrives and is untouched by circumstance or experience. 

That simple innocent awareness. Ageless, timeless and richly, deeply nourishing.

Jan Francis is a co-facilitator at one of enso’s signature retreats, “A Shade More…Light”

Jan has always been drawn to expressing herself in paint and colour has called her and reverberated throughout her life.

She studied and created at Brighton College of Art and then Shoreditch College, a part of London University completing a degree in Education, with a painting major. Teaching art has always been a passion and vocation, becoming the Head of Art in Berkshire.

Experiencing Jan at “A Shade More.Light” you will leave the retreat feeling connected to a more intuitive self, refreshed and proud of painting your own masterpiece!