Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Fast Forward

 

Life moves forward at break-neck speed, and last week was no exception. (Kelly Rippa and her co-host today Carson Kressley  just informed me April is Stress Awareness Month. I don't need a movement to be aware, I can tell you that.) In addition to the kids being on Spring Break and eager for at least one adventure a day, I had the refinancing of our house to contend with.


Putting together numerous paper trail records in a paperless world, and then scanning them so they become paperless again, had me teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown.


When it got really bad, I plonked down the mountain of paperwork at took the kids to see the Hunger Games, again. It was even better the second time!


Nothing reminds you of your financial obligations like refinancing a home. With property depreciation across the market, we're licking a $45K loss wound. Depression hovers like early morning haze. So, this week I brought out the sun.


I created a new board on my Pinterest wall. It's simply called, My Bucket List. The act of transferring my deepest desires into web-found images, where they materialize into tangible possibilities, has breathed new life force into my soul.


"Write a Novel" is on my list, of course. More on that later.


I only have 25 or so pins up, but the list will continue to grow. And I'm excited to say one item is already going to be checked off. My husband and I are currently working on our SCUBA Diving Certification. Fun!


To see My Bucket List board, CLICK HERE.


Life moves forward, so enjoy every lovely/maddening/beautiful/stressful/creative moment. And work to find your bliss, every.single.day.


Thanks for reading!

                                   


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Reminder for the Gentle Soul

Pillow Cover by textile artist Chloe Owens

Your work needs to be independent of others' work.

You must not compare yourself to others.
No one can help you. You have to help yourself.
Criticism leads to misunderstandings and defeatism.
Work from necessity and your compulsion to do it.
Work on what you know and what you are sure you love.
Don't observe yourself too closely, just let it happen.
Don't let yourself be controlled by too much irony.
Live in and love the activity of your work.
Be free of thoughts of sin, guilt and misgiving.
Be touched by the beautiful anxiety of life.
Be patient with the unresolve in your heart.
Try to be in love with the questions themselves.
Love your solitude and try to sing with its pain.
Be gentle to all of those who stay behind.
Your inner self is worth your entire concentration.
Allow your art to make extraordinary demands on you.
Bear your sadness with greater trust than your joy.
Do not persecute yourself with how things are going.
It's good to be solitary, because solitude is difficult.
It's good to love, because love is difficult.
You are not a prisoner of anything or anyone.



                                                        "Letters to a Young Poet", Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)