I created this stained art glass mosaic in June.

I’ve been learning the craft for four years, from glass master Don Spencer.

I was inspired to do a spiral with a colorful background, and, from there, I just ‘felt my way’ through the making of the piece.

When I finished the art glass work, it still felt incomplete to me, so I went out to the beach of Lake Michigan to look for beach glass.

Instead, I found a piece of a shell that was well worn from the waves.

It looked exactly like a butterfly chrysalis, which, to me, is a perfect symbol of both potential and transformation. I affixed the shell in the center of the spiral.

I have always lived my life in a rhythm of ‘going in, coming out.’

When, as a little kid, I became overwhelmed, I instinctively took my dog and headed for the hills, to just ‘be,’ in nature, with my dog, in clear space. Everything always worked itself out whenever I did that. After going in, to clear the space inside of me, I was ready to go back out into the world

That rhythm of going in, coming out, became a habit.

Some people call it introversion. I call it the rhythm of my life.

Now, when I get off balance, it’s because I didn’t ‘go in’ before I went out.

And, when I feel fulfilled and contented, it’s because I’ve ‘gone in’ before I went out.

The spiral has come to remind me of the way that I want to live my life, the way that works for me, in the fast pace and seeming chaos of our world.

Being inspired to create a spiral, and finding that ‘chrysalis,’ was pure grace and a huge gift of personal meaning for me.

Filed under: Being a Reinventer, Adventures of a Reinventer, Lynne's Reinvention Journey on September 6th, 2009