Creativity, Fear, and Being Alive

I used to carry my camera with me everywhere I went.  

My father and I would go on photography adventures, driving somewhere simply to take pictures for hours and hours.

Over the years, my husband learned simply to pull the car over when I started yelling, "stop!" in the middle of a drive because I spotted the perfect blanket of light on a field.

I was even into the editing (digital).  I joined the National Association of Photoshop Professionals and attended a conference up in Chicago.

And then I stopped.

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Co-Create

Art doesn't have to be complicated.

Just look around.

A leaf.

A bit of wax.

A push-pin for cutting.

Voila.

A suncatcher.

Mother Nature offers so much.  

Work with her.  

Delight in showing each other what beauty emerges when you create in harmony.

Namaste.

Color

All images taken by me at the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  Art work (glass pieces) done by Dale Chihuly.

The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color.

-Hans Hofmann

 

 

The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. 
Marcus Aurelius 

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for.
Georgia O'Keeffe Quotes

And as he spoke of understanding, I looked up and saw the rainbow leap with flames of many colors over me. 
Black Elk 

 

May your day be brilliant.

Namaste.

I See You

(For those following from last post, Reflections from the Karen Maezen Miller talk will still appear here one day soon.  The words are still finding me.)

A couple of days ago, my daughter and son bonked head-to-tooth while bouncing around.  A little bit of blood and hurt feelings were all that remained after a couple of minutes.

My daughter, however, continued to keep tears in her eyes and the washcloth against her mouth.  Even though she intermittently removed it to share a joke or fling it around as she ran after her brother, inevitably the tears would return and the mouth re-covered.

I asked her a few times if she was ok.  The answer was always a down-turned mouth, dropped chin, and sad eyes staring up at me, followed by a shake of the head and a quiet "no".

In truth, her lip had probably stopped hurting.  The feelings bruised by the bonk were probably long healed and forgotten.  

What she probably wanted is what we all want:  To be Seen.

She wanted it known that she had been hurt.

She wanted it known that she might still hurt...and could get hurt again.

She wanted my attention and love and acknowledgement.

We don't all have a washcloth to hold over our lips or our broken hearts.  But we've all been hurt - and will be hurt again.  We might still be hurting.

We all just want to be seen.

Remember this the next time you brush shoulders with someone on the street, exchange glances with someone in another car, share words with someone providing you a service, ... and the next time you look in the mirror.

We all want to be seen, acknowledged, accepted for who we are, and loved.

Why not offer a knowing smile to the next one you see (even or especially if that is yourself)?  Let that smile soothe what words cannot heal: the illusion of separation.  

Put down your washcloth.

In this spirit,....I see you.  NAMASTE.

Nothing To Say.

If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all.

~moms everywhere.

I admit: I've said it.  And though I mean it when I share this with my kids, I think I may mean a bit more.

Perhaps, along the lines of Right Speech, I really mean, "If you don't have anything honest and of a timely nature to say that will add benefit to this conversation, then don't say anything at all."

I went to see Karen Maezen Miller speak at Butler University on Wednesday.  I have long loved her and her writing.  Being in her presence was an affirmation of that love.  

And yet, I don't want to say anything.

The experience was .... again, no words.  Why do I keep trying to talk?

Lest I leave you with the wrong impression, I am in awe of the reality that she brings to the table.  I will share in a later post how a simple hug offered me a glimpse into who I want to be (who I am), how fascinating it is to be with someone who is present with everyone and yet just one...and yet, now is not the time.  By not letting myself sit with the experience and trying to share it before having the words, I am not adding benefit to our conversation.

So I acknowledge my silence on the matter ...and many other matters for that matter... and wish you a beautiful weekend.

Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:

So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.

~T.S. Elliot

Namaste.