VOICE 57/100

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“What needs to be counted on to have a voice? Courage. Anger. Love. Something to say; someone to speak to; someone to listen. I have talked to myself for years in the privacy of my journals.”
~Terry Tempest Williams, When Women Were Birds:  Fifty-four Variations on Voice
Tuesday 14 June 2016
57/100
What causes someone to lose their voice?  To stop talking.  To withhold opinions.  
 
Why do people disappear and/or diminish themselves? 
And how does the habit of silence develop?
I don’t know the answer to these questions.  But, I’ve talked to several people over the past few days who have silenced their own voices.  
It’s left me asking:   Where do I sing?  Where do I ask questions?  Where do I practice arranging words and having a say so?
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I hope that today you grab a journal or a friend who listens well and speak your truth.  I hope you gain clarity in the speaking and that your voice lands in a safe place.
And if you’re called to be one who shares with the world. Open up your mouth and sing. Publish your words. Put your dissenting opinion on the table. Don’t withhold yourself. For fear of reprisal. Or discomfort in learning. Or while waiting for Perfection to open the door.
Give us your voice.
BE in your life,
Betsy
By |2016-10-19T14:20:23-04:00June 14th, 2016|Uncategorized|2 Comments

Spaces provide breakthrough #100sharesproject 44/100

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“Scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing.”  ~Emma Donnaghue, Room
Wednesday 1 June 2016
44/100
Had another great Creative Life coaching session at the studio today.  Dismantled some creative blocks and identified strategies for moving forward.
Powerful things happen when you make space to focus on the task at hand and marry it with soul care.
Whether we’re identifying blocks and challenges or bringing  a vision into fruition, space is the one topic that comes up in almost every single coaching and mentoring session.
Space in the physical.
Space on the calendar.
Holding space
Making space.
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I hope that today you make some space.  Space to accomplish.  Space to rest.  Space to make something.  Space to dream.
BE in your life,
Betsy
By |2016-10-19T14:20:24-04:00June 1st, 2016|Uncategorized|4 Comments

Roses in the vineyard #100sharesproject 36/100

 

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A garden is my favorite teacher.
Tuesday 24 May 2016
36/100
There is a practice in some vineyards of planting roses at the end of the vineyard rows.  We saw this when we toured a vineyard last summer.  Our guide explained that both roses and grapevines are susceptible to mildew.  The roses even more so than the vines.  And thus, if the roses begin to show signs of mildew, there is time to take action and protect the grapes.
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What a great picture!  One of the reasons that I am so faithful to the pages is that they slow me down to the speed of listening.  When I’m honest in my journal, I know when I’m fraying at the edges of my soul.  I know where to place care and attention.
Writing daily is like having roses at the end of the vineyard rows of my soul.   When I speak my truth in writing, I know what’s really there.  I know what’s coming.  I know what actions are necessary to maintain growth and forward motion.
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May you guard your heart and tend to your soul.
BE in your life,
Betsy
By |2016-10-19T14:20:24-04:00May 24th, 2016|Uncategorized|0 Comments

For Luke #100sharesproject 34/100

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Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage.  ~Brene Brown 

My son, Luke is out in a jungle in Bolivia right now. He doesn’t have wifi, his computer got stolen and when he joins the larger group that he’s traveling with, he will find out that one of his childhood friends died suddenly last week.

One of the leaders on his trip reached out to me to let me know that he’s been out of touch, but she’ll be the one to communicate with him. She was asking about timing and details.

Thank you, dear Kate. I think a call when he gets out of the jungle will be good. Not having wifi is probably a gift. There are so many wonderful stories and photos of his friend Kevin. It’s beautiful and overwhelmingly heartbreaking….. Luke will feel/be sad for Kevin… and for the world. It is his way. I love my tenderhearted son. I can tell he’s still learning to walk through life with the hugest heart in the land. I wouldn’t dilute his love for anything.

What I want the most, is for you to hug him again. And remind him that he is up to this thing called life. That he needs to stay present and awake. Teach him to pray prayers dipped in tears. Remind him that lamenting is holy and God is not afraid of his anger or questions or tears.

