Blessings in Disguise

It's so easy for me to be grateful and count my blessings when things are going well - namely when I'm not having a flare of my lupus.  But I'm now learning and practicing that I have to be grateful even when things aren't exactly going my way.  This is when I REALLY need to count my blessings. 

Over a month ago our dishwasher leaked and ruined part of our wood floor and base cabinets...at first I was pretty upset of course because of the major inconvenience and because of the $1000 deductible we have for insurance.  Still not happy about that because I work VERY part-time.  However, I realized we've wanted new cabinets and a new wood floor for quite a while.  Of course, we wanted to get them when we could afford them and not because of water damage, but looking on the bright side, we are getting some updates to the kitchen.  A few years ago this would have sent me into so much anger and frustration, but this time, I quickly got to the mindset of "what good is coming from this?" ...Well--new cabinets and a new wood floor-yay!  Oh, and practicing acceptance and letting go of things that typically throw me in a tailspin.

"Happiness is a function of accepting what is."

This quote by Werner Erhard often helps me remember how important it is to accept things as they are, even when they aren't what I want at the time.  Typically, like the kitchen, they turn out to be blessings in disguise.  No they don't always come in the form of something physical like kitchen cabinets--they may be a new way of being or living, like enjoying the little things and realizing something that's RIGHT for us is somewhere on the horizon, even if we don't see it right away!  

I'm curious, what "bad" things have happened in your life that have turned out to be blessings in disguise?  

So Very Grateful

Thanksgiving is only a few days away and I of course am thinking of all I have to be grateful for.  I actually think about that everyday to be honest, but I thought sharing them in a post would be a great reminder of all the gifts I have.

My colorful, creative, loving, caring and sparkling girl Isabella.  She brings so much joy into my days.

Amazing, fun and supportive, life-long friends...friends since grade school - priceless for sure.

Being interviewed for a local magazine called 30 West - yay!

Achieving one of my goals of having my artwork for sale in a "real" shop, the Waxwing in Shorewood.

A new sweet little niece Cora born this August. 

Attending the Bloom True Artist Retreat by Flora Bowley this September (another item I had on my list of dreams and goals for this year).

Of course I have tons more to be thankful for, like my eye sight, the beautiful sky, my cozy house, my creative community of friends, etc. but these are just a few that stood out from 2012.

I found this great quote yesterday while reading the book Daring Greatly by Brene Brown and I'll leave you with this:  

"It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful" 

by Brother David Steindl-Rast.

What are some of the things you are grateful for from the past year?  I'd love to hear them--it always makes my heart full to hear what others are thankful for.  

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

One of my New Favorite Quotes

I love quotes...they inspire me to look at things differently, more positively--they can put things into a better perspective for me when things are frustrating, disappointing or even sad.  They also inspire some of my artwork.  One of my new favorite quotes is a portion of a poem by Osho.  I love the imagery of this..."let your life be a painting/let your life be a poem."  I've done two mixed media paintings with these dreamy words--here is one of them:

When I think of poetry I imagine powerful words, strong images, scents, feelings, music, memories, hopes, disappointments, honesty...
When I think of paintings I think of color, impact, feelings, emotions, music, love, honesty...

I guess these are all the things of life and then some...some beautiful, some messy--life.  What a great image in my mind.

What Do You Love to Do?

One of my favorite writers, Patti Digh, recently published the book What I Wish for You and its advice has such a powerful impact on me.  It's a collection of short pieces from other women giving advice to Patti's daughter who's going off to college, but it's advice all of us women can learn from.  I must say I wish I had this great wisdom given to me as a teenager, but it's just as relevant now as a 39-year-old still trying to find my way.

One of the contributors, Lisa Evans, discusses the dreaded question of people asking, "What do you do?"  She states that instead of that question, we should ask people, "What do you LOVE to do?"  I like this one much better.  This question can fill us up with joy just thinking of the things we love to do.

I love to...

* take early morning walks all by myself when the sun is just creeping up and no noise is around except the birds singing and the crickets chirping

* go out to dinner with my best girlfriends in the whole world and laugh too loud and probably annoy everyone around us

* close my eyes while we're on our boat and just feel the breeze

* arrange flowers from my garden into vases around the house

* watch hilarious movies like Dumb and Dumber and Something about Mary over and over

* read a super good book in my sunroom with all the windows open



Taken on my morning walk today--the sun peeking through the trees.

Those are just a few of the things I love to do.  What about you?  What do you really love to do?  I'd love to hear about it!

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Life Should be a Crazy Ride

Don't know where I found this quote by John Mallow, but I love it!

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely,

in a well preserved body,

but rather to skid in sideways,

totally worn out,

shouting, 'Holy Shit...what a ride!'"

Reading this makes me want to go out and really hoot it up.  Make some trouble (well as much trouble as a 39-year-old mom can make).  Climb a tree and hang by one arm from it.  Scream at the top of my lungs driving my car with the windows down. 

I know, that doesn't sound too exciting but it forces me to think about the shortness of life and how we often forget to just fly around on a crazy whim and just tear up the town.  Really use this life and this body to "skid in sideways" screaming and singing like there's no tomorrow.

The best I could do for a wild picture was my husband and daughter acting like goons on a 2008 trip to Mexico.  I guess we do need some more crazy in our life, hey?

Have you done any wild, screaming things that have made YOU feel super alive?  Any suggestions?



Enjoy EVERY Moment

"If I had to live life over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.  I would go to more dances.  I would ride more merry-go-rounds.  I would pick more daisies."

