Skip to main content

From The Restory - Conversations On The Journey (61)

By

 


Meanwhile




This week, we just didn't get to the recording of a conversation. From morning to evening, every day, we were moving.

Every now and then we were asking ourselves: why do we still have so much stuff?

  • Shouldn't we just throw out all the books? 

And silence all those voices that are part of the conversation? And how many retreatants have stood in front of the shelves, just to find the right book at the right time? No, we can't. 

  • Rather close the pottery studio? In any case, it will take a few months to get it up and running at Tafelkop. 

However, that is the space where I, Matilda, express myself and where a growing number of people live out their creativity during workshops. It is also a very important spiritual aid. No, it has to stay.

  • Get rid of all my, George's, machines in the workshop? 

We have indeed sold the large engineering machines. That phase in George's life is over and it will also help with funds during this transitioning period. But the workshop is also saving us a lot of money, because it is the nerve centre from where all the repairs and maintenance at the Restory are done. 

No, we need it.

That was how we went through the list sifting, thinking, dreaming, talking, asking. 

It is the fruit of that discernment process that we've been moving whole week. The stuff that makes our retreat centre The Restory. 

We are truly grateful for so much help received:

  • Family members who have helped packing and getting the cottage at Tafelkop ready
  • A 3 ton truck with diesel that has been put at our disposal and without which we could not have moved the large heavy loads
  • A borrowed very sturdy 3 m trailer with which we've moved mountains
  • 3 workers that we would want at our side in any war
  • A farm manager who had the long grass cut around the cottage at Tafelkop
  • Financial donations and interest free loans to help with this layered process. These acts of generosity often had us in tears
  • Friends and neighbours making and bringing food to keep the team fed
  • Messages and calls of support and encouragement

The list is long. Thank you so much.

So, we are almost there. The idea at this stage is is to be permanently at Tafekop from this coming Monday evening. From there we'll tie up some remaining loose ends here at Barrowfield.





The remains of Matilda's beloved studio





The cats and dogs cling to us for dear life. Something is happening.....



An empty room at Barrowfield





The cottage at Tafelkop before the grass being cut 




Afterwards



The cottage in the process of becoming home




And this will eventually become workshop


The Restory remains The Restory, currently going through a phase of reconstruction with adjustments. 

Thank you that we are not alone on this journey.


All our love. 


George & Matilda


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Whistle while you work

By
Drawing by Ron Leishman When last did you whistle while working? When last did you hear someone else whistle while working? Somehow it bothers me that whistling has become an almost absent element in our work. The sound of a person whistling a tune while busy somewhere in the house or out in the workshop conveys something of an underlying happiness, satisfaction and contentment. An enjoyment of the work itself. The tune need not be flawless. Applying more air than sound won’t lead to disqualification, as long as the intention is there. Whistling can even be replaced by singing in all that I’ve said up to now. The same principles apply. The absence of any of these two activities bothers me because it says something about us doing the work and the type of work that we do. Can it be that our type of labour in this 21 st century is not conducive to either whistling or singing? What type of work is that then – draining, stressful, pressured? Or are our conclusions ...
6 comments
Read more

Lessons in Sunbirdish (1)

By
I have no way of proving that God exists. For a long, long time I believed because I didn't think I had a choice. If it is a choice between heaven and hell, you do what it takes to secure your celestial seat. Somehow I never stopped to consider why I so strongly believed in a heaven and hell, but wasn't nearly as sure that there's a God holding the keys to them. Then the sunbirds came. Slowly but surely I am being taught the dialect I need to converse with God. Or rather, to follow on what seems to be a trail that God leaves me. Being just up ahead and beckoning me all the while, it's not a chase after or a search for God, but rather a joint venture with God scouting and reporting back when my spirit runs low on this journey through life. In  A Rare Find  and  Bird on my window sill  I touched on synchronicity. I have come to believe that consciously living our moments, awakens us to the fact that there are more things in this life than meet the eyeball. Things t...
1 comment
Read more

A likely Hero: Jara Cimrman

By
As Matilda has already indicated, one of the most difficult things to do after you’ve visited a country is to return and convey something of what you’ve experienced. How do you show a city’s many faces, introduce its inhabitants? How do you tell of the effects a history has on people and of a stance towards life that can actually not be translated into words? In the case of Prague, it is very helpful to have someone like Jara Cimrman. ~ ~ v ~ ~ Petrin Hill, on the left bank of the river Vltava running through Prague, is in many ways a site worth visiting. Climbing the 299 steps of the Petrin Tower, inspired by the Eiffel Tower, gives you one of the most beautiful views of the city. But by going down into its basement, you enter into the psyche of the Czech people. Here, quite unobtrusively, is the museum for the “ Genius, who has not become famous ”. Matilda and I almost stumbled onto it by chance and as we went through the exhibition, our amazement over this brilliant ...
Post a Comment
Read more