What I want is for you to remind your beautiful squad that life is short even when it’s long in years. And that lives short in years can be rich in influence if lived well. We are here to make a difference. And we make the biggest difference by loving deep and wide. By connecting to the ones we like and the ones we don’t like. That radically honest is always best served with Love. And that a life goal should be: Have no regrets. Don’t get to the end of 11 months thinking, “Damn, I should have said that or done this.” Don’t get to the end of your life with a ton of wishes and empty promises. Add action and integrity to your wishing.

I want you all to calm down about WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO BE DOING WITH MY LIFE. I know that it sits in your spirit with that sort of urgency and tension.

Listen to me; LOVE well. BE present where you are. Listen intently for your current divine assignment – which I believe is simple. Love and serve those that are in your current sphere. Jump in the water. Climb the thing. Take a photo or for once don’t. Just be there and weave a memory into your soul.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving my son well. He is learning the deep lesson of learning to bless the bad just as we bless the good. You have been a faithful friend.

And now, I’m going to pour a glass of prosecco and sit out on the deck and listen to the birds talk politics while I read a book. Because sabbath.

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BE in your life,
Betsy

By |2016-10-19T14:20:24-04:00May 22nd, 2016|Uncategorized|3 Comments

More weight #100sharesproject 31/100

Version 2
“You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”
~ Anne Lamott
Thursday 19 May 2016 
31/100
Things are heavy right now.  And that is okay.  I’ve been compartmentalizing like a champ.
And then I got more weight.
And then more.
And then I wasn’t so sure.
The compartments started to blend today.
Today, I felt the grief of the world.
I hurt for all the mums who have empty arms.  
[Not many know, but many many years ago I held a stillborn baby girl in my arms…I have never been the same.]
I cannot fathom holding a young one for 11 years or 18 years or 21 or 50 and then losing them.
I cannot fathom outliving my children.
Except I can.
Grief and weight
and more grief and weight.
I never want to hear the word hospice again.
Except I do.
Because saying goodbye properly is holy.
I have not wept.
Yet.
The keen is stuck in my throat.
I have made marks.
Moved paint.  Arranged words and flowers.
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… and held my own children.
This is what I wrote to them today after my husband told them that I was walking in sorrow.  They responded with love and support; I am blessed.
“Thank you, birds. 
 
Heartbroken for the mums.
Sad that the world doesn’t have the light of the lives of precious young ones.
Thinking about what difference we should be making in the world.  Want to spend our minutes well…
I want you guys to kiss life on the mouth.  I want you to shine.  Grief puts things in perspective.
Loss reminds me that there’s so much more than survival and drama.
Don’t waste your love and talent and minutes worrying about getting it right. 
 
For all that is good and holy, BE in your life.”
1 Feb Circles, birds and a brain full of ideas. Sometimes an image says it all. #sabbath #rainydaypages

Sometimes an image says it all. #sabbath #rainydaypages  #alltheworld

I wish for you, dear reader, all that I wish for my own.
Move through the dark woods.
Embrace the present.
Know who you are.
BE in your life,
Betsy
 

By |2016-10-19T14:20:24-04:00May 19th, 2016|Uncategorized|9 Comments

Granny’s Chocolate Butter Pie #100sharesproject 30/100

 

 

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This photo isn’t Granny’s Chocolate Butter Pie; it’s a Jack Daniel’s Chocolate Pecan Pie standing in as a place holder. The other pies get eaten or delivered to someone’s house before I get to photograph them!

Wednesday 18 May 2016

30/100

 

With enough butter, anything is good.  ~Julia Child

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Pulled this recipe out of the archive to share with a friend.  R’s Granny shared it with me years ago.  It’s my favorite I’m-in-charge-of-dessert chocolate recipe.  If you use a ready made crust, it doesn’t take any longer to make than a box of brownies.

Enjoy!

Betsy

 

