I’ve finished these two papercuts and plan to post them in the shop. I think I’m all done, but then I start messing with colored papers, and then I’m confused. But I think I’ll stick with the black house on white paper, and the white house on gray paper.
Oh, and last week I did sit on my couch until I had finished all three books in the Hunger Games trilogy. Now I’m digging out from my sheer decadence…
Oh, book pile. Here’s a sampling of my stack of books to be read…I also downloaded a list app for my kindle to keep track of books I’d like to read…
Oh, book pile.
p.s. You my readers are a very thoughtful bunch! I appreciated your thoughts on the subject of my last post.
I just watched the documentary Who Does She Think She Is? Hmmmm. I don’t know if any of you have seen it, but here’s what I took away from it.
1. Women are completely underrepresented in the art world.
2. It is a hard row to hoe to try to buck the system.
3. There are multiple factors at play here.
4. Creating and carving your own path does not happen in a vacuum. There are often devastating consequences in being true to yourself. So it sometimes becomes a question of which demolition can one tolerate? – demolition to self, possible demolition to relationships, demolition to self-worth in the form of labels such as; selfish, uncaring, non-nurturing.
5. Being a mother and emboldening upon a career are a tricky balance at best.
I often find that when I’m bouncing around the internet I see these messages that speak of following your passions, and I frequently read the Etsy Quit Your Day Job series. I’ve certainly read many a post addressing passion and living wide open, fervently praying the message to myself. And I believe them – I really do! BUT, I think it needs to be understood that it’s not as simple as an inspiring quote or e-course might make it seem. It takes hard work, dedication, clarity about what it is you want and your desire in that deep place within yourself, and also the ability to communicate clearly and respectfully to those who may experience the ripple effects. In addition one must assess the grey area of where their responsibility to others begins and ends. Coat it all with a thick layer of finances and being realistic without squashing one’s dreams. Complex.
I just felt a need to express how complicated this idea of following one’s heart can be. I don’t often see that side of it. (I am willing to acknowledge that my personality can take something simple and make it complicated…which is really a procrastination tool for not pursuing my heart’s desire. But that may be a subject for a future post.)
Here are a few places where the complexity is explored:
Louise Edrich’s poem – Advice to Self I see it as acknowledging that some things have to be let go in order to accomplish other more important things.
Summer Pierre’s post – Desire, click through to read her Huffington Post article as well.
Brene Brown’s writing. I like that she understands that being authentic means being vulnerable.
Harriet Lerner’s book – The Dance of Anger
I’m so thankful for the rain we are getting. (giving thanks, day #3) It’s a good tradition that I’ve been involved in the gratitude project for at least the last three years. Because it never fails that this time of year a deep melancholy settles in. A brooding, pervasive, dark cloud. So, focusing on the things I have to be grateful for is one tool to help keep the cloud at bay.
But I have to admit, that this year I’m dealing with something more significant, because the melancholy has hit with an unsettling force. Those of you that have read my blog for very long know that the past few years I’ve been working through a lot of junk. And I think it is important to recognize when it may be time to ask for help. Here are my warning signs:
I’m sharing all of this because I think silence perpetuates the problem. Makes one feel isolated and abnormal. Acknowledging something is the first step towards healing. I’m also sharing because I have resources that I think are helpful for anyone else who may be struggling.
made from the perforated edge of a piece of notebook paper. reminds me of this post by kerri smith. You might want to start with part 1.
I am going to say it loud and say it proud – I am a vocabularian. I collect words like a philatelist collects stamps, or a lepidopterist collects butterflies, or a 9-year-old boy collects legos. Occasionally to my great pleasure (and probably to my listener’s great annoyance) I get to drop one of these words into a conversation. It’s even better when I use it in the right context. : ) Why use a 10 cent word when you can use a 10 dollar word. Okay, I don’t necessarily believe that last bit, but sometimes I can’t help it. I’ll use a word and be thinking “That’s brilliant! That word perfectly describes what I’m trying to say” My listener is probably thinking, “Ugh! There she goes again, she thinks she’s such a smarty-pants, but she’s really just obnoxious!” Obnoxious perhaps, but I have a love affair with language and all of its nuances.
My newest writing prompt was a list of words to lead me into writing. I’m too scattered lately to do anything with the list, but it will sit there waiting for me. In Madeline L’Engle’s book A Circle of Quiet she chooses a word for the summer – Ontology – a word that for her had much to do with creativity and teaching and isness. Ali Edwards has again offered up her tradition of choosing a word for the year to guide, inspire, open one up to possibility. I love words too much to limit myself to one, but I feel like the word that’s trying to find me right now has to do with relationships and connection. Also, I do have a life contract that states that I am a courageous, self-loving, adventurous woman. What can I say words have power. They can lift up, encourage, inspire us to more, or they can be weapons; dangerous and barbed. I want to use my words for the former.
