One Step at a Time

What a wonderful day I had on Sunday with so many special people joining in the labyrinth walk.  The weather was absolutely perfect, one of those days when just feeling the air against your skin makes you smile.  I am so grateful to everyone who came and participated.

I wanted to share the poem that I read to open the labyrinth for our walk.  It is by Robin Heerens Lysne and is called "First Step".

Beginnings
are sometimes foggy.
The path is not always clear.
The end of one begets another.

To begin, put one foot
in front of the other.
Your foot knows where to land,
the one that moves forward first.
Forget about the best foot.

Just put it out there.
Stop traffic if you have to.
Go home if that is where it leads you.
Go back to work
if that is where your foot falls.

You don't have to
go anywhere
Just rest.
After you step,
take another.
Forget about the weather.
Step
Step again.


Yes, the labyrinth always reminds me to simply put one foot in front of the other and to trust the path ahead of me.

My Daily Visitors

These beautiful young deer have become daily visitors to my backyard. These photographs were taken from the doorway of my studio. 

It is always such a thrill to see the deer in our garden, especially as we live in an area that would be considered city rather than country.  Until recently we had a large open piece of land behind our property where the deer appeared to live.  However, in the last year it has been developed and the deer have had to find new places to hang out.  We have a small forested area at the back of our yard and I suspect they spend some time there. 

According to Steven Farmer's "Animal Spirit Guides" one of the meanings of Deer showing up is that: "You're poised for an enticing adventure, one that will take you down many different paths and lead to many important insights".  He also recommends calling on Deer when "you need help finding inspiration and resources for any creative projects you're working on".

So thank you Deer for appearing to me today.  I will be calling on you for inspiration this week as I finish off the creative projects for my book.

Life is a Daring Adventure

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing" has been a favorite quote of mine for years.  And recently one of my friends, Tamela Rich,  turned her life into a daring mid-life adventure by  riding a motorcycle (that she only learned to ride in March this year) across the United States to Oregon and back. Tamela also used this adventure as a way to raise awareness and money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Check out this interview with Tamela on our local television station this morning

I was at her kickstands down celebration when she arrived safely back in Charlotte yesterday and her suggestion to those present was to always follow your dreams no matter what, and to be of service. That pretty much sums up what I think life should be about.  When Tamela first decided she wanted to do this, she had no idea how she was going to get a motorbike or how she would pay for the trip.  Everything fell into place - as it tends to do when you are following a dream that is uniquely yours.

Blur the Lines

 




The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.
Arnold Toynbee

Spent the morning photographing a dragonfly.  Wonder whether I was playing or working? 

We Have the Power

 

"This is the first time in history when an artist doesn't need a pedigree or permission or even a patron to create art.  The power is literally in the hands of the creator."
Chase Jarvis
Photographer, Seattle
July 24th, 2010

When I read this, it made me stop and think.  If I had wanted to be an artist when I was in my twenties, I wouldn't have had a digital camera, a computer, a scanner, Photoshop or the internet to share art through online groups and forums. 

There are no excuses in this day and age not to be an artist if that is your calling and your passion.  You have everything you need to create, and more ...

To be an Artist

I found this necklace at my favorite shop in Charlotte: The Bag Lady (Provisions for the Wild Woman). I had to have it as a reminder that it takes courage to believe in oneself and to put your creations out into the world not knowing how they will be received. So this is for all the artists out there as a reminder that what you do really does matter. Spending time creating is important, regardless of whether your work sells or not.

Matthew Fox, in his book "Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet" shows how important it is to meet the world with the creativity of an artist, particularly in these uncertain times:
"What do we do with chaos? Creativity has an answer. We are told by those who have studied the processes of nature that creativity happens at the border between chaos and order. Chaos is a prelude to creativity. We need to learn, as every artist needs to learn, to live with chaos and indeed to dance with it as we listen to it and attempt some ordering. Artists wrestle with chaos, take it apart, deconstruct and reconstruct from it. Accept the challenge to convert chaos into some kind of order, respecting the timing of it all, not pushing beyond what is possible—combining holy patience with holy impatience--that is the role of the artist. It is each of our roles as we launch the twenty-first century because we are all called to be artists in our own way. We were all artists as children. We need to study the chaos around us in order to turn it into something beautiful. Something sustainable. Something that remains".

So be the artist you were born to be. The world needs you.

Writing and Faith

I've discovered that writing a book requires faith and commitment to showing up every day not knowing what the day is going to produce. Some days the words and projects flow, other days they hiccup along. I thought I was the only one who didn't know exactly what every writing day would look like. Then I found the book "Writing and the Spiritual Life" by Patrice Vecchione and I realized I was not alone.

Patrice reminded me: "To have faith in your writer-self and to have faith in God, you need faith in what is unproven and invisible. To have faith in writing is, in a way, to have faith in all that is unformed within you, in all that is unprovable but possible. You give yourself to the mystery and find a knowing sense, faith, and trust that come from within you".

I can now relax into the mystery and surprise of what will be created and birthed each day, knowing that as long as I have the faith to just show up, the rest will follow.