By |2016-10-19T14:20:25-04:00May 18th, 2016|Uncategorized|1 Comment

When women gather #100sharesproject 25/100

 
Version 2
 
“A circle of women may be the most powerful force known to humanity. If you have one, embrace it. If you need one, seek it. If you find one, for the love of all that is good and holy, Dive in. Hold on. Love it up. Get naked. Let them see you. Let them hold you. Let your reluctant tears fall. Let yourself rise fierce and love great. You will be changed. The very fabric of your Being will be altered by this. If you allow it. Please, Allow it.” 
~Jeanette LeBlanc
Friday 13 May 2016
25/100
When women gather in circle and share their stories it is delicate and exquisite.  It is powerful and full of shift.
When women gather in circle hearts crack open and Spirit rushes in with truth and medicine.  With revelation and insight.
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When women gather in circle tears wash away pain and shame.  Mouths open and the air crackles with truth and songs and story.  Lungs expand with deep breath and cleansing exhales.
Today’s REFRESH circle was beautiful.  Heartachingly, breath-to-the-bottom-of-your-lungs amazing.  I was engrossed and present, so there are no photos.  Except for the cupcake table.  I took one photo of the cupcake table. hashtag priorities.
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May you gather soon with the right people.  May you find yourself in the midst of a safe, slightly wild, sacred circle.
BE in your life,
Betsy
By |2016-10-19T14:20:25-04:00May 13th, 2016|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Mothers #100sharesproject 20/100

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Guatemalan clay bird whistle

“Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.”

~Terry Tempest Williams

 

Sunday 8 May 2016

20/100

Today is a day for celebration.  It’s Mother’s Day, and we’re celebrating mothers.  Let’s do it!  But let’s do it for real, like storytellers do.  Let’s tell the story with all the pieces and layers.

The work that I do in the world is centered around story.

The stories we’ve walked.

The stories we tell ourselves and

the stories we want to live.

Good stories have a lot of data.  Of course they do; information makes for a good story.  But data alone just doesn’t cut it; the best stories have data and heart.  Using only data when you’re trying to explain Mother, is like trying to put a sunset in a spreadsheet.

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sunset Krueger National Park, South Africa

Data and heart and context.  It’s impossible to truly understand a character if you pull said character out of their story.

There are so many versions of Mother out in the world.  So many stories.

In all of these stories, Mother dwells.  Mother is found in the pain and the glory.

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Sedona, AZ

Let’s celebrate the women who want babies, but don’t yet have them.  May their longing be met.

Let’s celebrate the women who have carried babies that didn’t make it to life on this earth.  Miscarriage is such an awful word.  It implies that a baby got dropped.  That a mother couldn’t carry the extra weight long enough.  That something was broken.  May hearts and bodies be healed and arms be full in their proper time.

Let’s celebrate the women who have chosen to remain childless for whatever reason, and there are many.  May their choice be re-framed away from scarcity and selfishness to abundance and giving to the world.

Let’s celebrate the mothers who are gone.  Some were so loving that we wonder how we will ever be whole without their presence.  And others left behind more void than love.  May we embrace our opportunity to understand and grow.

Let’s celebrate the mothers whose children are gone.  The mothers whose children died before their time.  Every mother expects that their children will outlive them.  We expect our children to have abundant lives that last long after ours.  We never expect loss.  May these mothers experience an extra measure of grace and healing salve.

Let’s celebrate the complicated stories.  The ones that have more pain than connection.  Where hearts are broken rather than knit together.  May the heartbreak point the way to health and restoration.

Let’s celebrate adoption and all the characters in that story.  The birth mother.  The family that adopts.  The adoptee. The expanded family.   May we all know a sense of safely and family whatever the genetics and timing say.

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The last time our family was all in the same place before Luke left to travel for most of 2016. Group hugs were necessary.

I used to ignore all overly commercial holidays.  Mother’s Day is hard when there are multiple fronts.  We’ve had several misses on sending cards and flowers and now know better than to try to get a brunch reservation anywhere today.  I want to boil the entire thing down to its essence.

Women are powerful for many reasons.

One of them is that we mother.

Mother has way less to do with birthing a baby than I ever imagined.

Mother transcends time and space and actual birth relationships.

I have since reframed Mother’s Day as a pause.  A holy pause.

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That time when Joshua bought me a monogramed mug, but the B was the wrong color, so he bought M for mom in the color of my soul

Let’s take a minute today and celebrate.   Whether you hear the word Mother with joy or with melancholy, longing, remembrance or all the glitter and sparkles in the land.  Whatever Mother means to you, may you celebrate today.

Celebrate your place in the story.  Mothers in the past and mothers in future are gathered around in a circle today to celebrate the Mother in you.

BE in your life,

Betsy

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p.s.  I must not fail to thank my daughter Andrea for Blackberry Waffles and Prosecco on a lazy Sunday morning.  Celebration is a real thing.

