The Four Challenge

"a small thing, singing"

Secret 12 and Discouragement

This is the last week for The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women and I must admit I am a bit discouraged. I sat down at my art table tonight to attempt to "play" a little with paint, stamps, etc. After an hour, I tore the page from the book and gave up. I decided to take a picture of the journal , my desk, and the torn page -in that order. When I uploaded it to my blog, they were arranged in the opposite position and I can't seem to change that. Ok, I give up. My creative season on the art page is over. I have been trying for months to return to what I used to do with no success.

Thus tonight, instead of a goals list, I feel I need to create a gratitude list to celebrate the successes experienced these past 12 weeks.

1.I created a blog in January.

2. In February,I helped my daughter create her blog to share her amazing creativity. I am so proud of her.

3.In February, I also wrote a poem, celebrated other areas in which I am creative such as cooking, decorating my home, flower gardening, and created a Party Album as a gift.

4.In March, I braved posting a self-portrait devoid of makeup, learned the principle of letting go once again, posted photos for the Four, and prepared for 2 workshops I'll be teaching next week.

WOW, this was an awesome exercise! And walking past my art desk still makes me smile, so I won't pack it up yet.

Subtracting Serenity Stealers -Secret #11

The Power of Subtraction. This chapter is loaded with good ideas, exercises, and examples. But those four words- the power of subtraction- summed it up for me. That is what i am working on this year- subtracting the things from my life that no longer give life to me, that don't fit, or that are harmful in some way. I am finding this to be an important tool and applicable to many areas of my life. For example,I clean out my closet of all those items that no longer fit right or I just don't love. There is a freeing sense about the exercise and invariably something new comes to me. I am more apt to choose that which I love the next time I am shopping(which isn't that often). And it is true that clearing spaces in my home affects my spirit.
A few years ago I took a writing class in which we learned how our environment is connected with us and we should pay attention. I live in wintry northern Maine that draws one to rest, solitude, letting ground lie fallow for a time, hibernation of a sort. Most County Mainers "plow"through these winter days. We have learned to deal with 200 inches of record breaking snowfall or 40 degrees below zero. Yet have we stopped listening to the subtle messages all around us?
A few weeks ago, I went out for a short walk on a snomobile trail. The quietness was stunning. On that walk I saw a sign which read Stop Ahead. I couldn't get that sign out of my head. I even dreamed about it and kept hearing "slow down, pay attention." Several incidents happened in the weeks that followed in which I found the needed wisdom gained by slowing down and getting a bit of perspective. The answers we need often come when we stop plowing ahead without restraint. Even if the answer doesn't appear right away, the gift of peace makes the wait bearable.

The Four Challenge

Bubbles stir the magic of imagination whether one is a toddler, teen or adult. What is it about these whimsical spheres that cause us to laugh, blow lightly, chase or try to catch one only to have it disappear in an instant? I can still hear the lilting laughter of my grandchildren and feel my own delight. These are stored in the annals of my mind.

This photo is for the Four Challenge: “To regard the imagination as metaphysics is to think of it as part of life, and to think of it as part of life is to realize the extent of artifice. We live in the mind.” (wallace stevens)

Secret #10- My Key to Abundance

Setting positive priorities is one of the subjects of this week's chapter. I know it's only March but I set some prioities this year and I am trying to stick to them. At the onset , I made a list and I revisit it on a regular basis to remind myself to stay on track. A couple of things have already fallen by the wayside and I let them go. I realized that too many goals can be a source of stress.

Letting go can sometimes be the path to abundance. Yesterday I spent 2 hours in frustration trying once again to write a message for a small conference coming up in April. I have tried several different ways of appraoching the designated subject for over a month or more now. I felt like time was running out. Finally I closed up everything and put it away.

When I got up this morning, my first reaction was to try again. I decided against it, honestly, overcome by discouragement. I sat down to watch a DVD and work a bit on a Bible study I had lain aside a while back. All of the sudden I couldn't hear what the speaker was saying. My message was staring me in the face. I got out my notebook and all my notes and everything flowed together. In a couple of hours, I was finished and elated.

Letting Go is the key to opening the door of abundance in my life.

ColorSplash

I love stopping at the Whole Foods store when I am in the area- about 5 hours from where i live. On my first visit, I experienced a sense of delight in the produce section. The reds, greens, yellows and oranges of fruits and vegetables were overwhelming to a gal who lives in rural Maine. Our local grocer does a good job, but that's like comparing apples and oranges. ( sorry couldn't resist:) On a recent visit, I had time to browse the flowers and purchased a gorgeous bouquet. The flowers above are but a few of them. I placed others throughout my home in odds and ends of vases. Today I got a surprise as a new blossom seemed to spring out of nowhere in the middle of the lilies. Oh, the splurge is so worth it. I find myself smiling several times a day as I enjoy these splashes of color.

Secret #9

The last line in this weeks chapter hit home the most for me. "We've got to be true to ourselves."
Much of my life, I had no idea who I was. I won't go into all the reasons why or the roads I took, because the important thing is, I am here right now. I know this may seem strange, but for years I didn't know the color of my eyes. I kept putting green on forms or saying they change with what I wear. I totally don't understand that at all, because they are definitely blue. It was as though a veil ket me from seeing and accepting ME. Well, no more. Today's post is a huge step, a declaration if you will. This is who I am at age 56 with no makeup in my jammies, my hair flat, in January of 2009. I am aging and my face reflects a bit of the illnesses I've been fighting the past several years. This is me. I love me, blue eyes and all. This week's chapter was about being published and moving past rejection, not giving up. Y0u know what? If I never write another word or see my work in print, I am going to enjoy my life and be true to myself.