When I saw the week's parcel colours of red, black and white, I looked out for embellishments that would go with that colourway, and loved this 3-D decoupage set. This week back in May was an important one as it was then that whilst waiting for the counselling to restart that I heard by chance Julie Chimes’s interview on Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine.
I was returning from Malvern (from a quilting show) and ordinarily I would not have been listening to the radio at that time in the day, but I used to live in Malvern during a bad, abusive time in my life and I try to return there for other reasons to detach the emotions from the location as the area is too beautiful in itself to avoid and give into the past. Each visit isn’t without some anxiety though, although the amount does decrease with good experiences.
Julie Chimes is a survivor of a fearsome knife attack which left her near-death. She recovered (no mean feat in itself) but more importantly she forgave her attacker and now spends her time promoting forgiveness and compassion, using her experiences to illustrate recovery and well-being. There is a saying that when the pupil is ready, a teacher will come. I wasn’t quite there at the time but was ready to listen to Julie’s words and remember, for a time to come.
The interview was a definite turning-point on my journey and this page reflects and celebrates this new path found. Julie wrote a book on her experiences, which I would recommend to read, particularly for its life-affirming qualities and the letters she composed in her mind as she recovered - "A Stranger in Paradise".
Credits:
Striped paper, cream paper, Girl on books, "new heights" tag, flowers and frame - Crafthouse Press, Santoro's Gorjuss 3-D Die-cut Decoupage
Pale green paper scrap - from my stash
Black pen - Sakura
