On Personal Context
Editorial reflection on co-curating Issue 4 of the Wellspringwords® Literary Anthology | Love, Surrendered.
“Context” can be described as the set of circumstances, or details, that give rise to a phenomenon, or that surround a phenomenon.
In the case of our literary and artistic explorations on this platform, we—the writers and artists—are the phenomena. What creates, surrounds, inspires, and influences us is the context. We come to Earth and enter a life that is 100% context. And, in each of our journeys, it’s up to us to come into a sense of identity, manage that identity, learn from that identity, evolve with that identity—amidst all the context that came before us, and the context that we create.
I’m convinced that to create anything of depth, meaning, and staying power requires an integration of one’s personal context into their personal world of creation. For us, on this platform, through this publication, personal context is the nuanced texture of the interior world; our tenderness as expressed in the sacred, and our tenderness as expressed in the unspeakable. Personal context is also an acknowledgement of those who have come before us, those surrounding us, those under and above us, the seen and unseen, known and unknown, and the culture we’re situated in.
After five years of journeying with writers through Wellspringwords®, it’s become clear that:
our personal evolution is collective evolution, and
evolution does not happen in a silo; it happens in relationship; it happens in context.
Thankfully, the selected works of Issue 4 demonstrate this beautiful interplay of self as the central subject interwoven with various elements of the self’s personal context—interior life, external circumstances, and personal power through choice.
So when we invited writers and artists to share their explorations and expressions of Love, Surrendered., we hoped we would receive an honest portrayal of humanity, particularly through the Feminine experience. Yes, through the experience of women, and also through the surrendering, melting, absorbing, liquid, emotional & emotive, yielding quality of the nature of our beingness as humans.
And we did.
As in all editorial seasons, I journey with my artist-ego and my creator-consciousness to vie for what will ultimately comprise the issue in question. Of course, my creator-consciousness always “wins”, so to speak. This is because it is my creator-consciousness that sees the larger voice of the issue speaking through the submissions; it is my creator-consciousness that thinks of a reader who hasn’t yet come into a perception of reality that allows the complexity of joy interwoven with shame—but ultimately will, and will find their way to the words in this issue to resonate with. That said, through both our selections and a number of writings we did not select, an unexpectedly pervasive theme was that of The Mother Wound. In the case of The Mother Wound, it is my creator-consciousness that imagines the Great Mother, our Divine Mother, seeking healing through the human spirit and finding this publication as a worthy outlet for her self-exploration.
In this case, life is the phenomenon, the wound the result, and we feminine creatures—emanations of the Divine Feminine—Her context.
There is much to consider in sharing my reflections on the editorial process of this issue, but if I included it all, my reflections would be longer than the issue itself—which is already robust! Notwithstanding, an element that has come through in the selected pieces in this issue is that these writers and poets have a clear relationship with words.
My editorial sense is attuned to writing that is both an exploration and expression of deeper, more complex emotions and experiences, and an exploration of one’s craft of writing. This is not funky writing for the sake of it, or writing that imitates a lauded writer in hopes of “being like” an embodied writer—this is the deliberate, thoughtful, and confident use of words as a tool for storytelling, emotional evocation, and developing a command of energy through the wielding of language. This is truly being an embodied writer.
Our cover artwork, “Becoming”, by multi-talented artist K.Evy, demonstrates surrender as an expression of empowerment, vitality, and joy, over surrender as defeat or acquiescence. K.Evy writes that “[the] piece embodies the power of self-love and the beauty of embracing one’s whole being.” She writes of radiance, growth, grace, boldness, and strength in connection with her artwork. Yes, “Becoming” is striking and engaging as a cover image, drawing the folds of the heart open, drawing the gaze up and inward—and yes, “Becoming” also subconsciously speaks to the tones and subthemes of all the writing in Issue 4. Themes of hope, and healing, and acceptance, and pain, and trust, and alchemy. And let me remember the tenderness—for if not for the tenderness, we would not be able to surrender. If not for the tenderness, we might misconstrue our personal context as elements of our sacred humanity to fix rather than elements of our sacred humanity to learn from, journey with, and understand devotion to the art that is love.
And so now it is your opportunity to journey into the universes of these contributors, to understand their weaving, and to—hopefully—meet yourself a little more deeply as you journey.
Enjoy Love, Surrendered. Thank you for being here.
