Tag: Connections

Community & Connection

There is only 3 days until the start of the next Art Challenge and I do hope you join us. It’s such an incredible and soul filling experience to purposefully engage your creativity for 30 days.

One thing that’s so valuable as we start this journey is COMMUNITY. It’s amazing to join in with others who are expressing their creativity; to be encouraged and inspired by them. You are also part of the encouraging and inspiring process for others. It’s this incredible loop that cycles around and fills your soul. So if you don’t already follow my Facebook Page, click on the link below and follow me.

XANGELLE

I’m going to send you there right now to follow or like or whatever it is that you do to join and see posts because that is where we will be sharing our daily art and creativity. Each day there will be a post with the Day and Prompt. We will be sharing our art in the comments of each day’s post.

That way we can all see who is playing along with us in this Art Challenge . It’s a great way to collect the art for each day and we can encourage each other as we go along. Think of it as a virtual gallery. I’m excited to see what you create.

So if you haven’t already, go give my page a follow. I’m so excited to start this art challenge and to see where our creativity leads us.

Day 18 – Sand Dune Arch (Part 3)

Even when just driving from station to station within the Park the views are incredible.

We pulled into the parking lot and we’re greeted by this stunning view.

To gain some perspective, Jon got this picture of Siah standing at the base of this giant.

Inside of this landform is Sand Dune Arch. It was my favourite experience of the park. We walked towards this landform on a gravel path.

You see a narrow space in between the columns and with no idea what you’re walking into, you head inside.

The pathway in, is squishy and awkward. The ground is slightly sloped and there’s sand on top of hardened rock and you really should use both hands to steady yourself as you slip through the opening into the magical world inside.

The temperature drops a few degrees and the wind is cool and blows steady against you. The pathway opens up into this quiet space that feels sacred. It’s awe inspiring.

The sand is cool and powdery soft. It’s a sensory delight. You kind of want to lay down and just soak it all in. I know that sounds weird but it was amazing.

The first space widens into an open sky chamber and you can hear your voice echo slightly as you call out to each other. I had the most incredible urge to sing. To join my voice with sounds and beings that have gone before and are here now, in gratitude for this incredible wonder.

As the walls narrow to lead you into the next chamber , the strength of the wind blowing through and against you, increases. It reminded me of the times when life seems narrow and restricted and the things coming at you seem to intensify. If you can press on and press through, you just don’t know what will open up for you; or what wonders you are about to step in to.

The space opened up and revealed wonders that aren’t visible from the outside. It’s only when you press in, that you get to see the beauty that’s here and available, if you’re willing.

There were other visitors in the area with us and although everyone was quiet and respectful; I wished I could have had a moment alone in this place. To just sit down and be quiet and BE in this place.

As you carry on passed the arch, the crevasse gets smaller and smaller.

Siah squished in as far as he could go. Silly boy. It’s amazing to see how happy the boys were; no screens, no devices, just nature.

We stayed for a while longer but then headed out to go and see Broken Arch.

I’m gonna break this up into one more post. We got a lot of pictures from our hike towards Broken Arch; and it’s easier than creating a super long extended post.

Day 14 – Texas

We started the day a bit slower than usual as we were up so late the night before. We had plans to meet up with some friends in Dripping Springs around 11am and it was about an hour away from where we were staying. We got on the road just at 10:30am. We pulled into Dripping Springs and found our way to Mazama Coffee Co. & Roastery

We met up with Darren and Lori and we’re treated to delicious coffee and scrumptious baking and the absolute best friendship & company. The boys were thrilled to be on their own connected to wifi. And we went and sat outside on the patio under a huge sprawling tree. It was magical. We talked and talked and caught up and it was another incredible moment of soul filling connection.

After a couple of hours the boys started to get antsy and so we had a quick tour of their roastery. It’s fascinating, truly.

It’s an art form. It’s another beautiful craft that results in a delicious, perfect cup of coffee.

We headed back to Round Rock and found out that not only was it one cousin’s birthday but Jon’s cousin WAS available for dinner. He hadn’t been previously, but events worked out and he was free.

We spent the afternoon chatting with Tammie while Burton finished work.

They have a fabulous covered back porch and the great company and the warm wind blowing through combined with the incredible bird sounds made for a magical afternoon.

Their kids and our kids spent the entire afternoon chatting and laughing and sharing. When Burton finished work, we got ready to go to Chuy’s – a delicious Tex-Mex Restaurant.

On the drive there, Siah shared that he was so enjoying spending time with the cousins and said, “I am loving this. These are my kind of people.” It’s so good to hear and it was amazing to see how quickly we all connected.

It really was incredible how well our families got along. We talked and listened and our hearts were knit together. I’m filled with gratitude that we had this special time to connect. We chatted much later than we should have, knowing that our time together was short. Eventually we hugged, made plans to have coffee in the morning before we took off and headed to bed.