30 posts in 30 days

A few words

Inspiration
Art
Creativity
Spirit
Love
Water
Compassion
Laughter
Trees
Silence
Pain
Thank you
Stillness
Breath
Joy
Path
Yes.

I'll probably visit most of these words in the next 30 days. I hope you join me. :)

Saturday Morning Gush

Is it just me or does the fact that I can be in the middle of putting dishes away and have a surge of desire for my piano, leaving a handful of spoons awaiting my return, qualify me as easily distracted or easily moved? Am I scattered-brained or passionate? Probably a little bit of both. And I like it and I don't.

This is something that is so me that I've tried to change in my quest for responsible adulthood, in the process finding that I like the quirky me-ness of this little person who I am. I have learned at my best moments to laugh and love idiosyncrasies in my personality that might otherwise frustrate me. This is an honest evaluation of where I'm at right now.

At times I step back from an outside view and imagine my soul saying, "Wow, you are a funny little personality to work with." I know that sounds weird but I guess that's exactly what I mean. Of course my career choice allows me to be a bit more indulgent than people who work outside the home. I get to be the stay-home mom and all that entails while my amazing husband works his tail off to make sure I get a latte every Sunday afternoon. He may step back and ponder my funny personality every now and then too. Nobody, including myself, takes my writing endeavors too seriously yet, so I can't quite claim that as a job. It's more of a lifestyle and an evolution.

I have to admit that when I'm in true form, I am quite childlike. Is that okay? Everything gets done, but it gets done in my fashion. And I'm so much happier when I'm living like that than trying to fit myself into the model of what I have believed for so many years that I should be. Not that I don't have room for growth...I DO. The wonderful thing about this discovery is that I can push my way into someone else's idea of how I need to be OR I can love life as me and celebrate the challenge of facing my weaknesses and strengths in my own wonderful way. This is what I choose because it brings me joy. And joy is awesome inspiration for embracing challenges and change.

Inspiration

Chase joy, harness inspiration...........create joy out of the mundane, find inspiration in the everyday! I would love to read your experiences!

Everything

I've had a song by the band Lifehouse repeating on my i-pod for the last few days and now I get to share it with you. The song is called Everything. It's a bit like a crashing meteor to the gut that sends after shocks through your whole body and leaves you with a delicious achey feeling. It is beautiful and lucid and haunting. But one line in particular slams me inside out:

“How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?”

Those of you who love Smallville may have emotional baggage attached to this song. If you don't follow Smallville, let me create some for you:

I am walking along the path to a place I frequent on afternoons like this. I pass a young woman with two bright-faced little girls and greet them with a smile and friendly words. They are a radiant sight together at the water's edge.

"How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?”

Sitting beneath a foot bridge, I look up from my laptop and watch the glistening stream flow northward, northward. An autumnal leaf floats by, carried away by the rippling current.

"How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?”

I read a poem that that lays me flat, stand in a local antique and art market, eyes locked on a faded, earthy landscape. Thank you poet, thank you painter...

"How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?”

The door home opens to the smiles of five brilliant souls who fill my life with meaning. I get to journey with these beautiful growing people. My husband, my children....undefined, ever becoming...with me.

"How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?”

I sit, silent in numinous dark, candle glowing, heart open wide...

"How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?”

What moves you?

How has art moved you?

Why do we ask, “What is the way?”
For there are as many ways
as there are stars in the firmament. ~Gunilla Norris

A few days ago I opened a new book by Gunilla Norris, Simple Ways Towards the Sacred. I was stilled by these first words and found myself repeating them in slow, hushed breaths. How can words, in an unsuspecting instant, reach in and grip your core? And why did these words hold such sway in me? I felt melted and poured into those firmamental stars, spread over a thousand light-years. How can it be? The depths of human sentiment... how art does move us, does stir us, connect us.

Art is the essence
of human soul
laid bare
in longing
for....

How would you finish this statement?

How has art moved you? Have you ever had a moment like this either creating art or experiencing someone else's artwork?

I would love to read your thoughts.

New Balance.

