Inspired

Sunday Citar - Dreams

Sunshine and a fresh breeze can breathe new life into any dream that's been sitting dormant for too long.  Open the windows now, and let them in.  Feel them brush past the curtains of disbelief and blocked trust.  Feel them warm your skin like sunshine.  They are already there within you waiting to be believed into being.

"The inability to open up to hope is what blocks trust, and blocked trust is the reason for blighted dreams."

Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

The photo above was taken at Fabrica Aurora in San Miquel de Allende last March. 

More Sunday Citar can be found here

If I Could Do It All Over Again....

I'd do it just like this!

I know this is all over the internet right now....but just in case you haven't seen it yet...! 

I love this happy, happy start to a life together!

Fearless Friday - Letting Go

 

The first in a new "Inspiration" series

Have you ever had the experience of knowing you're upset with someone and then discovering that you're actually enjoying the experience (in a perverse kind of way, lol) ?

I used to think that I didn't have any control over my emotions...I couldn't help feeling hurt or upset if someone had "hurt" me.  Holding a victim mentality let's us get a good righteous "mad" on.  We have the "poor me/bad you" conversation" in our head and usually don't realize that we're feeding on it.  It feels good to be angry, it feels good to feel righteous, it feels good to tell your story....over and over and over.  Well, for awhile anyway!

I've done this less and less in recent years so that now it just feels completely uncomfortable and unfamiliar but last week I had a little reminder that I'm not completely of the hook yet!  While I was driving, someone cut me off and I felt myself getting outrageously indignant.  I started the conversation in my head that I would have with this person and then stopped and told myself to let it go. "You don't need to do this anymore Kate.  You know how to let it go and it feels so much better when you do".  I was surprised when I realized that I didn't want to...I wasn't ready yet.  I was actually enjoying the rush. I was getting a lot of satisfaction out of my anger and indignation.

I was feeding off it. 

I laughed when I realized what I was doing and was able to let it go then.  But I wondered. 

How many people respond like this to situations but don't realize they can let it go...don't want to let it go.  There's a strange satisfaction in gnawing this bone till it's bare and spare and then continuing to hold on to it. 

Abraham-Hicks says there's absolutely nothing more important than feeling good.  We can't create anything...not healthy, happy relationships or abundance...unless we're feeling good.  Feeling good opens us up to seeing, understanding and appreciating the beauty of who we truly are and the beauty of those around us.  With that knowing, possibilities abound.

Can we consciously choose to let go of painful/angry thoughts?  Thoughts that lead us away from feeling good?  Absolutely!  Even in times of crisis.  It involves accepting full responsibility for our own "feeling good". There are so many tools available to help us with the process and different things work for different people.  I used a process called ZPoint for Personal Peace for over a year on an almost continual basis!  I still use it, but just occasionally now when something pops up that begins to upset or worry me.  

I wonder why "letting go" is so difficult when it sounds so easy!

I created the piece above to print out and have as a visual reminder for myself...to let go of all that holds me back from living my life to it's fullest potential.  We don't have to be more or become better than we are now; we just need to let go and relax into the fullness of our own beauty and grace)

Hypertufa and Tea

Last week, on a very hot summer day, I joined a group of women who stood in the shade of a weeping birch to learn how to make Hypertufa pots.  (I know!  I had never heard of it either until recently!)

Hypertufa is a mixture of cement, peat moss and perlite which makes light weight...very organic looking...garden containers.  Anytime I can muck around in something with my hands, makes for a fun afternoon!

It can be used for pots or for decorative molds to hang on outdoor walls.  The pots in the photo above are drying  and will be emptied from their molds in a day or two.  "Bling" (rocks, shells or broken ceramic pieces) can be pressed between the mold and mixture while it's being formed. 

The setting was lovely and peaceful.  Our instructor Heather, had hosted a wedding here in the lower part of her garden a year ago.  A perfect spot!

After toiling in the hot sun we retreated here for cold drinks and tea.  Heather had a young French couple staying with her (couch surfing) who are traveling around North America and participating in the WWOOF program.  They made the most outrageously delicious chocolate and berry crepes to accompany the tea!

It was a great day and as soon as my pot dries, I'll be planting the succulents in it that we were given,to complete the whole experience.

Listen With the Ear of the Heart

Listen With the Ear of the Heart

Christine at Abbey of the Arts, is hosting an Abbey Photo Party with an "Invitation to Photography".  In Christine’s words…

"This is a new experiment and sort of a twist on the regular Poetry Parties.  Instead of my selecting a theme and image and inviting you to respond with words, I select a theme and poem and invite you to respond with images.  On Friday, July 17th – I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a copy of Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write.”

The theme for this week is “Listen with the Ear of the Heart”.  If you think you might be interested, Christine has started a Flickr group where photo’s can be posted.

