Swirly Girl

Kindred Spirits

[Marianne & me :: Taken in Paekakariki, New Zealand last March]

"Despite current ads and slogans, the world doesn't change one person at a time.  It changes when networks of relationships form among people who share a common cause and vision of what's possible.  This is good news for those of us intent on creating a positive future.  Rather than worry about critical mass, our work is to foster critical connections.  We don't need to convince large numbers of people to change; instead, we need to connect with kindred spirits. Through these relationships, we will develop the new knowledge, practices, courage and commitment that lead to broad-based change."

~Margaret Wheatley

Every Step Counts

"Let the emphasis be on the now in everything.  What you do now is extremely important - the decisions you make in this instant, the way you act, the way you think.  As you do this, you find yourself changing and expanding.  You can become God-filled, God-minded, God-guided as you take this breath now.  This is the most wonderful and uplifting thought possible.  You literally feel yourself rising in the sheer joy of it.  This is where the complete change can come.  You need never be the same again.  Old habits, old thought forms and ties can be cut this instant and you can become a transformed person - a triumphant being.

You want to be different?  You can be, and you can be perfect now.  This is a breathtaking thought.  You need never, never be the old self again.  You are now in the process of building the light-body, raising the vibrations so that every cell in your body is changing.  You are becoming light."

~Eileen Caddy

Movement

[Purple cacti in Anza Borrego last spring]

"Do not wait; the time will never be "just right'. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."  ~Napolean Hill

For more on this, read my latest entry in The Wish Studio.

Squam Art Workshops :: On Teaching

[Day One of Squam Art Workshops :: Polaroid taken by the lovely Susannah Conway.]

OK, if I could have figured out how to do html editing on my title, it would have looked like this:

Squam Art Workshops :: On Teaching Learning

because my experience teaching two classes with my lady love Marisa Haedike (that's right, world, I don't care who knows - I'm madly in love with Marisa!) felt more like an exchange rather than a one-way transaction.  The experience was like a cozy house, where every room had something comfortable, warm, and inspiring to offer, and when I walked out and shut the door behind me as I boarded the plane back home I felt rejuvenated rather than drained, filled with gratitude, in awe of all the beauties who trusted Marisa and I to help bring their ideas to life.

The Living Room:  As a teacher, I felt totally provided for, where Marisa and I were given absolute freedom to structure the class how we wanted, and then given a extraordinary space within which to make it real.  On Thursday, Marisa and I walked into a room with twinkly lights and a sparkling fire, and on Saturday we took over a wide open space with sunlight streaming through the windows.  If you've been reading all the other blog posts here and there about Squam, then you already know - the lake, the trees, the sunlight...it was magic.

The Kitchen:  This is where Marisa and I spent a lot of time experimenting and playing in order to come up with a structure and plan for the class, play being the operative word.  I could write volumes about all the reasons I adore Marisa, but the story I found myself telling over and over again as Squam drew closer was of the beautiful way Marisa and I balanced each other.  If Marisa was the cat sitting still in a stream of sunlight by a window, I was the bouncy puppy running around in circles.  On one of our field trips to buy supplies for our students, we went to a huge antique mart that is a warehouse filled with dozens of displays managed by different vendors.  We walked into the mart together, and as Marisa enjoyed browsing the books at one display, I proceeded to do a lap around the entire building, scoping out where the best books were.  When I went to find Marisa to give her my full report, she was exactly where I had left her, taking her time with a stack of books on a couch. 

Marisa, without ever saying the words out loud, always reminded me to take a deep breath, stay in the moment, and trust the process.  She was the calm force in our partnership - reliable, strong, peaceful.

The Studios:  Marisa and I taught two classes, and I am still in awe of all the beautiful, heartfelt creations made over the course of those two days.  The way I see it, Marisa and I provided a very basic foundation, and every person who took our class built their own unique structure from that.  Everyone in both classes added their own special flair to their books, and I would love to invite them all to be guest speakers at any future Book in a Day classes.  On that note, it must be said that we even took a binding technique Jenny Doh shared with us in our Thursday class and incorporated it into our Saturday demonstration.  I hope that we taught our students something new and inspired them to go a little farther along their creative path, because they certainly did the same for me.

It is my hope that I am able to teach again at Squam Art Workshops, but if the gods don't have it in store for me that will be OK, as this experience was absolutely enough.

“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism”  ~Colleen Wilcox

>>>MONDAY GIVE AWAY:  A copy of Ordinary Sparkling Moments!

Enter for the drawing by leaving a comment.  All comments for today's entry will be entered; winner will be announced tomorrow!