By |2016-10-19T14:20:25-04:00May 8th, 2016|Uncategorized|2 Comments

On details #100sharesproject 19/100

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Gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us.

~ David Whyte

Saturday 7 May 2016

19/100

Today has been a day for details.  For action lists and small noticings.  I used to believe that the two were mutually exclusive. I am learning that it is possible to both accomplish and pay attention

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white breasted nuthatch with shining leaves   May 2016

I’ll admit that I have an interesting relationship with details.  I can fall so far down the rabbit hole of ‘getting it right’ that I stall or step over into perfectionism.  In short, I become a challenging human and everything in my life suffers.

There is a sweet spot in engaging with details that expands gratitude and increases presence.  These are the “noticings” that are pure soul care.  Attention to detail is vital to creative practice, relationships and spiritual practice.   However, we must hold details loosely, and be sure that they stay in the realm of beauty and not control.  That they are grounding us and connecting us to the world.

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lantana and hammered spoon garden marker

lantana and hammered spoon garden marker

As always, breath is wonderful indicator.

Are you gasping with delight?  Are you breathing deeply because you’re  grounded and content?

I have a planter of herbs on the back deck with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.   Planted in that order of course.  I love that the herbs match the lyric of a song that I listened to on repeat in junior high.   It makes me smile every time.

There’s also a huge pot of lavender and lantana to attract butterflies and a pot of dill planted in hopes that Monarchs will visit and that there will be caterpillars to chomp it up.

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I hope that the details you weave into your life today change your breathing to the rhythm of contentment and wonder.

BE in your life,

Betsy

By |2016-10-19T14:20:28-04:00May 7th, 2016|Uncategorized|2 Comments

Chocolate mint and love #100sharesproject16/100

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“Ten times a day something happens to me like this – some strengthening throb of amazement – some good sweet empathic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness.” ~ Mary Oliver

My children tease me for talking to the plants in the garden.  My garden, your garden, the hardware store ranuculus, I’ll  have a conversation with a plant.   I think it matters.  Why shouldn’t I talk to them?  They talk to me and I’m grateful for the lessons.

In the morning when I walk outside, cup of coffee in hand, they call me to attention.

The weeds remind me to keep my accounts short and the roses remind me that pruning my life down to the most important things keeps me from spreading my life too thin and giving away too many things.  Discipline and sacrifice cause me to flourish in the long run.

Today, the mint was talking to me about containers.

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What must be contained?

And what must spill over and invade every area of my life?  

 

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The yarrow in the front bed, like the mint, refuses to stay small.  Despite it’s delicate appearance, it is poised to take over the world.  Or at least the entire front bed.  I have it contained to a corner.  It spills over onto the front walk and reminds me that there is a certain grace in letting beauty spill over.  That soft edges make for a welcoming entry.  And, I must never underestimate a quiet presence.

 

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As I was planting the chocolate mint in it’s bright yellow pot, the fragrance filled the space.  I envisioned planting it straight into the ground and saw it covering the yard.

What if mint was love? 

And we took it out of the tiny containers we create and we let it spread.

What if we recognized that when we are crushed we are fragrant and offer healing?

What if we knew our infinite capacity to change and heal the world simply by thriving and overflowing?

I hope that today you recognize where you should be contained and where you must spill over.

BE in your life,

Betsy

By |2016-10-19T14:20:28-04:00May 4th, 2016|Uncategorized|2 Comments

Chartreuse, purple basil and an ordinary life #100sharesproject 15/100

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“Do not ask your children

to strive for extraordinary lives.

Such striving may seem admirable,

but it is the way of foolishness.

Help them instead to find the wonder

and the marvel of an ordinary life.

Show them the joy of tasting

tomatoes, apples and pears.

Show them how to cry

when pets and people die.

Show them the infinite pleasure

in the touch of a hand.

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

The extraordinary will take care of itself.”

― William Martin, The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

Tuesday 3 May 2015

15/100

Today was a deliciously ordinary day filled with the sorts of things you have to do when you run a household and a couple of businesses.

My day began in the dark like it usually does.  Early morning is a favorite.  I love the way morning smells and I like standing in the kitchen wrapped in the quiet of the house, listening to birds tune up.

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This morning I unloaded dishes while coffee was dripping and then wrote pages and pages.  I painted over top of every single word with Martha Stewart Granny Smith green. It was necessary.  Some revelations do their work quickly and make a great underlayer for the next thing.

