I’ve recently had the lovely realisation that I have had soooo much Narnia in my life in 2015.
Snow, Forests, wildlife, friends, adventures, it's all been there.
In fact I begun and ended my year with it! How wonderful!
Then I got to wondering about the specific Narnia experiences I've attracted into my life and how if you wanted to you could do the same.
Here are some of the things that you could do to get more Narnia moments in your life.
Spend time alone exploring an enchanted place this Winter
In January this year I spent a whole week on an artist residency, alone at Inchraich Farm via the Bothy Project. It was beautiful and clear week. It was cosy inside and it was perfectly snowy outside, I spent my days exploring my creativity, keeping warm in front of a wood stove and getting to know the local wildlife
Taking time in solitude and exploration of a space that you believe is healing and nurturing for you is vital. Whether that space be physical, a specific place where you can retreat to, or a space within yourself. You will have a chance to reflect and meditate on what’s important to you, what you are willing to stand up for, and what your internal and eternal courage is calling you to do.
Become royally important to this place and time
See that you are important to that place, to your story, to the life that you create and to the people around you. Once you have given yourself permission to be important in the unfolding of your life, you must remember that once you have you can’t ever stop being important. Because as the story says,
‘Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen of Narnia'
And don’t forget you can always make yourself a crown and wander around, especially on days that you forget your vitality and inner power for making a difference.
Spend time creating something meaningful surrounded with heroes and heroines
Between October and December I have been working on a creative project called Project Narnia, at Gate 55 in Edinburgh as part of a Lyceum Theatre project, where a Drama facilitator was invited in to work with families for a period of 4 weeks, to do drama, games and movement. I was also invited in to work with families to create arts and crafts related to the story of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
I created a plan to work on a number of different important visual elements from the world of Narnia over the 4 sessions I was with them.
We planned that these magical things would to come together to make a scene, to be installed in a section of corridor within Gate 55, with a vision for the parents and children to be able to use some of these objects to help create their dramatic creations within the Lyceum sessions, as well as a space for the families to come to get their photographs taken in Narnia.
Together we joyfully created all kinds of wonderful things; Aslan the Lion, the snowy trees of the forest, the lamppost and some of the gifts the children receive along their journey. All the while we were delving into the enchanted world of Narnia by listening to the story tape of Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
Aslan - cardboard hands made by each participant to form his magnificent mane.
It was a wonderfully busy and lively 4 sessions, with collaboration and celebration along the way. Thank you Project Narnia!
Some questions for you:
What magic can you believe in?
What can you create with others that would make you feel alive, creative and part of a bigger whole, a place of belonging?
What can you create that will bring a feeling of delight and triumph?
What can you create that will bring a feeling of hopefulness?
Who would you love to create with?
Go to see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at the theatre
Check out if the theatre show is being performed in or near your town right now. It definitely is on in Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh right now because I went along to see it last night!
Waiting for the performance to begin
I was so excited and I was full of wide eyed wonder. I came away singing one of the songs from the show, all about believing in magic and opening doors to new adventures! *Skip*
Eat Turkish Delight again
Even if you hated it as child, I urge you to try it again, especially if you have only ever tried the bright pink, chocolate covered Fry’s Turkish delight. I never liked that stuff, blah! Our tastes and preferences change over the years and you might be pleasantly surprised. In fact, you might even want to have a tea party and eat toast, honey, eggs and sugar topped cake. Mr Tumnuss might decide to join you too.
For Narnia!
with warmth and wonder
Jaimie x