Unlearning

It is now Day Three of my re-entry back into my "normal" life Post-Squam, and I am still getting things back in order, unpacking, doing laundry, downloading photos, etc.  The week has felt easy and slow, with naps and movies on the couch, a feat that doesn't come easily to me no matter how tired I am.  My tendency is always to push farther, to say to myself, "I'll just do this one more thing and then I'll take a break," only to find a handful of other "one more things" waiting in the wings for my attention.  Like those annoying drivers who cut in line when lanes merge, these little tasks usually push themselves forward and win out, causing the time I thought I'd have on the couch with my magazine or crossword puzzle to evaporate without my realizing it.

But this week I am committed to shifting this intensity down a notch.  The summer was an exercise in movement and discipline, when I got so much done in three months I felt slightly inhuman.  I became one of those people who was "super super busy", which isn't a crime against humanity, but isn't who I want to be on a full-time basis.  So this week is my week to set a different intention, and to let the mile long list of ideas and inspirations in my head do something I don't usually let them do:  Sit there.  And do nothing.

At least for a little while.

I woke up this morning when it was still dark, and when I looked at the clock it said 5:48am.  My first thought was, "Great!  I'll get a head start on the day!" but then remembered my intention and crawled back into bed.  These are the kind of moments I am having this week, where I am consciously pulling away from the mindset I was in until the morning I left for Squam.  I am trying to unlearn the habits that ruled my life from June to September, reminding myself over and over again that I don't have to get everything done today, and if some of my ideas remain ideas and nothing more the world won't collapse.  My intention is to create a softer flow in my life - to find the gentlest current, slip in quietly, and let it carry me like a leaf beneath the trees of Big Sur.

“You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.”

~William Stafford

{For more musings on this subject, visit my latest post over at In the Wish Studio!}

Lighter

[My uniform at Squam last year; my uniform at Squam this year.]

It has been a week, I tell you.

Good.  Intense.  Prayer-full.

So much of everything.

My husband and I saw "Julie and Julia" last night, and I was weepy throughout the entire movie.  I had read and heard that the Julia part was much more fun and interesting than the Julie side of the story, but I found every inch of the movie just lovely.  After what might have been my most hectic summer yet, I walked out of the movie realizing I have, in many ways, forgotten to keep the joy in everything I do.  Julia Childs loved eating, loved cooking, and followed that love fearlessly; learning more about her journey and the ripple of joy and inspiration she created helped me see how far I've strayed from that...lightness.  It was the exact reminder I needed at precisely the right moment.

During this same 24-hour period, I also got inspired by Marisa who has, I believe, started a movement.  In the midst of having to tie up all the loose ends for my journey to Squam Art Workshops next week, I could not wait a single moment to do a massive household purge.  This created two carloads to Goodwill and a total re-arrangement of my studio.  I am now sitting at my desk with a whole new perspective, literally, feeling like I can board that plane to New Hampshire with...less.  Less clutter in my home, my studio, my mind, and my heart.  For as I've released boxes and bags of material items, the end of the summer has also provided me with a number of opportunities to release unhealthy stories, patterns, habits, and feelings.

As I said, it has been a week.

But the trash has been cleared, perspectives shifted, so much of what I have and know moved around, passed along, or maybe just slightly adjusted.  And in 48 hours I'll be on my way to the magic gathering in the forest that is Squam Art Workshops...feeling light.

"Courage is the power to let go of the familiar."  ~Raymond Lindquist

Wanting So Much

"Nothing ever goes away enough or arrives enough,
    and I want to cry when I think of my heart,
muscle pounding in muscle, greedy always for joy."

~Eric Anderson, excerpt from the poem A Warning

Beads on a String

"We are responsible for what we are.

And whatever we wish ourselves to be,
we have the power to make ourselves.

If what we are now
has been the result of our own past actions,
it certainly follows
that whatever we wish to be in the future
can be produced by our present actions."

~ Swami Vivekaananda

The Hardest Lesson

"As you make a habit of not taking anything personally, you won't need to place your trust in what others do or say.  You will only need to trust yourself to make responsible choices.  You are never responsible for the actions of others; you are only responsible for you.  When you truly understand this, and refuse to take things personally, you can hardly be hurt by the careless comments or actions of others."

~Don Miguel Ruiz

What Are Your Prayers Today?

[Kyoto, Japan :: September 2007]

[Kyoto, Japan :: September 2007]

[Tokyo, Japan :: July 2005]

On the grounds of temples in Japan, there are structures that hold small panels of balsa wood, paper, or colorful items like above.  Visitors can pay a small fee to write a personal prayer on one of these items and leave it at the temple.  I was fascinated by these collections of wishes, dreams, fears and hopes.  What stories do they hold?  How many of these prayers were answered?

"Courage is fear that has said its prayers."  ~Dorothy Bernard