My days often consist of simple, ordinary things like emails, conversations about logistics, lists…and even putting a load of stinky workout clothes in the washer. On days when I work from home and not the studio, I feel especially productive when I can hear the dryer constantly running in the background.

On a side note, painting the deck has turned into the house project that ate Manhattan.  We got rained out this past weekend, so it’s still not finished!  I listened to this podcast of Rob Bell interviewing Krista Tippett , while I painted this evening.

I am grateful for this life I live.  I often smile when I hear talk of “changing the world” and doing BIG things.  I guess…  I know it takes all sorts.  Personally, I think the ordinary is magnificent.

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Today, I’m in love with purple basil and the color chartreuse.

Garden plans sketched out on paper tablecloths over lunch and laughter.

Adult children who stop in.

and a proper cuppa made by someone who loves me.

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BE in your life,

Betsy

 

By |2016-10-19T14:20:28-04:00May 3rd, 2016|Uncategorized|2 Comments

On circles and spirals #100sharesproject 13/100

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The whole universe is based on rhythms. Everything happens in circles, in spirals.

John Hartford

Sunday 1 May 2016

13/100

Whether out in the garden or taking note of the moon, cycles are everywhere.  My art is filled with circles and my life is filled with cycles.  I enjoy peace when I pay attention to these rhythms.

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Daily, I move back and forth between dark and light.  Between empty and full.  Between being awake and asleep.

Weekly, I move in a bigger arc between Engagement and Rest.  Paying attention to how I spend my time between people and task.  Between work and play and making sure that there is a day of rest.

Monthly and yearly, I pull out to a larger view.  The global view, from 30,000 feet.  I make sure that maintenance in the bigger circles is taking place and that goals and dreams are on course.

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I think that’s why the ocean speaks to me.  The rhythmic movement of the water is a tangible reminder of the ebb and flow of my life.  A heartbeat.  The small crashing waves are like the tiny movements within hours and minutes.  The tide moves in and out daily.  And over months and years an entire shoreline can change.

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Today was a beautiful day of rest.  We tended heart and soul, engaged in our spiritual rhythms and invested in important relationships.

What a privilege to start the entire cycle over again tomorrow.

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BE in your life,

Betsy

By |2016-10-19T14:20:28-04:00May 1st, 2016|Uncategorized|2 Comments

On giving #100sharesproject 6/100

 

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ~Winston Churchill

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ~Winston Churchill

Sunday 24 April 2016

6/100

 

Once a week Rands and I sit and get on the same page about life.  We’re different humans he and I.  Different, but committed to this life we live together.

High on the list every week is how we give.  Our time.  Our money.  Our hard-earned wisdom.  We weigh and measure where we’ll give.

And then we give.

Because life is not a finite pie with a limited number of slices.  We believe that life is all about multiplication and addition not division and subtraction.  We align our giving with our passions.

Insert photo of all the places we’ve ever given.  Impossible.  Here’s my favorite flower in a fancy tea cup instead.

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“For it is in giving that we receive.” ― St. Francis of Assisi

I hope that today you define your passion/s.

I hope that today you give in alignment with whatever that is.

BE in your life,

Betsy

 

By |2016-10-19T14:20:29-04:00April 24th, 2016|Uncategorized|2 Comments

Inhabit Your Territory #100sharesproject 2/100

It's not about what you tell your children, but how you show them how to live life. Jada Pinkett Smith

“It’s not about what you tell your children, but how you show them how to live life. ”   ~Jada Pinkett Smith~

2/100

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

Inhabit Your Territory

This is the phrase in the front of my current journal.  A couple of years ago, I started writing an intention and/or adding a prayer or sacred text to the front of each book that I keep.  The phrase or prayer becomes a guiding principle for the time that I’m using the book.

Inhabit Your Territory

It’s the reminder that I’ve needed for this season.  It’s what I’ve been saying every morning for several weeks now.  Chewing on the words; meditating what it means to BE in my life.

It’s been over a decade since I made the determination to live and model the kind of life that I wanted to hand my children.  I wanted them to thrive and that meant that I needed to thrive.  I wanted them to have vibrant lives and creative practices of their own as they were showing themselves to be brilliant creatives.  That meant that I needed to craft and live a vibrant life that encompassed my creative practice.

