Spiritual

Patience and Trust

/ still a dreamer / 6 Comments

It seems that there are periods in our lives when we have plans, goals, dreams, and we are just not going to get to them when we want. Plans? What are those?

To create art, to plan a future, to write, to do any of the things that a freelancer wants and needs to do takes blocks of time, and more importantly, focus. And that’s what I have been sorely missing.

Sorting out my life in the interest of giving up 40% of my second floor has been a two-part journey. The first part is choosing what belongings need to stay and which to go. Thanks to Buy Nothing, mentioned in an earlier post, I was able to find new homes for 45 items. But the second part is the need to go through everything I own – every closet, dresser, storage area – to see what no longer aligns with who I am right now, and THAT has been a life review of large proportions.

It has entailed remembering so much – joy, sorrow, laughter – through photos, art, and other items infused with memories. I keep trying to focus on where I’m going, but between Buy Nothing and a life review, on top of the demands of everyday life, I have none. I’ve lost so much time. And energy. The blue heron is a tiny example – started out with a color sketch, then another version in watercolor, and my plan was/is to do a digital rendering. That was a week ago.

I remind myself to have patience, and to trust, as I do believe, that everything is unfolding in exactly the right way and at exactly the right time, always for me. It’s all almost done. Patience and trust … working on it, working on it.

The Spirit of Giving

/ still a dreamer / 10 Comments

If there is one thing that is always true it is that everything always changes. I have had holidays so filled with the presence of people, dogs (when I did rescue), and other animals, that I barely had a minute to myself. And then I’ve had quieter ones, which is where I am now.

In the New Year, I will be losing a decent chunk of my second floor, as it is going to be annexed to the adjoining house next door. I can’t say I’m happy about losing this space, but there have been some unexpected upsides. One is that I am being forced to purge and clear out a good amount of belongings and furniture.

Ultimately, that means clearing out items from every area of the house, including the basement, as I sort what I want and don’t want and find new places for the “good stuff” to go. Several large Christmas boxes have been in the basement, never opened since I moved here – no time, no full-size tree. I’ve had/have furniture that I have no deep attachment to anymore. So why do I have it? I’m used to it being there.

Drawers/closets need to be gone through and sorted to make room for what I’m keeping. But here’s the other upside. I was alerted to a small, hyper-local organization called Buy Nothing that serves only my town and the town adjacent. It is a Facebook site purely for gifting things we don’t want or need that others might use or appreciate. In addition to #gift, you can also #ask if there’s something you are looking for.

Here’s how that’s working. The ornaments were requested by a desperate family who were unable to find what had happened to their own ornaments. When they picked up the box, they left a jar of homemade candied jalapenos in its place. The sheet music was requested by a mom who, along with her husband and son, plays piano and is eager to try some of the classics. The organizer (never used) was requested by several women to help them get 2024 together. And so on.

But what’s particularly lovely is how eager our local residents are to help one another. The beautiful gnome bread above was baked just to give away to someone who would like it. Another baker had sourdough starter to offer, and was rewarded by a photo of the recipient’s first sourdough loaf ever.

This makes a quiet Christmas such a different experience. I will miss the space, but am happy to not have so many things that I no longer need or care about. I sometimes feel a little lonely this year, but I know that I am surrounded by many more caring people than I ever suspected. I believe this is the spirit of love and giving at its best.

Happy Christmas, Hanukah, or whatever holiday you celebrate. May the spirit of love and giving be yours.

An Inspiring Guide for All Who Create

/ still a dreamer / 7 Comments

Above are the two books I’m reading now, one, the memoir of a transracial adoptee, the other, a kind of guide to the act and nature of creativity. Both are excellent, but here I am going to focus on the second book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin.

Here we are in a familiar spot on my back porch. I’m sitting with my coffee, ceiling fan going, hoping to enjoy the fresh air until the heat gets too much. And reading The Creative Act. Rubin has been a well-known and highly successful music producer and record executive most of his life. He wanted to take his experiences and write a book to help artists. He said, “I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.”

And he wrote a phenomenal book, taking complex philosophical principles of how the artist exists and creates in this world , and makes them accessible and digestible to the reader. No easy feat. His thoughts on the various aspects of creativity are broken down into 1-1/2 to 2’1/2 page chapters, making it very easy to read in small bites and reflect on.

He addresses the artist in us all, looking at ultimately, how we live in the world being so critical to our creativity, and thoughts about how we can all be on our own road to bringing what is within us to light.

I feel I cannot truly do this book justice in the space of a blog, so I encourage you to read the in-depth description of this book on goodreads or the extensive reviews on Amazon. This is not a self-help book, but more of an illumination of the creative process that we artists engage in with insights guiding us to deeper exploration and understanding.

Thanks to a blogging friend, Kitty, at The Daily Round who suggested this to me; she knows my creative heart and soul. If you’d like to explore the deeper and very real issues of what it means to be a creative of any kind brought to you in a new and inspiring way, The Creative Act: A Way of Being may be just what you need.

p.s. Think you’ve already seen the photo Immediately above? You’ve seen the early hydrangea blooms (left) in a previous post, but what you didn’t see are all the smaller, bright ones in the sun. They are all the new blooms that grew in spite of the deer having eaten nearly all the hydrangeas, leaving only barren stems. Those little guys are the beauty and persistence of nature.

Seeing vs. Looking

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

Looking is what we do all the time. It’s how we negotiate our world. But seeing … that’s something special.

Sitting out on my back porch recently, I suddenly saw these incredible shadows made by the hydrangeas and porch railings. I saw a parrot, a rabbit, maybe a dragon, an acorn. Because instead of just looking with my eyes, I saw with my mind, my wider perception.

Not long ago, I’d taken a photo of my kitchen counter, because I became aware of the color of the shadow on the Thermos and the mug – so blue!

I love this photo of the hydrangeas because the shadows are so very soft and blue-grey, but also because it seemed to me that the leaf was in love with the hydrangea flower. Yes, my imagination, but when we really look at things, we see more deeply.

If we stop, we might see patterns all about us, lines and shapes that we casually pass by every day, until one day, we really see them.

I guess what I’m saying here is that our world is so much richer than we know or acknowledge. And all it takes to open that richness is to be in the present moment and see what’s around us.