Breathing Space & More...

This summer has been a journey in the pursuit of my creative person!  It started with the desire to seek a new path, to try on some new ways of thinking, and to shift a bit from the usual patterns.  My soul was yearning to make more time for creativity, so I have been using the past two months to honor that spirit in me. I thought that I would start from the very beginning-try putting myself through an elementary art class.  That meant going through a step-by-step process of learning how to draw, watercolor, use oil pastels, paint, etc.  I got started with a kid's art book from the library and a trip to The Sketchy Artist.  I bought a few supplies and sat down to start my lessons. The lessons didn't last.  I am completely interested in playing around with all of the supplies and trying out techniques, but I found a rigid plan to "be creative" isn't what I need. What I am coming to understand is that creativity is more than an art class.  Creativity ...

This week the same phrase keeps running through my head, "Comparison is the thief of joy."  Over and over... again and again. I understand why it is haunting me.  I need to hear it.  I need the gentle reminder that when I start to make comparisons, even simple ones, it takes away from me .  It makes a question mark stand out about how my life is or how it stacks up. Comparison takes the joy out of what is and pulls out the attitude of "oh, I wish" or "isn't that neat"  or "why can't I do that?" or "how does she do that?"  It is a simple thing and it happens all the time.  It's automatic.  It creates a wishing or longing that comes from the head, not the contentment that the heart could feel if those simple thoughts were kept in check a bit more. There are so many different ways to live in this world.  So many ways to look at life.  So many possibilities and ideas that become important or inspiring.  It's uniqu...

This past week I was able to listen to an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, the author best known for  "Eat, Pray, Love" and now "The Signature of All Things."   She shared of herself with ease, admitting that she wasn't a guru, but with insights that only come from someone who is wise to the ways of the world.  Someone who has taken the time to observe and reflect on her own life and the spinning of the world around her. I needed to be at the interview and I needed to hear what she had to share! Something that might not seem profound to the person down the row from me, hit my soul.  Buried into my heart. She talked about the word balance and it's impact on women.  She said the word was a "weapon against women."  That sounded harsh, but I hung in with her, and what I took from her explanation was the idea that women are trying to have it all, striving toward something that isn't achievable.  We juggle and cope, work and caretake, always...

"What if it were easy?" That is the question that I am pondering this week. What if everything in my life was easy?  How would life go?  What would each day feel like?  What would each day bring? Here's what might happen... My concerns about having enough money and time would fall away. I would feel light and have an abundance of energy for whatever came my way.  Decisions would be a snap because I would be sure of what my heart desired. I wouldn't waffle or let the "should" voice step in to distract me. I would feel more joy in everyday moments. I would take more risks. I would choose things that filled me up and not things that felt like obligations. I would laugh, dance, and create more. I would care less about my appearance and how clean my house is. I would let things roll of my back and not take things personally. I would see the light in other people and feel more friendly.   I would take every interaction as an opportun...

Last week I was challenged to take a day to myself.  Actually take it for "myself."  Decide what I wanted to do.  What the spirit moved me to do. I find this challenge is so hard in a culture where getting things done is the measure of success.  Whenever I have a "day off," I think of all of the things that I need to get done and race around to get them done quickly and then maybe I can fit in a bit of time for myself. This assignment was different.  I needed to keep the agenda only on things that felt "right" for that day.  I set off with a little list of errands (in case there was time after "my time" to make some stops) and a general idea of where I wanted to go, but when I got in the car and started driving I felt some rebellion stirring. I didn't want to take the usual route.  I didn't want to see what I always see.  It felt like being on my usual path might create the temptation to do something that wasn't really in my hea...

After thinking about all of those old worn out tapes of my saboteur, I decided to take some time to find the cheerleader in me.  Unfortunately, it took some uncovering. For quite awhile, I tried hard to hear a voice that might shout "You can do it!  Believe in yourself! Yes, you are on the right track!"  But, no-I couldn't hear anything like that. I tried to locate where the voice was in my body.  Was it in my gut? Everyone always says, "listen to your gut," but mine wasn't telling me anything.  Not literally.  And what I thought I needed to look for was a voice that would whisper words to me.  I thought there must be something wrong since my little cheerleader, fairy godmother, voice of God, wasn't giving me any verbal reassurance. I needed to rethink this.  Maybe the old "trust your gut" advice is just meant to remind you that it's not your head that will guide you, but your body or heart? So, what are the cues my body gives me when ...

I have been thinking about all of the old tapes/voices that run through my head.  Of course there are positive voices, but there is also a sabotaging line of thoughts that I sometimes don't even realize are there.  When I do hear them, the tapes are like a nasty, two-faced, elementary school kid who zings me with a cutting look or sarcastic comment as I go to do something that might involve a risk.  The voices whisper words that make me shrink when I am in a group and contribute to the conversation. I can envision a gargoyle sitting on high.  Judging. There is always the good ol' "Who do you think you are?" or "What will people think?" or "Be sure to fit in."  The voices from years of observing and being acutely aware of the interactions between people and what I perceive their effects to be.  The voices that trick me into thinking they are actually coming from me, keeping me safe, but aren't at all who I am. This month, I was challe...