Catching Up & Giving Thanks

I have illustrations coming out of my ears. Goodness gracious it feels good. Life has been moving SUPER FAST or now they say UBER fast. Whatever, my head is spinning from all of the movement.


A have a creativity/life coach now, she is fabulous. Janet Whitehead is her name and you can catch her at www.musingsandmud.com (my hyperlink thingy-ma-bob) isn't working. I am reading Nine Modern Day Muses and a Body Guard by Jill Badonsky. This is an interesting way to stay creative. I am painting. Sketching. Writing. Typing. Organizing. Photographing. And basically trying to prepare myself for 200



For those of you who love astrology and are fellow Virgos then you had one-hell-of-a-year, too. It's slated to get better, so hang in there.

In the meantime I'm loving my destiny. For now, I'm off and running to my latest venture. More later.

Attach Yourself to Joy

This art titled Stand Tall, 16 x 20" is acrylic mixed media piece on canvas, it is one of a series of three. I did this during AEDM and it took a really long time to complete for some silly reason. But it is done now. It made me happy as I worked on it. I love the background swirls.I love that trees aren't yellow but this one is. I love that dirt isn't red but my dirt is. I love the swirl leaves in the trees. I love that leaves aren't blue but mine are. Going up the trunk of the tree is the words "realize your importance". In the leaves of the tree it says " give a good quality", "Try to do good" and "love yourself". Ground yourself....Stand Tall. JOY!

I spent the weekend at a spiritual retreat in New Jersey. I went with a really special girlfriend. I feel rejuvenated, refreshed and full of love and life. I promised God I would live joyfully (among other things), he has promised to walk with me always. Ahhhh, I needed time with like-minded people. I needed to dig deep into my soul and I did. I came away empowered and wanting to empower others. Joy!This handsome dude was playing Brazilian music, maybe Mexican...anyway, on the streets of Salem Mass last month when I did a brief visit there. I am such a sucker for street musicians. I was swept away by his music, the romantic staccato beat and (he he) the lovely dark hair. I bought his CD as my daughter stood down street rolling her eyes and covering her face groaning, "Mom, not again." Now I listen to this music as I create. JOY!

What doors will open for you when you own your joy? Another group hug? I thought so....

MUAH!!

A Little Spark of Madness

We are given only a little spark of madness. We musn't lose it.
Robin Williams




Words to live by, don't you think? If only people understood me more. Does anyone else out there struggle with the fact that you stand in your own power? That your spark of madness, your ache to be who you know you are inside of yourself, is too much for the rest of the world to take...


I always thought that saying less was saying more. You probably don't think so after my last really long post, but for me, the excitement of last weekend overtook me and I wanted, nay, NEEDED to share the love. Today I learned that by not sharing personal information regarding a painful experience I had that people who were closest to me have made judgements against me. I thought by sparing people of the gory details, my side of the story, they would appreciate my desire to keep my personal business personal. Not so. It's disheartening but doesn't tear me apart.


I am loving people from a distance, in my heart, without speaking I am asking them for forgiveness. I am recognizing that anything I experience, no matter how ugly, is mine to own. Madness? Maybe. I believe in the goodness of humans. We falter. We all just do.


I am a renegade dreamer, full of power. Artist extrodinairre. Ex-wife. Mother. Friend. Teacher. Blogger.

**The picture is from my restaurant in the 1940's or 1950's. Feel free to print and use it in your art. I am fortunate to have many people drop off old pictures of this place. The three ladies photographed were some orginal waitstaff members.

I'm reading and writing and working and doing the art thing. Life is good and full right now. I'm blessed beyond words to feel so inspired. Hmmm, inspired...good word...inspiration is Divine's way of speaking to us. When we are inspired things fall into place, everything is right where it should be and all the right things happen, you just know it is 'meant to be'.



