Druidic Arts: Sensing Truly

I started this one with the idea of listening properly. Hearing what is said, not what we think others are saying. Listening for the voices that speak softly, or do not speak in words. I realised after a while that this is because I’m more confident about the listening bits, than other versions. I work hard at listening, in part because it doesn’t always come easily to me. You may not be shocked and startled to read that I have a lot of opinions. As a younger person, I probably talked more than I would be comfortable with now, as I have learned to slow down and be open to others. I’ve learned to listen for what people don’t say, as well, and for the pauses where a bit of encouragement is needed. It’s a work in progress. Listening well means having the right body language, the right tone, the right level of eye contact, all kinds of details that can be practiced with an eye to making them as graceful as dance moves.

Seeing what is really there is also an art. Human perception defaults to seeing what it thinks is there, or what we’re looking for. We miss the unexpected, we tune out that which makes no sense, and we ignore what we thought was familiar. So many people go through so many spaces without seeing it at all. I have to admit, I’m not the world’s most visual person, I have a poor visual memory, I don’t think visually at all. Working with a visual experience of the world means that, in an artistic sense, I’m not far removed from the toddler who grips a crayon in a clenched fist and scrawls enthusiastically. I assume it works the same way as hearing, becoming more aware, more alert, more sensitive.

There is a whole language of scent, which we take in unconsciously but which tells us so much about the world. This is tasty, that is poison. This person is sexy, that person is rank… but compared to most creatures we have pitiful noses. Drawing a deep breath is the beginning of all meditation work, slowing down, breathing, being present. Each breath we draw will taste of something. Being aware of it opens us to new experiences. There are professional nose artists out there, working with perfume and food, sniffing at wine glasses and contemplating how the nasal experience will be for others. Smelling the good stuff, the coffee, the roses, the outside, adds richness to life and deepens awareness of the world.

Then there is our skin. Modern dress norms encourage us to cover up, but barefoot in any space we experience the environment totally differently. Wind in hair, sun on face. Soft grass against bare arms. Cold water running over toes. Human contact. There are so many opportunities for bodily sensation, but we tend to ignore them, and avoid them. The sharp claws of the cat in my leg, the sudden cramp after cycling, the headache… these too are telling me something, and I will experience more for working with them.

Working with the senses as art opens the way to other kinds of art. Firstly, the more we pay attention and perceive, the more we can appreciate the accidental art and natural beauty of the world. Birdsong, rustling leaves, flowing water, human noises become our soundtrack. The scent of flowers, or wet dog become present, rich, part of life. The feel of clothes on skin, the sense of what is physically good and pleasurable communicates to us the values and wonders of things beyond our own bodies. This knowledge and insight also gifts us with skills we can then use to create. Knowing what makes a good sound is essential if you want to write a tune. Understanding what is beautiful in a scene will make you a better visual artist. Alert to the sensual pleasures of food we can create wonders in the kitchen.

Even if we don’t take sensual experience forward to inform creativity, it can still be practiced as an art for its own sake. This is the craft work of appreciation and gratitude. It is the weaving of delight, enabling us to paint colour into our life experience and layer depths into the ways we live. It is an art of finding small moments of happiness and worth, an art of seeing beyond what is ordinary and familiar to spot the droplet of inspiration within it, the sunlight seeping through it, the soul shining from it. It is recognition of what is well done, and of course by contrast will show us what is impoverished or destructive. It may be that the art of sensing truly will show us where there is an absence of beauty, and nothing capable of feeding our souls. Then we have to decide whether to stay, and make something better, or leave and find something better.