Silence

this phrase was taken from a longer quote by barara kipfer in “self-meditation”.  simple, but it really hit me like a ton of bricks.  you see, with all my “anticipations” coming up, i sometimes feel lost in a morass of details, not to mention a party at my house this weekend, the printer is broken, my car needs service, blah, blah, blah.  my mind flits from one thing to the next… i make lists, only to leave some of the really important things off and forgetting to cross off those that are done.  well, i’m guessing that you get it.  welcome to life in the twenty-first century, right?

so this little quote came into my life to remind me that there is more…. more than busy details and deadlines, so much more in the experience of living. and the more often we can bring oursleves back to that silence..... (under the chaos)..... the more meaningful moments we will have, moments to remember and cherish, and ultimately, to help us through the details and the chaos.

in other news, it appears that i'm not the only one watching the birds!

Anticipation...

remember that carly simon song??  well, i've been finding myself singing it lately!  i'm anticipating 3 big events coming up this fall and wanted to share my excitement.

at the end of the month, i will be flying back to michigan for a class reunion (yikes - haven't had one for 30 years) and a (short) girls getaway to the beach with my sisters.  i'm really looking forward to it!  if you have never seen lake michigan, you are really missing something fabulous (just don't go in the winter!)

then, in late october, i will be heading up into the mountains with 5 beautiful souls for my 2nd space between creativity retreat. i am still fiddling with the venue details, but it is going to happen and it's going to be wonderful!

and last, but certainly not least, in november i will be re-connecting with all of the wonderfulness that was last year's bepresent retreat on the coast of oregon. this experience and the subsequent connections resulting from it have been nothing short of life-changing and we are having a reunion, aptly named, "unfurl".

i think this year's holiday season may seem a little anti-climatic after all of this excitement, but it's ok.  i feel incredibly fortunate to be having all of this goodness to look forward to!!  do you have some anticipations in your life??

Everything...

everything...

is just (exactly)...

as it should be.

(yes, that's a period)

i know, easy to say, not so easy to accept and believe and live by

i know i needs lots of reminding

i thought you might enjoy a little reminder as well

p.s.  thanks soooo much for your support on my last post.  things are looking up!!

Honest Feedback (please)

well, i'm seriously frustrated over here.  i cannot add any links or my entire text disappears never to return.  nor can i add photos once the text is in place.  major frustration.... deep breath.....i'm going ahead with my post, but cannot add most of the links that i planned.

my friend kerri - http://kerriarista.blogspot.com /recently wrote about the whole idea of “constructive criticism” - its ramifications, pros, cons and the fears we experience around it. it was a great question and in my comment to her i mentioned how it makes a difference if we are asking for the feedback or not. it can be daunting to step up and ask for honest input when our creative output is new and raw and close to the heart. i also told her how when i first started showing my photos publicly, i was so very sensitive, but i have grown past that. in fact my confidence is now in a place where, if i seriously like an image, i honestly don’t care what others think ( at least I like to think so!)

i am not that way about all of my creative endeavors, however. in particular, one of my newer creative passions is retreat planning: http://spacebetweenretreats.blogspot.com/ i have felt so strongly about following this path since i experienced the life-changing power of retreating at the bepresent retreat last year in Oregon. i’m so convinced that it would be an amazing experience for anyone in attendance that i have put a huge amount of time and effort into making this a reality. i love doing it and my first little retreat confirmed my thinking about it. most women that i speak with think that it sounds like a wonderful idea. so what is the problem??

well, thinking it’s a wonderful idea and actually signing up are 2 different things. i currently have 4 enthusiastic participants, but i’m still needing 5 more to make it happen, at least at this lodge. all my blog posts, facebook, emails, postcards, etc. have resulted in pretty much zero response. i’m trying to be objective about this and realize that there are very good reasons why people don’t sign up, yet a little part inside of me that i try not to recognize tends to take it personally. you know the part: the i’m not good enough, why did i think this would work anyway part. so, yes, it’s definitely out of my comfort zone to ask for honest feedback, but i’m going to do it anyway.

if you choose not to step in here, i totally understand – i’ll try to have a more inspiring post next time! but i have to ask - is there something about the presentation that is not enticing? too expensive? (yet much less than most retreats!) maybe people think this is a big money-maker for me?? is it because everyone is looking for “famous names” to learn from? (i would have to charge more!) is everyone just too busy? is it too scary to attend something that is basically an “unknown”? or maybe there are other reasons that i’m not thinking of. that’s why i’m throwing it out there. i hate to give up on the idea without covering all the bases, so bring it on. i asked for it!

there are 2 links to the retreat blog up at the top.  you can scroll down and see all of the posts.

(all photos taken on Mt. Palomar, home of the Space Between retreats)