My Sunday List
August 27, 2023
Quote
The more we persist in misunderstanding the phenomena of life, the more we analyze them out into strange finalities and complex purposes of our own, the more we involve ourselves in sadness, absurdity and despair. But it does not matter much, because no despair of ours can alter the reality of things, or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there. Indeed, we are in the midst of it, and it is in the midst of us, for it beats in our very blood, whether we want it to or not. —Richard Rohr
Song
In Your Love by Tyler Childers.
I watched
H and I went to see Oppenheimer. It’s really good, but I could’ve done without about an hour of it. No way does it need to be three hours long, in my opinion. The performances are great, and it looks fantastic — we are able to see it in 35mm at our local art house, The Belcourt. I suppose the point could be reduced to the need for separation of artist from art. Maybe the question to ask is how to do that, should we do that? Just because one can invent a bomb that will kill or injure over 200,000 people, should one? And if one does, should one lose control of the work? Math and physics are arts, aren’t they? To the mathematicians and physicists, I would think the answer is probably yes.
Book
Still on Under the Tuscan Sun. About halfway through. I’m savoring it and I think immersing myself in this divine feminine literary energy is having an affect on my writing already. I am now a true Frances Mayes fan. She’s quirky in just the right way for me.
Thing
Have you cooked in your cast iron skillet lately? I fell back in love with my biggest one the other day when I was cooking some breakfast tacos and imagined the same kind of sausage cooking in the same kind of skillet a hundred years ago.
Favorite Photo I Took This Week
My sister took it, but isn’t it a beauty? Winnie sits on me to give my friend Natasha ALL of her attention.
Prayer
Thank you, Great Spirit, for showing me what I need to see every single day.
Intention for the week to come
I can’t do better than last week’s just yet. It’s covering everything that’s important to me right now.
May I find healing places inside myself at every moment. May I cultivate the self-love that is the earthly embodiment of your love for me. May I find the autonomy I seek as I heal from the damage that diminishes me into a dependent, insecure, and anxiously attached person. May I recognize myself as the divine soul that I am, and allow the power of my feminine strength and wisdom to come forth at every opportunity. May I have the gumption to follow only what is for me, and may I pay astute attention to the messages you send to show me what that is.
Something I’m thinking about
How to cover three generations of a family in a novel. What to read to teach me how to do that. What is the timeline? Will I need to use time stamps? Yes, quite likely. Each of these characters has their own detailed story. And a new one just emerged this morning, a villain — now there are two, possibly three or maybe four. Will that work? How many storylines am I allowed? If I have as many as are in my head right now, how will I weave them together so they have a reason to be locked in this snowglobe together? What does this have to do with that? Is my original idea holding? It’s certainly changing.
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. — Buddha
Habit
This week, it has been painting as much as I can. I’ve done a several commissions lately and just love the process so much. To take someone’s ideas, what’s important to them, and work them in symbolically to a vision feels like a gift.
Thank you, my Autotelic-ers, for supporting my passion.
I’ve been working with some trees lately — more to come soon.
Wishes
That I feel joy every time I am able, and that I spread that joy to others.
That I take good care of my family, make good art, and keep myself clear of negative emotions and harmful stress, and stay open to all of my options.
That I meet others with love and compassion, even when I know I’m dealing with their trauma and not the real them.
That you will forward this to one person and that person becomes a subscriber too.
There are more copies of Blood in the store. I’ll sign a copy for you — they are first edition copies in hardback. Paperbacks have sold out.
If you would like your copy personalized, please send a note with your order number and the name you’d like on the signature page to allisonmoorercontact@gmail.com.
Have a wonderful, peaceful, joyous week. And thank you for supporting my work here at The Autotelic.
Lots of love,
Allison
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Access to the chat feature on the Substack app.
Paid subscriber only Saturday posts.
A discount code to use in the shop for 24 hours when I put new paintings up. And other discounts for the shop (AM merch is coming soon)!
Surprises from time to time — free merch, access to things in the shop before free subscribers.
Your multigenerational family saga may need to be a series of several volumes. It sounds intriguing from your brief description, and I can’t wait to unpack your cast of characters. It’s an ambitious project, but please stick with it, as it has “best seller” written all over it.
Some female friends dismissed “Under the Tuscan Sun” as fluff, as they did “Eat,Pray,Love”. I found both to be warm and relatable.
Tyler Childers latest is my slam dunk this week as well. I love how much airplay he is getting - at least here on Colorado independent stations and my favorite home base, WMOT ;)
There is nothing better than an iron skillet. Passed down or newly acquired. I donated almost all my other cookware when I rediscovered the joy of cast iron cooking. Somewhere my grandmothers are smiling ;)
Thank you as always for your Sunday list .. I now start my Monday with it.