Born to Blog!

i know it sounds weird, believe me. let me explain. all this talk in flying lessons about creative expression, blogging, etc. leads me to this highly unanticipated conclusion. i was born to blog! will it make a lot of sales for me? grow my “creative biz”? probably not. but you know what?? i don’t really care.

when i started blogging just over 7 months ago, i had the same fears as a lot of those i’ve been reading about. will i have anything interesting to say? worse yet, will i have anything at all to say? will i feel “exposed”? i’ve long kept journals, but was very reluctant to put my private thoughts out there in public.

the reality? since day 1, i have not lacked for a topic. in fact, i could post more, but would not want to commit to that level of time (or, worse yet, to bore you!)  it has sort of taken on a life of its own within the larger context my life and just has me soooo energized.

why? well, one thing i’ve known about myself since the early days of my journey was that i was very drawn to pairing words and images. in my case, the images are mostly photographic ones. so taking an idea that i want to throw out there (narrative or poetic) and finding the images to illustrate it…. wow – it’s just the BEST. i mean, seriously folks, i could make this a full-time job. speaking of matching words to images, i wrote this out and didn't really have a clue how to illustrate it, so i took my camera (the good one!) on my walk this morning and these are some of what i happened to notice along the way. 

the other reason is because of all of YOU. oh yes, there have been times when i doubted myself…. times when my heartfelt thoughts didn’t elicit a single comment. times when i questioned if i said just the right thing.  but at least one of you always came to the rescue and added your sweet encouragement. that’s all it took. i don’t know where this is all heading, but baby, i was born to blog (ok, small disclaimer - at least this is how i feel this day and at this time!) and to all of you out there witnessing my step up to the top of the mountain (and the edge of the precipice!) THANK YOU!!!
 

Creative Whispers

I haven't really had a chance to address what everyone out here in blog-land seems to be talking about. it's kelly rae's flying lessons! one week down, four to go. i had the good fortune to spend time with kelly rae last fall at the bepresent retreat and, let me tell you, she is something special!  i signed up at the very last minute and have been pretty well blown away not only by the content, but by the connections we are all making with one another. who knew? not me, for sure!

one of our very first topics involved noticing and attending to our creative whispers. here's my truth. for most of my life i ignored them. oh, sure, when i was teaching special ed. and reading i had to come up with creative ways to solve problems and work with difficult kids. i pulled out all the stops in that regard. i was using creative energy, but it’s not the same thing as creative expression. producing something that was uniquely mine. other than photographing our travels and the occasional journal entry, there really was none of that in my life.

then in 2001, we decided to make a drastic life change. i took a leave of absence from my job, we sold our dream home and most of our possessions and set out in a motorhome to see the country. i packed a copy of julia cameron's the artist's way with me. little did i know how it would change my life!! i started writing poetry and getting serious about photography and my creative journey began in earnest.

i want to post more in the future about some directions my current creative whispers seem to be leading me in, but for now, there's a little history!


(in high school, i was very much into drama and music, but my counselors encouraged me away from all that and toward "college prep" stuff. sad.)

I'm Guesting!!

just a quick post to let you know i'm so honored and excited to be guest blogger over at  liz lamoreux's bepresent, be here today.  and most exciting of all - liz just delivered a much-anticipated beautiful (ok, i'm assuming - haven't seen the pics yet!) baby girl last night - eleanor jane.  sooooo happy for you, liz!!!

i can't seem to post without pictures, so enjoy the beautiful pacific ocean.

Want What you Have – Chapter 2

where to begin? this whole exercise has brought so many thoughts to mind and some of them are still swirling in my head.

if you haven’t read chapter 1, you can find it here.

i realized fairly quickly in following my own suggestions that this whole concept is more complex than it might appear at first glance!


i mean there’s the gratitude component of appreciating what you already have, but on the flip side, there’s the not wanting what you don’t have aspect (and its related consumerism issues) which is quite different.

and then what about accepting yourself exactly as you already are? that one always gives me some trouble. i mean i know we need to accept and love ourselves – just as we are. but yet aren’t we always striving to be better, learn more, etc? i haven’t quite figured out exactly where the fine line falls. let me know if you have some insight here!

possibly the hardest part of all of it, however, comes in accepting your circumstances in life exactly as they are. it’s not hard for me at the moment since things are going well. obviously that isn't always be the case and i know trying to fight “what is” (or even complaining about it) is pointless wasted energy. but acceptance can be a real challenge. and i think that - acceptance - really summarizes the whole exercise.

not buying anything was a piece of cake for me. i chose a stay-at-home day. (is that cheating??) i just put the home improvement discussions and camera lens ideas aside and trashed the ads in the paper without a single glance. no problem for one day and i do feel a new awareness about this. plus i'm already super frugal. my mother was dutch, what can i say? we used to make fun of her thrifty ways, but guess what? i internalized them and i'm happy i did (especially in this economy!)

i'm not a packrat. every summer i go through everything in my house (one small piece or cupboard at a time) and toss stuff. in spite of that, i found clothes and food i didn't know i had (ever tried tuna casserole made with fettuccini???) and books and music i had totally forgotten about. i had a great time listening to my old cassette tapes!

so i'm really glad i did it and i feel like parts of this little experiment will stay with me.

 let me know if you tried it or are thinking of trying it and what you learned. that's really what it's all about!!