I’m mything things in my life. That has such a double meaning, doesn’t it? On the one hand, I do feel as though I’m missing things mythic, and on the other I’m in the process of creating things mythic: I am mything.
I think I need to do more of it. I get so caught up in the mundane, and sometimes I forget to look beyond it. I was thinking about that as I read a blog post by Grace Nuth on Domythic Bliss about why we should decorate in a way that includes story, that is individual. It was a lovely post, as always. I think that’s why I’ve been going to antiques stores and thrift stores, lately. I think I need more story in my life. That’s why I’ve been buying things with stories of their own. The birdcage, for example. Or the wicker chair. Or the sewing cabinet. I don’t know what those stories are, but they are written into every scratch in the paint, every scraped leg.
I’m not writing at the moment, which is difficult for me: I have so much else to do, and writing always seems to get pushed off somehow. I know that’s wrong. I know the writing should take priority. So I’m going to have to rearrange my life somehow, to prioritize writing again. I’m just not quite sure how yet. But I’ll get there.
I thought you might need some myth in your life as well, so I’m including two beautiful things in this post. The first is a song written by Amal El-Mohtar. I’ve posted it before, but that was a long time ago, and I have no doubt that you need to hear it again. Right?
The second is a video by Rima Staines. I may have posted it before as well. But again, repetition of a good thing is a good thing in and of itself.
So there you are, two beautiful things for your day.
In the Domythic Bliss blog post, Grace Nuth writes,
“The amazing artist (and incredible writer) Rima Staines recently wrote a post on the first day of 2012. I could summarize it here, but then you might not go over there and read it, so instead I’ll just link it here so you have to! But in the post, she discusses the idea of a subtle revolution against the bland, homogenous and commercial aspect of modern society. I was definitely roused and inspired by the idea of this revolution or movement. It got me thinking about how we all are participating in a subtle revolution by trying to carry on and revive the folklore and fairy tales from our mythic history. We are like the green eco-movement, only our goal is to save folklore instead of nature (although of course the two go hand in hand!) We want to save the stories of the past, and create new ones.”
I like the idea of a subtle revolution. I think I could be a subtle revolutionary. Viva la Revolución!
Theodora Goss 
Glad to see you back but guessed you were tired. Thank you for the Rima Staines post. Her site
was one of the first in the magical collection of Bookmarks I found, but I haven’t had time to check most of them. Thanks for the reminder. I looked at the Celtic “tags,” and considered the gooseberry because we had wild gooseberries around us in Oregon and pinetree, because that was first thing I wrote a serious poem about when I was 13. It is a good thing to bring beauty to
such places she suggested. I will reveal no more about her post.
I like Tolkien’s name for it– mythopoesis. I think Carpenter says that it describes more than just genre or formal textual creation in “The Inklings” and I definitely use the idea in all aspects of my life.
A course I took in college, that has mythified my life all these long years —
This is amazing. There are many pathways to myth.
A sense of absence often heralds a time of purification and renewal in the arts. The graces and muses have been spirited away and must be rescued from the hideaways of corrupting and obstructing forces.
• Gluck • Orfeo ed Euridice
• Mozart • Die Entführung aus dem Serail
• Leroux • Le Fantôme de l’Opéra