Summer is here - I think!

 

In between the Winds

A scorching hot Christmas with hardly a breeze, the next day a first lie in the sun, dip in the sea, and now howling winds, and rain predicted tonight! 

We are having a summer holiday at home... we are loving the visitors, the light and also profound conversations, catching up on long awaited writing, READING... and just sitting in the evenings looking at our gentle Christmas displays, lit by candlelight, and pondering the riddles of the universe.

When my children were little I made a small nativity set out of felt, with real wooden camels for the kings, bought in Egypt, a variety of animals and straw stars for the Christmas trees. It was very much a Shepherds Christmas scene ... humble devotion. It was much loved. Then, when we left McGregor just over two years ago I gave it all to the school's Grade 1 & 2 teacher - it was nearly 40 years old. It felt that we had come to an end of an era.  

Since then I have been gently looking for a replacement, knowing that the right one would turn up... and it did... a week before this Christmas. We were in what has become a favourite stationery shop, looking for something else, and there it was... a beautifully crafted set, aesthetic, serene, contemplative... this time a kingly Christmas scene - royal, wise and beautiful. We loved it immediately.

It has a perfect home in our lounge. And now I am pondering... what are the winds of change that have moved us from being 'shepherds' to being 'kings'?

 

Just over a week ago, I ran a star paper-folding workshop in our double garage, one half of which is being converted to a studio for Michael. I invited four ladies from our complex, and amid much snacking, talking and laughing we created two stars each... now proudly displayed in windows in our respective apartments. Click on the Gallery tab above to see a collage of our time together.

This past year Michael has been writing his 3rd book, which will be published in the new year. I have been mainly running my 'How to Love' courses, and attending a 3-year online course given by Proteus with Al Kaplan and Sue Davidoff. It is called 'Enabling Life' - based on their practice of delicate activism - it has truly been life-giving to me. 

Apart from my 'How to Love' Courses, we are not planning far ahead... we are now being a bit spontaneous about our offerings - I will keep you informed. 

A reminder that my next 'How to Love' online course will begin on Tuesday 8 July 2025... a two hour once a month course for 12 months. I am also contemplating offering another one, at different time. Please let me know if you would like to attend at a different time.   

Wishing you all a rejuvenating time, whether in the warm sun, or cold snow and rain, and may 2025 hold many beautiful surprises for you.

With our love,

Briar and Michael

 

   

Spring is coming...

 Change

In this changing season from a long, cold, wet and stormy Winter, and the tentative signs of Spring ... the smell of jasmine in the air, a yellow hue on the fields, small little pockets of white daisies, even with some orange loners inbetween... there is both joy, and sadness. 

For me, it is the joy of the light in the quiet blue vault of a cloudless sky, the brightness of the braking wave, the sparkle on the wings of hundreds of seagulls as they fly from north to south in the early morning. It is also so many other things... colour returning, less clothes, less heating, more laughter, movement, and people to greet. We recently chatted with the beach cleaners as they cleaned away the huge deposits of red bait from a churning full-moon sea. They pointed to another group following behind them, who would clean the mountains of tangled kelp that had been washed right up to the road, even blocking our normal access for our morning walk. This would be used for making toiletries. 

And the sadness? Leaving behind the cosy early evenings of reading, conversation, mending, and the moments of silence and aloneness, concentration and writing, the soups and the stews, the often empty streets, and beaches. Getting so many tasks done and ticked off my lists - and then the panic that I had hoped to do so much more ...

Change... how have I changed this Winter... how will I change in Spring? How about you?

In our How to Love courses, in person and online, amidst the laughter, the tears, the concentration, the letting go, the struggles, the successes ... change is happening too ...

 

 

 Autumn thoughts

Today is a gentle Autumn day...

 

It is a day with a soft feel

Where the ripples on the sea are hardly there

And the breeze teases my hair with light fingers 

It brings on a quiet smile...

The sand is wide and still 

The sky is touched with comforting clouds

It is a day where I can stand 

And look ... forever.  

.......................................................

Dear KalloSophia Friends,

It is time now to give you the details of my two How to Love courses, which both start in June. These courses come at a time when our hearts are battered by the world around us. 

We can be part of the solution... we can bring more love into the world.

It is the greatest deed, with the greatest potential.

Let us hold hands and act delicately.

 

Active Practical Love

 How to Love

For a long time I had been asking the question 'We all know that we need to love each other, that love is the highest ideal in the world, but how? How do I love all my colleagues, all my family, people that see things differently to me, those who irritate me, those who hurt me, how do I love those who do harm in the world? In fact, how do I love anybody, and everybody? Actually, what is love?' This all occupied me a lot.   

Then one day, in 2006, I came accross Dr Tessabella Lovemore's initiative: Active Practical Love, promising a practice that would enable me to love anyone, unconditionally, through all the details, and ups and downs of life.  I signed up.

Tessabella has a family, she has been a teacher in the most demanding of situations, she has been a Waldorf teacher for 20 years. She walks her talk. 

From then onwards I trained and studied with her, and now run her courses. This year three of us are offering her life-changing course 'How to Love'. It consists of 12 lessons, each two hours long. We invite you join any one of us. 

Penny and Cobie will be offering 'in person' courses in the Cape Town area beginning next month in April - see their flyers below. 

I will be offering an 'in person' course in McGregor every second month on first Saturday mornings, beginning 1 June. There will be two 2-hour lessons each morning.

I will also offer an online course on 2nd Tuesdays of the month at 2.30 pm (SA time), beginning 11 June. There will be one 2-hour lesson each morning. 

My poster will be circulated at a later date. 

This soul touching, relationship building, life changing course consists of 12 lessons. In each lesson there is sharing of some content, discussion, and exercises. In between each session you meet 'buddies' with whom you can share your day-to-day experiences with the lesson content in a supportive space.  

We have a set fee structure for running the courses internationally, in South Africa, and in certain agreed upon communities, eg McGregor residents who will be offered a reduced fee. Payment arrangements can be worked out with you individually.

We look forward to you joining us in helping to bring more love into the world. 

Warmly,

Briar Grimley

 

 

 Summer Programme 

December, January, February 2023/24

Three Offerings - One in Melkbosstrand, and two Online

 

 

 

 Two Second Saturdays                     

  Art Experiences in Melkbosstrand

 

 Michael's Art Course

Mysteries of Colour

With Michael Grimley

  Five consective Tuesday mornings 10.00 - 12.00 beginning 24 October

 Michael will lead you deeply into Colour, sensitising your soul and building your creative artistic skills. His extensive knowledge and experience, his passion for the qualities of Colour, and his joy of journeying with you, will enrich and nourish your hearts.

 
From a past participant of one of Michael's art courses:

'There are just so many moments to pursue dreams, and I want to thank you for your flawless dedication to that end. The example of exchange I have experienced on these modules will carry me for some years. To activate others, one needs to motivate the self. The results, I feel, are excellent in both directions, sharing wisdom and receiving inspiration. It felt good to be in the company of soulful people, with your example of care and loving patience a life-lesson to us all.'

Look forward to seeing you there!
With warmest wishes,
Briar and Michael