To inhabit your territory means walking out big things like discipline and gumption and little things like honoring pace and noticing the heart-shaped leaf and even listening for the message that it brings.

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Because at the end of the day, we can’t tell someone how to live.  We must inhabit our life and let the thriving and message overflow.

What is the territory that you inhabit?

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#lifepoints today:

  • Time training a favorite group of humans geeking out on Myers-Briggs typology and talking about how to live well.
  • more sketching
  • A little birdwatching.  And a lot of bird listening.  Happy to see a female Downy Woodpecker at the feeder today.  DSC_0186
  • Showing up to the sharing.

BE in your life,

Betsy

 

 

By |2016-10-19T14:20:29-04:00April 20th, 2016|Uncategorized|2 Comments

#100sharesproject 1/100

“But now I realize that the only way to find your voice is to use it. It’s hardwired, built into you. Talk about the things you love. Your voice will follow." Austin Kleon "Show Your Work!"

“But now I realize that the only way to find your voice is to use it. It’s hardwired, built into you. Talk about the things you love. Your voice will follow.” Austin Kleon “Show Your Work!”

I’ve been watching announcements and feeling collective anticipation for The 100 Days Project amongst the online artist community that I follow.  I could tell it was a thing.  Truth is, I by and large, ignore those types of group activities.  I tend to go find my own way.  Mainly, because I will not be rushed.  I typically don’t like other people’s structure or pace and at 51, I’m unapologetic about that.  For crying out loud, I get paid dollars to help people identify their way of walking in the world.  I create my own containers for creating.  And, quite frankly, I’ve been “making” consistently, as in daily, for several years now.   So I was cool skipping over the beautiful watercolor letters that were persistently showing up in my feeds.

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And then my friend Cynthia posted this about her 100 Day Project:

“…At first I wanted something deep that would teach me something new or stretch my ability. However, I have a lot of soul work happening now and in lot of growing on the technical side as well. So I decided to keep it simple and ground into an practice that keeps me centered.”

Cynthia is 100% authentic.  It’s one of my favorite things about her.  Her words and way are her own.  Hers is one of the voices that I let in.  So I listened.

Something deep that would teach me something new or stretch my ability. 

That phrase got my attention.

The thing that she put down, called out to me.  It asked me to pick it up.  I had already been chewing on the idea.  I’d saved a screen shot of the project.  I had a scribbled note in my journal.  I was experiencing a persistent noticing.

This morning it struck me again.

Something deep that would teach me something new or stretch my ability. 

What would stretch my ability?

SHARING

I don’t struggle with the making; I struggle with the sharing.

My discipline-infused practice is overflowing with soul work and teaching and pages and paintings, but it’s not out in the world.

So, for the next 100 days, I’m going to share.

My precious creative practice allows me to shake off angst and distill Joy, Beauty and Gratitude down to a healing elixir for my soul.

I make pages and move paint and write words every damn day.  I observe my soul and the world I live in.  My practice keeps me sane and oriented.

I established my practice because I needed to heal.  And I’ve been keeping it to myself because I’m private and because rejection sucks and because honestly, it doesn’t always occur to me to share the process.

The impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.” —Annie Dillard

Good word, Annie Dillard.  Good word.  The healing season is over.  It’s time to move.  To share.  To activate and risk.  I’m going to unwrap whatever daily product there is from it’s private, perfectionistic wrapper and offer it to you.  I’m going to take my practice

[and my heart and soul] and turn it inside out like the pockets of my favorite jeans.  I expect some days there will be nothing but a handful of metaphorical lint and other days there will be treasure.

IMG_4993 (2)

Today I:

  • shared morning coffee with two of the Brilliants.
  • wrote 3 pages of the true ramblings of my heart and mind with a black pen on brown craft paper.
  • arranged flowers from my garden [purple iris in several shades, some of which smell like grape kool aid]

Iris in April

  • took photos of said flowers
  • shared my first #100sharesproject post.

Feel free to follow this project.  Or create a focus of your own.  Or not.  What do you need?  What will serve you in this season.   My deepest heart’s desire is that you know your Self and tend to your soul.

Listen deep.

Make your thing.

Inhale some inspiration.

BE in your life,

Betsy

By |2016-10-19T14:20:29-04:00April 19th, 2016|Uncategorized|6 Comments
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