Tuesday, December 18, 2012

THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL......

 A celebration of light,
Birth and renewal of spirit,
Sharing and love among family, friends, and strangers alike.
My gift to all is a wish for peace, love and compassion as we share in the celebration of Solstice, Christmas and Kwanza. 

Happy Holidays!  











Monday, November 26, 2012

BIRTH DAYS........

Today is my birthday.  I am never quite sure how to define this day.  We didn't celebrate birthdays growing up.  But everything tells me they are supposed to be a big deal, according to social norms.  

I like to consider every day a birthday/birth day.  Every day is a celebration of my being. Every day an opportunity to open my eyes to see the world in a new and different light.  Every day a desire to crawl out of my sheltered, comfortable self and expose myself to new ideas, new connections, new experiences.  Every day a time to celebrate and embrace who I am and who I am becoming.  

This year, as with all the others, I will be blessed with ripples and tides - the joys and challenges of life.  I will find adventures and surprises in the cracks and crevices, places that I didn't expect.  I will curse the passing of time, feeling like I never have enough hours, weeks, years to experience all that I wish to experience.  

And yet, I will end each day richer and with a heart more full than the day before, with all the many little miracles I get to be witness to and be a part of, in this simple and complex, mundane and exciting life of mine.  










Wednesday, November 21, 2012

BLESSINGS AND GRATITUDE.....

THE PRACTICE OF GIVING THANKS.

Wake each morning with gratitude for all that is - the chance for another breath; another experience; the crossing of another's path; another day to practice living from the heart; another opportunity for growth and adventure.

As night falls, and the night skies are filled with wonder, count the blessings of one more day in this precious life. 

Happy Thanksgiving. 
Blessings and gratitude for all the many gifts I have received this day, and every day.  And all the many opportunities I get to pay forward all the gifts I have received.  



 




Tuesday, November 13, 2012

ADIRONDACK REFLECTIONS

Reflections at the top of Shelving Rock Falls, Lake George, NY,  in the Adirondacks.

In search of magic. It was a day of chasing the light.   Closing in on the day, after hours of shooting, it happened.   Another miracle of Mother Nature.  We arrived in time to bear witness to the most breathtaking natural beauty. It was temporary.  It would fade with time.   As the light changed, so would this spectacular moment.  

Love at first sight! 








Friday, November 9, 2012

ADIRONDACK LOVE


Adirondack morning.  Heavy rains fell the night before, helping to create a rich palette of color.   A collection of paintings, each one with its own story.










COLOR ME HAPPY

Neatly lined up in a row,  each one with its own unique colors and design.  All the same, but different.

Like a new box of crayons.   I can't help but smile and get excited to create something out of a bunch of the fantastically colored stems. Soon, they will lose their vibrance and become part of the landscape.   I want to be inspired by they sturdiness, their uniqueness in being the last flowers of the season.  Simple yet wonderfully filed with substance.

They make me want to jump up and down, dance in circles and sing loud notes.   They inspire me to take out a paint brush and start putting big, bright, bold strokes of color across the canvas.

Simple inspiration.







Sunday, September 9, 2012

DWELL IN POSSIBILITY.....


Allow room for hopes and dreams. 
Open space for new things to form.
Dreams are full of possibility. 
In living color, breathe in the dream of what could be, 
dwell in the possibility, 
and have hope of one day, 
a reality.   




Wednesday, August 29, 2012

THE LEDGE....

She stepped out on the ledge. One foot in front of the other, one step at a time.  Moving carefully, and intentionally,  so as not to make a mistake in her attempt to make it from where she started to where she was going.  One wrong move and she risked falling from the ledge.

She stopped and stood, somewhere in the middle, unsure of herself.  Looking for a sign, something to give her peace of mind that whichever way she turned, there would be something in the end waiting for her.

Looking first one way, then the other.  Each direction posing different challenges.  Each requiring some risk, most of which could not be predicted.   Movement into unknown places, unsure of what she might find.  Observing, listening for anything that might present obstacles along the way.

What if she were to step just right, lose her balance and fall?  Which way was best?  How could she move forward without knowing what lies ahead? Which direction would give her the most reward for her efforts? Which place would she feel most at ease, happy to have arrived?

Could she attempt to find her center, balance herself where she has landed, or would she always be curious about what she might be missing in either direction? 

But then she remembered.  She had come from one of those places. Her walk had originated from one end of the ledge.  She began this journey looking for new adventures, new beginnings, new perspectives.  It made sense now.  She had to keep moving forward.  In order to know what was possible, she had to make herself vulnerable and take risks, aware of a familiar place she was leaving behind, and unsure of what she might find in the end.

It's all about choice and embracing that which we choose.  We must lose something in order to gain something.  Close one door and open another.  Or stay in a place of complacency and indecisiveness and risk losing it all.  

It's all about the process, the journey, the lessons learned along the way.  It's about never really knowing what might have been missed and being okay with that.  It's all about taking risks, inviting challenges and meeting them, and in doing so, conquering the ledge, knowing that if we are to fall, we can always climb back up and start where we left off again, with new perspectives, new questions, new learnings.  



Monday, August 27, 2012

MOSAIC..........

Parts and pieces.  Pieces and parts.  Each with its own design and function.  An assortment of interesting, intriguing, colorful puzzle pieces, formed and brought together to create a work of art.  The things that make you uniquely you, and me uniquely me.  There is no one else exactly like us on this earth.
Collectively, a beautiful medley,
all part of a greater mosaic masterpiece.              








Friday, August 17, 2012

A COURSE IN TRUTH..........

It's one or the other.
It's this or that.
It's right or wrong.
It's good or bad. 
It's black or white.

We like things in neatly packaged boxes, organized and categorized, filed in places that are easily recognizable.  It gives us a feeling of security and control.  It helps us make sense of the world.  If only life were this simple and clean. 

Change and growth,
Beauty and balance,
Truth.

These things happen somewhere in between, 
somewhere in the shades of gray.