The last few weeks have been crazy...a whirlwind around me and even more so inside. We've been anticipating school to start. Summer's end is always wild. Everybody needs some serious structure, including me, as I have been indulging in the lazy Summer non-schedule too long. The kids are stir-crazy, my hubby's work schedule is insane. And we all feel it. We are scattered.
And then comes my birthday, which also happens to be the first day of school. I'm not usually one to think much of birthdays. In fact, I often forget about it throughout the day, only to be reminded periodically and say to myself, "Oh yeah!" I'm not a big worrier about the age thing...I'm young. This year, it hit me a few days after my birthday, though. I'm thirty-four. For some reason that bothered me. It's not the age that struck me so much. What hit me was the speed of delivery. I mean, I just turned thirty-three. That's what shook me up. The years really are getting shorter as I get older. They were right. I just lost track of a whole year as I've been sloshing through the month of August.

So for my birthday, I got sneakers...New Balance. They are comfy, cute, and just what I needed. Really, ask me what I need. I did need new shoes. But what I would tell you is balance.

a few words from the parenting path...

I did not wake up at 5 a.m. this morning. I had been awake for some time already. I did get out of bed around that time, though, and made my way downstairs to sit in the quiet hours. Conversations from the previous day were lingering through the night and in those waking moments, still persisted in my thoughts.

The conversation was about raising children...that topic. Honestly, I have awesome kids. No, I mean awesome. I've read the gamut of books on the topic and found them useful and worthless. Not one of these author's has raised my child...and I'm not raising yours, but I can tell you what I've learned about life through my experience as a mother. For what it's worth, there's no secret formula and we're all just learning along the way. What a teacher parenting is:)

One of the best things I've come to realize as a parent is that my kids are going to make mistakes...and that's okay. My job is to help them grow through those mistakes and to empower them to choose well, all the while extending grace.

Before I could ever give these gifts to my kids, I had to realize them for myself. My example is my children's first lesson in living. They will mirror my behavior and attitudes about life. Being able to extend grace to myself is a really peaceful place. It's a place where I can say, "Okay, I blew it...let's grow." It's all about, as Thich Nhat Hanh would say, turning compost into flowers....gotta love the compost and flowers.

But the best gift we can give our children is power...the power to choose well.
A few words we use often in our house are: Wisdom, Compassion, Empathy, and Kindness. I tell my children what I believe is absolutely true...that they have all the wisdom they need inside of them to make good choices. The tools to uncover this wisdom are learned. We have the opportunity to teach them to use these tools, by teaching them what these simple concepts mean...and starting young! Don't underestimate kids...and don't lecture them. They get it more than we think. They need the opportunity to solve problems and settle disputes on their own. Ask questions that don't require answers, but action. Then trust them to work it through. Kids can be surprising.

Here are a few concepts to start with (the four I mentioned above) and the definitions I give my kids:

Wisdom: knowing what is right, and doing it
Empower your kids by reminding them that they do have all the wisdom they need right inside them. All they need is the tools...a questioning mind and a desire for truth.
Compassion: the ability to see a need and meet it
Children are naturally compassionate if you give them a chance...expose them to others in need. Don't be afraid to let your kids see the reality of suffering in the world.
Empathy: the ability to feel what others are feeling
Of course, we can't ever feel exactly what others, in their particular circumstances, are feeling. But we can learn to put ourselves in their proverbial shoes and discover what we would feel in their circumstances. Kids are great at this...just ask them. Reading is a great cultivator of this skill, too...children love putting themselves in the place of characters...and they'regood at it.
Kindness: acting with goodness
This wraps it up. The golden rule in short...be kind.

You want a list of rules in your house that will help your children grow?
1.Use Your Wisdom
2.Use Your Compassion
3.Use Your Empathy
4.Treat Each Other With Love and Kindness

My dear child, you have inside you, the potential for good and for evil. You have everything you need to choose well: A mind, to think; A heart, to feel; and a body, to act. You will make mistakes. When you do, give yourself grace. Love the lesson. You will grow in wisdom. Embrace life. And when you pray, let your prayer be 'yes' and 'thank you.'