For me right now this means the right book that makes perfect sense, the conversation that happened at exactly the right time, the piece of mail with the right message. On and on I see the beauty of what the Universe is offering me, if only I accept and say Yes.



This past week I said yes to a book. Zero Limits by Joe Vitale and Dr. Hew Len speaks to me at all levels. Accepting total responsibility for EVERYTHING that appears in my life and then working to heal it makes my heart feel better. I want to heal. I want to be a leader and a teacher of healing. In order to do this I must set the example. Ho'oponopono is a Hawaiin method of healing that brings our souls back to a clean slate. It is a simple method and is deeply profound. I remain moved to tears at the depth of this learning.



This past week I said yes to healing. Divorce has left me weary. Myself, (ex)husband and children are hurting, but finally I see a light at the end of the tunnel. A shift has occurred in all of us and I can see that better days are ahead.



This past week I said yes to my future. I registered for my first three classes at college. I signed up for an all day conference on a subject that interests me. I have begun to look at moving to a new area of Maine.



The past week I said yes to me because if I don't love me then how can I expect you to love me?



ARTSY NOTE: I'm working on some fun stuff...two great little mixed media canvases and the darn necklaces are just about done.

No Accident

I don't believe in accidents. I believe in synchronicity.



Three days ago I was in a bad place. Emotionally speaking I was a wreck. I came to my blogger dashboard and opened a post I'd written a month ago titled This Too Shall Pass concerning the transience of everything. I added a bit to it, tried hard to breathe in my own type-written lesson, I edited it again and pressed "publish". I logged out of my account and went about my miserable day.



Fast forward into the next day, Wednesday, I think. I look at my blog to see if anyone read my new post. Much to my suprise I discovered the post never went public and not only that- it is no longer anywhere in my dashboard. The whole document has disappeared. Now I can't say that I didn't grumble, I did, but I quickly realized perhaps the Universe just needed me to hear my own message and then *kiss it goodbye*.



My blogging friends you'll never get to know the lesson of This Too Shall Pass unless I end up rewriting it. I'm not going to bore you with what was weighing me down, it is enough to know I was hurting. Chances are good that I'm just going to let that subject be, I will accept the fact that I did what I needed to do by reading its content and learning from my own words.



I believe so strongly in the synchronicity of the Universe I feel my message was intercepted by love and light. Do you believe in SYNCHRONICITY??!

This Too Shall Pass

I am finished reading The New Earth by Eckartt Tolle. This is a book that can only be read in small chunks as there is much to chew on. It is also a book worth a second read in order to pick up the pieces that you may have missed the first time.

This too shall pass....a phrase we have often heard, but probably not often really delved into with great thought. Mr. Tolle suggests we use these words, this too shall pass, in order to recognize the fleetingness of every situation due to the transience of all forms, good and bad. We do this in order to lessen our attachment to things.

Be it a joyful situation or a truly upsetting moment, this too shall pass. We must recognize the NOW because that's all there is. If I can remember in this moment of pure joy to experience the moment and truly feel it for what it is and then remember to let it go then I hold no expectations of the future. If, when in deep pain, I can remember that this too shall pass, I can feel it, hopefully shake it, and then move on knowing everything is transient. There is only the moment we are in, nothing future, nothing past. Being in the NOW is key.

I wrote the above paragraphs almost four weeks ago. Today it is worth posting because it is where I need to be, it is where I need to bring my head and my heart. The details don't matter and I'm not one to really divulge a lot. It's enough to know I've been hurt and I am hurting. The fingers are pointing, the whispers can be heard for miles, the cluck-clucking of many tongues echo in my head and it weighs me down. Now to put the words into play: THIS TOO SHALL PASS. Soon enough the locals will be chewing on someone else's life and spitting it up. Soon they will all be happy for me and saying "Oh my, she's done well for herself". Soon enough it will all go away...soon enough can't come soon enough sometimes. When did twenty four hours become like an eternity??? ...this too shall pass...this too shall pass...this too shall pass.