In her element

This picture is about how important it is to return to our own element where we can do what we love and where we can be with kindred souls who "get" us. From time to time we need to seek out such a place that inspires and nurtures us and where we can breathe and be ourselves.

Staying in the now.

Staying in the now.

I tend to spend most of my time either regretting the past, or daydreaming about the future. But I can allow myself to be called back to the present moment by my senses, by for example feeling the gentle summer rain on my skin. How does the rain make me feel? Does it remind me of tears? Does it evoke sadness? Or is the rain invigorating and waking me up to a surge of inexplicable and sudden joy? It is only by being fully present in this moment, that I become available to create the next.

"Homing"

"Homing"

The words in this picture were found in a book about the migration of birds. But they could also be about our own built-in ability to return to our known goal- our true authentic selves.
I may not always know it consciously, but deep down inside, I do. It is my beginning point as well as my destination.
The flight route may be partially unknown, and sometimes I find myself on various detours, but I sense that I have an inner compass, a homing instinct, that forever guides me back to my original Source. I'm learning to trust my internal GPS and I fly home.

"To thine own self be true"

"To thine own self be true"

I often hide. I am afraid that if I were to stand emotionally and intellectually naked in front of other people, I will encounter rejection and disapproval. I feel the need to befriend my inner longings, dreams and ideas and to give them wings, regardless of what people think and say. It's about staying true to myself.

Patience.

Patience.

I can sow the seed, I can water it, I can shield it from the wind and too much sun.....but I can't make it blossom. It will blossom when it's good and ready.

Living in the present for the sake of the future.

Living in the present for the sake of the future.

I always thought there was a little bit of a contradiction between living in the present moment and accepting what is, and the idea of visualizing about the future and wanting to manifest better things/situations etc. But then yesterday I had an "aha moment" about that. 

There is no short cut to the future. The only portal into the "future" is the present moment. If I want, for instance, to launch my greeting card line, no amount of visualizing and wishing is gonna actually get me there. I have to return to the present moment and figure out what it is that I can do RIGHT NOW to bring me closer to my goal. Even a thousand mile journey starts with one small step. 

So I realized that to live in the present does not have to exclude wanting something in the "future", it just means that to get to that "future" we have to stay in the present at all times, because only this precise moment will yield the next. We can't skip ahead.

So now when I find myself dreaming of something I want in the future, I ask myself "what can I do right NOW to bring me closer to that?" Even if that means to simply get up out of the couch and take a shower it is an important first step on that thousand mile journey. Or it could be to call an important person, make an appointment, google some resources, make a to do list, switch my attitude, take a deep breath, imagine different possibilities, eat lunch, write down some new ideas. It just takes one step to create a momentum that then propels me to to take the next step.

Yesterday I was driving and I thought, well, there ain't nothing much I can do right now as I'm driving, to bring me closer to the goal of launching my greeting card line.....but there was! One thing I could do right then in that present moment to get me closer to my goal was for example, breathe. Focus on conscious breathing as a way to relax and de-stress. Because being stressed out can cause a ripple effect and instead of working on my greeting cards when I got home I would probably just be too stressed out and tired and then eat some junk food instead and fall asleep in front of the TV.

Throwing caution to the wind.

Throwing caution to the wind.

Many of my ideas and plans slowly evaporate into nothingness because I spend too much time worrying about the outcome. "Will it succeed? Will I become rich? How will I do this? I don't have the right skills. Not enough money. No education. No experience...." And so on, until I decide that I'm better off not trying at all.

Sometimes it's better to just start moving forward, even when I'm not completely sure of the direction. I can always change it or make a u-turn if I have to. But not moving at all I will not get anywhere. Even one small step can generate a motivation, a vision, a desire.

Holding pain...

Holding pain...

Pain is uncomfortable and I try to avoid or ignore it. But as I run from it, I often get slapped around by it as if caught by the writhing tail of a tornado. This time I move towards the "eye", or center of my emotional tornado where there is always stillness and peace.

The area surrounding the "eye" of a tornado is called the "eye wall" and it's where the winds are most intense. The closer I get to the core of my pain, the more it hurts, and it is then that I must continue through, to that place within me, that regardless of what happens around me, remains calm.

From caterpillar to butterfly.

From caterpillar to butterfly.

Sometimes I go through rough times and I feel as if my life is disolving....I wonder if I'll ever get through to the other side. When I'm right in the middle of it, everything seems dark and hopeless. I don't seem to be able to see beyond it as if restricted in a cocoon like existence. And then, a clarity and a strength I never even knew I had, slowly but steadily comes from a place deep within. The cocoon begins to crack open and I emerge in a new form. I have gone from caterpillar to butterfly. Believe in the inner, magical force of transformation. Trust your inner butterfly.

Permission to make crappy art.

Permission to make crappy art.

This is an old blog post that I decided to post again because it is important and it applies not only to art but to many, if not all, areas of our lives.

Sometimes when I make art, I'm not feeling it. The muse is out to lunch or something. My hands are shaky, and nothing flows. The picture just doesn't have IT. It's frustrating. It sucks. Like this picture above. It just doesn't do it for me. But it's okay.

When my kids were younger they would say, "Mom, I wanna draw a picture". "Okay", I said, "go for it". And they drew a picture. One picture. And it didn't turn out perfect. And they immediately gave up all their artistic aspirations.(Luckily they reclaimed them again later on). "How come you make such cool pictures?" they asked. What they didn't realize is, that I don't always make cool pictures. I make many, many uncool pictures and only some of them turn out okay. Sometimes we have to allow ourselves to make ten, twenty, a hundred crappy pictures before we make one we like.

I think of the analogy of the well. When we first start to pump the water, it comes out all rusty and dirty, but if we just keep pumping, eventually it'll come clear.

So don't give up just because it doesn't come out right the first time around, keep "pumping", keep working and the muse will know that you're serious and committed and she'll come back from lunch and help you.