~Nadine Stair

Here's another one of my favorite quotes.  I actually think about it every winter because I can't wait to go barefoot again and I try to remember to stretch it out as long as I can because once that snow comes that soft, cold grass will be a distant memory. 

Aside from just encouraging me to LIVE IN THIS MOMENT and not have any regrets, these images are so beautiful, whimsical and carefree.  Sometimes those kind of moments get shoved to the side when we go from day to day being busy people.  I don't want to get to the end of life and wish I had done these things more often.  I want to do them now.  I try to do them now.  Having written this poem/saying in every journal I've ever kept gives me the gentle reminder as much as possible as I see it every time I get the urge to write. 

 It is such an inspiring and happy message to remind everyone to live fully and without regrets.  To enjoy the sweet things in life like running around barefoot for as long as possible, dancing, going on thrilling rides and picking flowers.  Sweet and simple, but so thrilling.





Dream Big Dreams

I'll admit I'm a daydreamer.  I dream about the Caribbean Sea, those stilted huts in Bora Bora and becoming a successful artist, just to name a few.  I also dream of life being easier financially and health-wise as well. 



I encourage my daughter to dream big dreams and tell her that she can do anything she dreams or wishes.  Hopefully this message will stick with her as she gets older and possibly less confident as she enters her teen years. 

I found this inspiring quote by Gail Devers and think it's perfect for my new butterfly painting and for my daughter who will be ten-years-old next Tuesday.

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”

I know some people just aren't dreamers.  They are practical and serious, but I can't live that way. 

I have to dream.  I think we all have to dream.

Wisdom of Gandhi

I found this quote from Mahatma Gandhi and want to think about it a bit.

"Man often becomes what he believes himself to be." 

This is so interesting to me because it sure sounds like we can control our destiny or our present circumstances by our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves.  Pretty powerful.  I wonder how many people follow that principle.  Is it really truthful?  Can we set the tone for our days, our lives just by what we think about ourselves?  Can we work to change the beliefs we've had since childhood?  Can we believe ourselves into a dream career or dream life?  Again, that is powerful if it is true.  How do we get ourselves to actually, really, believe these hopeful and positive dreams we may have for ourselves.  Or would some people say that's a lot of hooey and we can't control our circumstances?

I want to start envisioning some positive differences in my life and see if Gandhi really knew what was up, so to speak.  Is this a daily practice that needs to be undertaken to really "work"?  I'd love to hear what others think about this.  Do we have ultimate control over our lives or is everything planned ahead of time and unable to be changed? 

Inspiring Quote

I printed this quote by David Whyte a year ago and stumbled on it again yesterday.  It's beautiful and powerful and I want to do something with it, maybe use it as inspiration for a painting or put the quote on the canvas with the painting.  For now, I'm just going to type it here because it's worth sharing.

Now, looking through

the slanting light

of the morning window

toward the mountain

presence

of everything that can be,

what urgency

calls you to

your one love?

What shape

waits in the seed

of you to grow

and spread its branches

against a future sky?

Amazing Quote

I am up at 4:30 am on a day that I have off of work.  Really?  Seriously.  Yes. 

However, I'm reading some amazing blogs and just found this quote on the Daisy Yellow blog that was so vivid and inspiring I had to put it down here. 

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift." — Shauna Niequist

Wow.  It honestly blows me away.  I need to print this out and read it EVERYDAY to remind myself to fully live my life every single moment.

I am thrilled that there are sooooo many creative and inspiring people out there sharing their lives on the blogs they've created.  When I feel discouraged, these women don't even know me and I feel encouraged, truly, by their words and experiences!  

Motivation

My last post was mainly about being discouraged and I found this quote on one of the blogs I check every day and maybe it will help me put things into perspective a bit more when I feel like giving up.  I need to motivate myself.  For myself.  No one else.  I don't mean that to sound snotty in any way, I'm just saying I have to take charge of my feelings and my motivation and not worry about others approval so much.   Right? 

 
From Bits of Truth blog.

Encouragement

I'm feeling a bit discouraged with my art/painting lately.  I don't want to go into much detail because it's probably just one of those poor me moods that I know will change if I help it.  I think I want something so badly I sometimes lose sight of the reason I do it.  Patti Digh gives a good reminder to "Stop trying so hard...Just do to do."  I love painting and sometimes I forget that I need to paint just to paint, not worry if someone will buy them.  The reward is just creating.  She also says to "Detach from outcome."  Hmmm...this completely relates to my last thought.  The outcome can't always be others approval, hence others purchasing my work.  My focus sometimes goes a bit off track and then I feel like giving up when I know I shouldn't and I won't.  I guess I'm just having a pity party inside my head right now. 

I'm going to get some fresh canvases today and paint just to paint.  I'm also going to look back at her book, Creative is a Verb and look at the highlighted words that really spoke to me.  Hopefully it will help me remember why I love to create. 

The Little Things

I found this quote in Patti Digh's book Creative is a Verb and it really is a great reminder to enjoy what we have and not expect all moments to be momentous ones.  "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize that they were the big things," by Robert Brault.  An eye opener for sure especially something we should pass on to our children, you know when they're bored or only are happy when huge things are happening.  Some of the little things that I am so thankful for and KNOW that they are the big things in my life:  reading a picture book with my nine-year-old daughter, singing screaming really loudly to Lady Gaga in the car with my husband and daughter, baking moon dust cookies together even though I pretty much hate baking, touching her soft cheeks as she sleeps at night. 

I wonder if more people saw the "little" things this way, would they be happier, more content with their everyday lives, more in the moment?  I'm not an expert but I think so.