Writing and Reflecting after a reset by Elaine Langford

My post for September, Moving Forward, mentioned I was working towards a reset in my writing journey. I hoped that my annual reflections around my birthday would be significant, especially as I was planning a pilgrimage to spiritual places in Northumberland.

I was keen to visit Durham Cathedral and Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island) with an expectation of an inspiration injection for the year ahead. I had not anticipated how popular the resting place of saints Cuthbert and Aiden would be, and I was disappointed not to find many quiet places of contemplation among the bustling crowds. In the cathedral, there were a host of purple-clad stewards directing the queues of visitors around their one-way system. While they were happy to explain the background to the artifacts and coloured-glass windows, many were surprised that we weren’t interested in the areas that appeared in few Harry Potter films. Lindisfarne also proved to be hectic as visitors flowed onto the diminutive island across the causeway as the tide ebbed. In both places, navigating around others to take photographs or find a free table in the cafés meant my time there felt like a military campaign rather than a time of retreat.

In contrast, a visit to the remains of Finchale (pronounced Finkle) Priory was much more relaxed than Lindisfarne with only a handful of others there. This gave plenty of time to amble among the partial walls into the various spaces and sit quietly in a time of reflection on some steps. Newcastle Cathedral was also a stark contrast to Durham. Although there were several similar sacramental, memorial and artistic elements, there was more time and space to wander and wonder. The building and volunteers felt more homely, so it was no surprise to see three homeless men sleeping undisturbed in one corner with their blessing. The café, run by a charity providing a second chance to ex-convicts, offered a varied but simple menu and I was delighted to choose mince pie, gravy and mushy peas as my special birthday lunch.

My intentions to jump-start my writing by visiting sacred places of God seemed thwarted. However, my creative dam finally burst when viewing a mixed-media art exhibition called The Ribs Begin to Rise at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. The title came from a magazine article describing the stages of building a ship. Contemporary artist, Ro Roberson, used this poignant phrase to combine their family heritage within this local industry with the act of breathing and women who worked in the shipyards during the Second World War. For me, there was something oddly evocative in the welded steel sculptures among the blue and green flowing free-form paintings. As we inspected each artwork, I sensed a distant essence of Eden from the mention of ribs in the title and then a surge of words began to flow. Afterwards I sat in the café to make note of the inspired inklings which brought forth others until I was left with several alliterative pools of related terms.

I decided not to work on this gift while away from home as I wanted time to craft this rich seam with intention. I needed to reflect more fully on this inspiration that showed up in an unexpected place. While preparing this post, I was reminded of Elijah in 1 Kings 19 where he was told to listen for God’s voice. Elijah didn’t hear God in the wind, earthquake or fire but in a quiet whisper. In my case, I didn’t find my writing reset in the sacred spaces but in the secular, which makes it even more important that whatever I write from this experience I should offer back to God. I'm excited I now have a project to focus on. I started a new job this week, so I'll also need to find energy and time to make space for this new phase of writing.

Perhaps you have a similar experience you’d like to share. When have you found writing inspiration in unexpected places?

Elaine Langford is a writer based in South East London. She has recently restarted posting on her blog, Faith Bites (when life bites, faith bites back) and keen to create new poetry to add to her Poetry Puddles blog from her BIG birthday break in Northumberland.