True joy under the tree


Joy under the tree

“Joy under the tree”. New painting. Available for purchase HERE, as the very first of a series of small and affordable paintings on Etsy, yay!

Strange how we humans create traditions and then keep them up long after no one can remember or manifest their true meaning. Strange how just a little awareness can shift that.

One day a most wonderful Christmas tree presented itself to me. A tree standing alone in a winter landscape. And yet not alone.  It was part of a beautiful world of life, not visible to the eye unless you were able to see through the cold winter earth beneath its roots. There were presents under the tree! But a very special kind. The kind that makes you still with wonder and joy. They were pure life energy and juices from trees and plants withdrawn into the ground to be stored and renewed during the cold season. And they were wrapped in a deep understanding of the cycle of life and death.

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I saw a world of promise and new life. Forces making ready for the year to come. And I noticed how the tree was settled, knowing that what the eyes can´t see is still there, as pure joy under the surface. That this is another kind of spring, felt by those who are able to be so still that they can hear what goes on under the surface.

Detail from York Minster

Detail from York Minster

This December I will try once again. To do what I can and leave the rest. And not be driven by traditions. But rather use them as an opener and guide to what may be a hidden truth. Remembering that true presents has joy and connection and don´t come with a demand. I know it´s not easy in this world. But I firmly believe we can create our own new traditions, little by little. Traditions connected to something true. Something real. Even if it´s something we can´t see it with the eyes.

Here´s to lots of  true joy under the trees this year!!!

Xx Lise.

PS: part of my sanity in times like this comes from the small (or sometimes big, yay!) moments of reconnecting with myself through writing morning pages. Lifesaving. Really. 

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