Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tuesday Tips - June 19 - Resources for Creativity

Here are some great Tuesday Tips from June 19, 2012 for Creative People and Ideas

TODAYS TOPIC - FUN!
Doodling while watching TV
1. Sometimes we just need to have fun.  For me I usually draw or paint, but there are so many fun things you can create:
You can find many other great ideas at 21 Tools to Unlock Your Creativity   

Please pass this along using social buttons below...or leave us your tip in comments.  Keep Laughing!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Fabulous Friday June 15 Includes Personal Miracle

Fabulous Friday This Week Has A Real Personal Twist for Me

I finally went out and got the new computer I have needed for sometime.

Although it is a hunk of metal that sets and receives bits of info, still it is shiny, new and finally has some speed and new capacities to help me. YAY.

HERE COMES THE MIRACLE STORY

Today I went in to pick up my computer from a  great guy who has his own computer and home theater business close to where I live.  From there I was going to meet a girlfriend for coffee.

I thought about it as I pulled into the Starbucks parking lot - do I take this new baby indoors with me or hide it in the trunk?  I chose to take it in with me, wanting to keep it safe, and repeating the mantra to myself...

DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT FORGET YOUR NEW LAPTOP
I had a business meeting following our girl fest and of course, I left too late so I hustled out the cafe' with purse in one hand, car keys in the other.  Not even the slightest inclination was on my brain about the new laptop that was sitting on the floor by the window.

Almost at the next appointment, I went through the mental checklist of what I needed to think and prepare before heading into the meeting. It dawned on me like a ton of bricks...and although I was on the phone at the time, I groaned out "OMG - OH NO OH NO OH NO!"  My business partner on the other side NO DOUBT had numb ear for hours following the conversation.

I was in such a panic, I couldn't speak and hung up the phone.   Immediately I called the Starbucks.
Of course, at first they don't know what I am saying, and then she left the phone to go check.
No, I am sorry there is nothing inside the store or outside on the tables.  No sorry.
I was literally horrified that I had done something so absolutely stupid.  I asked the woman I was meeting if she could please excuse me and we could reschedule, and said I needed to head back to the original spot (now 45 away as it's rush hour traffic).  She was gracious, hugged me, and while in her embrace I hear that she is saying a quick prayer for me and my new and vanished laptop, to be reunited.

While driving, I cried, groaned, moaned, agonized and tried to think of who I could call, what I could do.

THEN THE MIRACLE HAPPENED

I remembered the morning meditation.  It was from Eckhart Tolle and I had shared it with my girlfriend over coffee only 2 or 3 hours before (and on Facebook earlier that morning) with a "sure, I believe and practice this" attitude.  Get ready...this is a bender:

This doesn't say GO WITH FLOW, or TAKE A CHILL PILL, or EMBRACE SUFFERING.   You know, all the typical meditation mumbo jumbo that is supposed to help me be a better survivor. :-)
It says - accept it as if you had CHOSEN IT.


When I shared it with Carole over coffee I remember she said, "Oh No, that would be hard to do," and I thought at the time, "well not really - you train yourself that way."

Now only 2 hours later, I am remembering the meditation, the words, and my comfy arrogance with the concept.

Why was I even driving back there anyway?  The girl who checked said she looked everywhere and it wasn't there.  But as I drove I kept thinking about these words of Tolle's and how would I go about DOING that "Chosen Thing".

SO, pondering the depths of the idea - I asked for guidance, and this is what I did:

I said to Life - "I take full responsibility for this incident."  I not only foolishly forgot the laptop but I also accept that I have chosen this moment - it is my creation, and it is as it should be.  I decided that when I walked back out of the Starbucks door, after going in to check on things myself, if I did not find the laptop, I would be happy, just like if I did.  And I would accept that there is more to the picture than I realize and that all is well.

You can only imagine my surprise when I went right back to my seat, looked on the floor by the stool to see my laptop, in the case, setting by the stool, next to the two men who took our table when we left.  They had been there the whole time- standing guard as it were.

I know, you will tell me that no matter what I had chosen, the laptop would have been there - but I am not so sure.  All I do know, is that before I went into that cafe, I had once again become the master of my destiny - valuing joy and well-being over possessions, accepting the uncertainty of my mistake as an opportunity for wonder.

And tonight, as I type symbolically and literally on my new laptop, I am exactly that: full of wonder!
Have a fabulous Friday!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Here I AM

Do you ever feel like you are watching your own life?
Here I am - Watching my own life - unfolding, becoming, allowing, resisting, releasing.


Here I am present to what is, maybe hoping for what isn`t, and finding edgy peace with the whole lot.


Here I am, a little lost- but mostly found, observing the vastness, richness and texture of my existence


Dreaming again of the next moment and then standing by with curiosity, watching it unfold.


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Back in the Saddle and a Little Sore From the Ride

I have felt so sick for the past two weeks - that even tho I work from home and make money when I make clients happy - I was not able to work, or do much of anything. 
Every day I went to bed thinking - tomorrow I will wake up right as rain...but alas, it dragged and so did I.

Today I feel as tho I am finally coming to life.  I thought I might share a couple of people who showed up on my canvass lately.

This gal to your left - she is the orphan matron that I met 20 years ago when working in The Soviet Union.  She was harsh, dedicated, cold, heartless ( I felt so anyway) and consistent.  I thought I had forgotten her, but I guess in my feverish state, she came for a visit.

I actually like her A LOT.  But I think its probably due to the memories.


Then there is the woman who came to visit recently when I was working on painting "cotton candy girls".
Although none of my CCGirls seem to look to cotton candy like, she takes the
Cake!  She is middle aged, tired, but look at her body!  In my chills and delirium
I think I fancied a bust line and less belly.  What a look!
She is drawn with india ink on acrylic ink and glaze substrate.

Really grateful to be feeling better.  ( So is my paintbrush I am sure!)