I think I got on this trail, and skipped introducing myself because the trailhead I entered on was desolate. Maybe part of my struggle to talk here has been because it felt crazy saying all this stuff walking along, alone in the woods.

It's been awkward, at times.

Then, my old friend, clay, ran into me, and opened up the dialogue I've been lonesome for.

***

I haven't known how to get past some blocks I've been carrying around with me.

Bricks in my pack, breaking me down.

Maybe those bricks were the hardened, dried out clay I've been working on softening and bringing back to malleable life this week...Things are starting to shift and move a bit with those blocks.

Clay can do everything.
Or, some might say you can do everything through clay?

Working with clay activates places in my psyche nothing else can.

Maybe I really will be able to heal my life through this medium. Maybe I won't be lost on this trail forever, after all.

Something else has gone toward putting my ceramic soul back together this week. I have connected with a network of other potters and clay people from around the globe, who hashtag themselves as #pottersofperiscope, on the Periscope app. It's a perfect platform for expanding the ability to socialize, and interact, in the midst of an otherwise potentially solitary endeavor. The clay community is a kind, generous, down to earth, and welcoming tribe.

I already really knew this, but I've been homebound for a while, so I'd lost contact with the feeling of it.

***

Today, I spent several hours prepping my clay studio to be functional again, and unpacked clay work I abandoned mid-process, 4 years ago.

I'm nesting once more, and working to trust the flow of life.

It's gonna be a hootenanny!

***After working in the clay studio on Friday, my body went into another body-wide pain flare, which created a delay in posting. It pretty much wiped me out. I have to learn how to adjust my dance. It's all part of being on the trail. It knocked me for a bit of a loop, but I'm still here, committed, and determined as ever.

I will throw that much more spirit into the work that gives me hope and keeps me going.

Connection and clay is here to stay.
We're getting to know each other better, every day.