by Juliet Batten | 29, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
On Sunday afternoon I went to a baby shower for a young woman in our community. She is now approaching full term with her pregnancy. Twelve women were there, and we each brought a blessing, written on a card or piece of paper ready to be pasted into a book.What a... 
by Juliet Batten | 28, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
Can we connect with the sacred in nature when we are urban-dwellers? This question was raised at the Sea of Faith conference where I gave a talk on ‘The Sacred in Nature’. I thought of this blog, where so many of the images that inspire me are taken from... 
by Juliet Batten | 23, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
‘What little seedling abounds in the bush at the moment? I need about a hundred.’ This was my request to Colleen, who lives up the road from the bach. Her property lies deep in the bush, amidst tall kauri, rimu, tanekaha and totara trees. ‘Have a... 
by Juliet Batten | 22, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
Last week this very same scene was wild, wet, and cold. This week the sun kept chasing the squalls away and people spread themselves over the beach. How much can change in only a week! The hills are now full of colour and I am full of smiles. 
by Juliet Batten | 15, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
Walking in the storm with Barbara, who also loves wild weather. We are the only ones on the beach. The wind is fierce, the rain squalls frequent. Two black oyster catchers face the sea, patiently. Plump dotterels totter around in the wind. Cloud dissolves the hill... 
by Juliet Batten | 13, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
Sometimes, like yesterday, spring and winter walk hand in hand, like lovers. At other times, like today, they wave their arms, shake their fists and fight like siblings.My walk takes me along mossy footpaths that bear the residue of winter’s damp. In the park,... 
by Juliet Batten | 10, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
Suddenly the sun was shining, the wind had dropped and the sky was clear. I knew this was the perfect day for my pilgrimage to Western Springs Road. Would the trees still be there after all these years?I’ve been writing about the gum trees in a... 
by Juliet Batten | 8, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
You shine enticing warmth, then blast with hail stones. You attack with fierce wind, then download your wet. You bite with cold, then archly present a rainbow, and smile as if to say, ‘This is August. What did you expect?’ 
by Juliet Batten | 5, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
I set out to walk in the rain yesterday, telling myself ‘You’ll be glad you did it; you always are.’And so I was. I turned a corner and it was as if the day was suddenly lit up by what I saw: this glorious magnolia, dancing in the rain, her blossoms... 
by Juliet Batten | 4, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
Celebrating First Light, the festival of Brigid, with my dear women friends. Milk is poured into a dark ‘well’ of water in a bowl, making swirls and clouds. I watch mesmerised at the simple magic that comes from a symbolic gesture made in sacred space. I... 
by Juliet Batten | 3, Aug, 2010 | Uncategorized
I was feeling impatient, wanting to prance out of the backwater of winter (as I started thinking of it) and into the surge of spring. I wanted my creativity to flow again. I was tired of gestating and gathering. My watch stopped completely, and then my calculator too,... 