scooped out by reflection and wonder

Living artfully, therefore, might require something as simple as pausing.  Some people are incapable of being arrested by things because they are always on the move.  A common symptom of modern life is that there is no time for thought or even for letting impressions of a day sink in.  Yet it is only when the world enters the heart that it can be made into soul.  The vessel in which soul-making takes place is an inner container scooped out by reflection and wonder.  …  a period of non-doing that is essential nourishment to the soul.  ~T. Moore 

When I think of living artfully, I think about space, value, color, texture.  At first glance, artful living is all about living in community … positive space, bold lines, warm colors, smooth textures … relationships … iron sharpening iron.   To be a good friend, though, I need quiet to develop the soul … time for reflection, for wonder, for pondering the richness in life … and then out of that “inner container” can living in community thrive. 

It is not enough to know.
It is not enough to follow
the inward road conversing in secret.

You must go to the place
where everything waits,
there, when you finally rest,
even one word will do,
one word or the palm of your hand
turning outward
in the gesture of gift.

And now we are truly afraid
to find the great silence
asking so little.
~D. Whyte