Instant Inspiration

A belated, and no less heartfelt, shout out to Jessica Brogan of In Search of Dessert for her, uh, inspiration – and hard work – to bring together no less than 52 artists for the amazing Inspiration Deck Swap. For participating I am now the proud recipient of 52 unique and little art pieces of inspiration – that I refer to any time I need.

Inspiration provided not only by the words, but by the love and creativity that were poured into each and every one. I will likely never meet most – or any – of these artists, but my gratitude goes out to them for sharing their creativity with me.

Christine Mason Miller also deserves mucho credit for her book – Desire to Inspire – which was ultimately the inspiration for this amazing exchange. Thanks Jessica and Christine and all the wonderful artists that participated. I feel so fortunate to have this deck of beautiful and instant inspiration.

Here’s a wee peek at the pile I created and sent to Jessica for inclusion. I hope my cards are bringing immense joy to their recipients!

If you’re inspired to create your own deck, Jessica offers some easy instructions for doing this. Check out Inspiration Deck instructions here.

Have Fun. Be Inspired.

Magical Sand Dunes Adventure

Sand Dunes
Pulsing River
Animal Tracks in the wet sand
Sliver Moonset – A Smile
Feel the Earth Rotate
Starry Night
Barefeet in the Sand
Hiking Up and Running Down
more Tracks
Flowing Pulsing River

– a poem created from the stream of consciousness words lettered in my journal.

My camera is not good enough to even attempt capturing the moon. It would have been a waste of my time when I could just take it in – remember with my mind’s eye. I breathed in the tiniest sliver of a smile moon I have ever seen (with Venus and Jupiter hanging in the sky above). I watched her smile from the moment she appeared in the sky until the final glow disappeared behind the dunes. It truly gave me the sense that there is a force much larger than me. I felt the earth was rotating.

I also felt a real connection with the earth as we meandered along Medano Creek – it pulses, and you can see it, hear it, feel it if you take the time to stop and BE there.

It was a beautiful spring weekend – a little shocking that the surrounding mountains were so devoid of snow (snow pack for this creek basin is at about 59% of average as of this writing). But since there is nothing I can do to convince mother nature to bring us moisture I enjoyed the wonder of bare feet in the sand, in March.

I love the surprises this lovely spring getaway offered – the smile new moon, bare feet, the pulsing river (I’ve never seen it running before), and magical shadows.

What ever your spring may hold, I hope you will take a moment to thank our great mother earth for the riches she has provided us. And ask her to keep healthy – and then do the best you can to help take care of her!

Crazy, fun ideas

I’ve been really inspired lately from participating in Jennifer Lee’s Right Brainers in Business Video Summit – Beyond the Business Plan. My journal can attest to all kinds of crazy, fun ideas bubbling to the surface:

Coloring it out, and sharing with some of my new creative cohorts is keeping that energy moving forward.

How do you harness those ideas that bubble to the surface?

Love to laugh…

Last Friday morning I was making a banner for a friend’s 5oth surprise birthday party that afternoon. I didn’t have much time to agonize over it, so I made two practice letters and went for it. Later I chuckled when I looked at the two letters laying on the floor. HA! ha ha ha!

I added a few more ha ha and hee hee’s to it to make it a reminder to laugh, if even only with and at myself. Laughter is a good cure all for many things!

the birthday banner, before the birthday girl arrived

the birthday girl arrives

Although the party was not a total surprise – it was an evening full of laughter & smiles!

Laughing feels good and is good for you. Here are some fun videos that just might spur you on…hee, hee, hee

Happy Laughing! ha ha ha, tee hee hee hee!

Journal Dreamboard

It is the full moon! And tonight we might see her beautiful face because the sky is crystal clear.

The yogini and beautiful arrangement of candles on my board are helping me to be grounded with all the inspiration, color and ideas that are swirling around me. You know, the kind that make your heart beat with excitement and also with anxiety on where to begin and what to do next!

Yep – that is where I am.

I have received some sage advice from two different places in the past few days: Pick three things you want to do each day, and then go forth and get them done. I love this advice – it makes me think more simply!

This month I’m dreamin’ about big forward movement, three steps a day, with my wonder – full creative life!

How are you dreamin’ big this month?

Wandering…aimlessly

is good for my body & my soul!

This past holiday weekend we decided to leave the ski area to the tourists, and no new snow vanquished the appeal for a trek into the backcountry. Some times those weekends are nice. My time was open for…whatever?

This weekend I tried to let that be and not over plan – which is often my modus operandi.

I spent time in my studio

Wandering in my journaling

I spent time outside wandering with my hubby.

Tim and I like to take walks in our backyard – wandering aimlessly on the trails or around town, with no destination or plan.

Sometimes my mind races – thinking about all kinds of ideas and possibilities.
Sometimes my mind goes blank until the thoughts creep back in.
And sometimes I just soak in the place, the space, the day.
Wandering with no real plan is good for all of this!

And our backyard has so many places to explore.  Even though we’ve wandered these routes many times before each time is a different, beautiful experience.
This weekend’s down time and wandering reminded me of being a kid again. I used to love to explore in the nearby park and arboretum, and I didn’t need an agenda. It was great to feel this sense of play in myself – and to realize as an adult this is really good for my body, and for my soul. As my adult self the wandering was easy on my body, yet active. It filled my creative well. It provided beautifully easy and intimate time with my hubby. And the twist – even though I’ve done this before it had not struck me quite this way. I’m looking forward to more of this wandering time again soon!

What do you enjoy when you can wander with no agenda? How does this feed your body and your soul?

Holding Hands

Holding hands is one of the most special forms of affection between two people. You can hold hands just about anywhere – and the average onlooker will never understand the intimacy that you feel with the other person. It feels special to intertwine fingers with a person you love – to feel the strength in their hold, the love in their heart – no matter where you might be, no matter what the situation.

Holding hands is not just for lovers. A child feels secure with their hand intertwined into their mother’s. Two children love to skip along hand-in-hand. Between friends a squeeze of hands can say a thousand words.

Thank you to the contributors of Flickr’s Creative Commons for sharing these beautiful images!
I loved seeing all the ways people photograph this simple gesture of love.

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Sometimes I like to ‘hold my own hand’ – after all it’s important for each of us to be our own best friend. The art piece above includes both of my hands. I didn’t really think it through as I began the piece as a personal mapping project. But as I sat with the piece the intimacy of holding hands bubbled to the surface, and it became apparent that this needed to be my valentine – to share with my world.

Thank you for being part of my world! I wish you all a beautiful Valentine’s Day, and month of love.

Now grab the hand of someone you love and let them feel how much you care.

xoxo, L