Listening to my heart is something I’ve been more attentive to in the past few years.  When I read the theme for this week’s photo, I grabbed this beautiful shell and headed to the beach to photograph it.  Large round shells like this one have always evoked the idea of “listening” for me.  As children most of us have had the experience of holding a sea shell to our ear to “listen to the sounds of the sea”.   Like wind whispering through the leaves, the murmur of the sea shell is evocative of a magic and mystery that’s beyond words, beyond definition.   As I held it to my young ear so many years ago, I didn’t understand just what I was listening to but truthfully, I didn’t really want to know.  I wanted to believe that it really was the far away roar of the ocean…I wanted to believe in magic.

I believe it’s the same when it comes to listening to our hearts.  We may not understand what we’re hearing and we’ve so often been told that there’s no validity to our quiet inner voice.  It takes courage and trust to listen with the ear of the heart and when we do, we discover the mystery and magic within. 

This poem by EE Cummings sums up (for me) the magic that we find…at the beach and in ourselves.

Maggie and Millie and Molly and May

Maggie and Millie and Molly and May

went down to the beach (to play one day)

and Maggie discovered a shell that sang

so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles, and

Millie befriended a stranded star

who’s rays five languid fingers were;

and Molly was chased by a horrible thing

which raced sideways while blowing bubbles; and

May came home with a smooth round stone

as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)

it’s always ourselves we find at the sea.

 

Where in the world is Kate....?

We made it through our second move (in two months) and have lived to tell the tale...just one more to go...and we have four months now for the memories to fade before we do it all over again!  Climbing all those stairs...up down, up down and repeat a million times...has left me hobbling around now!

I took the photograph above, last month as I was driving north on the island to meet another blogger for lunch.  I love to stop at this lookout and see where I live...but from different perspective.  It's like that with life too...sometimes you have to step out of the frame to see the whole picture.  I thought my "readers" might enjoy seeing it too as it's always easier to get to know someone when you have an idea of where they live.  It gives another frame of reference, another piece of the puzzle.

This is Jaen and I at Merridale Cidery where we met for lunch.  It was lovely to meet another island blogger, especially one who's also interested in digital art, and we plan to do it again soon! 

The orchard at Merridale Cidery.

And on the home front...we now have a room with a view!

This was taken from our den window at high tide last evening...it's very shallow and at low tide the water empties from this part of the bay completely. 

I look out at this sweet little "rose" cottage from my bedroom window.  (It's actually much further away than it looks...the photo has been cropped). It was built in the late 1800's so it's an historic piece of the neighbourhood.  It's lovely to have views again and even as I type this, I'm looking out on the bay.

I'll post a "building" update soon...it's moving along very quickly now! 

Have a sweet, happy Sunday!

Revisiting Playful...6 months later

 

It's July...and Canada Day here in the great white north....except that it's not at all white today.  The sun is shining brightly and we baked as we watched the parade this morning and wilted even more as we moved some of our belongings to our temporary "new" home this afternoon as well.

Yes, we're on the move again.  This time we've moved up in the world...from our present basement suite...to three top floor attic rooms and Meg, Dave and Ethan have the rest of the house.  It's on an acre of grassy waterfront and we're looking forward to enjoying the views out of our windows (as opposed to NO views right now!). 

I'm surprised at how little it bothers me to have no roots and no home of my own.  I'm sure it would would be different if it was a long term situation, but so far I feel light, airy and carefree.

Which brings me to reflect on my chosen word for this year.  It's a good time to reassess it, as this day marks the half way point through 2009.  My word is "Playful".  I chose this word because I felt that the previous two years were definitely, waaaay too serious.  This year I made the decision that I absolutely, completely and resolutely refused to worry about anything.

that's it.

no more. 

finished. 

I was not going to let anxiety rob me of another minute of my life.  I would deal with things as they came up and as the old proverb goes "We can't prevent birds of sadness from flying overhead but we can stop them from nesting in our hair."  I cleared out the nests, drew a line in the sand and I wasn't stepping over it.

So has the word "playful" been a wise choice for me?  OH YES!  Playful is a state of mind and this year I let my mind...and my heart...out to play.  Not every moment of my life is bliss filled...that would be an unrealistic expectation, but so much of the time I feel simply giddy with delight at how happy I feel, how excited I am about the possibilities that lie ahead of me and the gratitude and joy I feel for what is present in my life.  I laugh out loud a lot more and and I smile a lot more.  I let silliness be present a lot more and I let myself play with happy possibilities a lot more. 

I'm delighted to report that "Playful" has been a happy and successful choice for my word this year and I optimistically anticipate that the rest of the year will be just as much fun...if not even more! 

I was soooo ready for this!

(Ali Edwards has invited everyone who chose "one little word" in January to take the time to reflect or reconnect with their word and consider posting an update on their blog. She also points out that some years it's easy to have a strong connection with your word and others not so much.  I've found this to be true too, so don't feel bad if yours doesn't seem to be a good fit this year.)