A Daily Practice

"Fish live in streams

Birds nest in trees

Human beings dwell

In warm hearts."

~Japanese folk Zen saying

Keeping my heart open is the plan for the day. It is the plan for everyday. It is a mantra, a philosophy, a way of life.

Keeping my heart open allows all my periodic fears to be passers by and not live-in lovers.

Keeping my heart open allows change and surprise to be trusted companions instead of unwelcome apes leaving banana peels across my path.

Keeping my heart open creates wonder within every breath I take, beneath every step I make and behind every blink of my big 'ol fascinated eyes.

Keeping my heart open is my daily practice.

What is your daily practice that supports you NO-MATTER-WHAT?

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New Art

"For me, a picture should be like sparks. It must dazzle like the beauty of a woman or a poem. It must have radiance; it must be like those stones which Pyrenean shepherds use to light their pipes." ~joan miro 

Joan Miro inspires my new creative work! Here is a sketch for a pendant to be fashioned from sheets of textured metal. It is the first project, of which I hope there will be many, in my new metalsmithing class!

What NEW THING have you begun that brings you joy?

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Art Opening Invitation

Come 6-9pm - art opening event - Friday Jan 30 - My paintings will be on display @ Coffee and Crepes 315 Crossroads Blvd, Cary, NC  27518. The show will run Jan 27-Feb 24! Opening is part of CARY ART LOOP'S Last Friday. See you there - it will be delicious!

~ These works are dedicated to a breeze that came by called Michael Chaves. I dance in his wake every single day!

Believing is Seeing

"But truer stars did govern Proteus’ birth
His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles,
His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate,
His tears pure messengers sent from his heart,
His heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth."
~william shakespeare

When I live from my past I am unable to see the future of things. Certainly I can hope for the way I want my life to unfold, but the quality and quantity and size of my dreams are contained if I only create from limited sense memories of places I have already experienced here in the physical world. 

However, when I allow my future to dictate my present the number of possible outcomes expands exponentially and I am only limited by my ability to picture what is in my head…and my heart! 

This is why I often make declarations. Possibilities are found in declarations. Possibilities are created by making declarations.

Declarations have become a vehicle which carries me past my old way of being. Declarations are transformal tools which I use to chisel away at what no longer serves me so I can reveal who I want to become. Declarations remove me from my past and catapult me toward my future. 

I make my declarations in the form of what I want to see manifest before my very eyes. When I make believe I am my very best self living my very best life I come up with choices I plan on making, people I plan on meeting and prophecy I plan on coming true. For me - believing is seeing.

"Belief" becomes the shovel that easily unearths new foundations - NO ACTUAL HEAVY LIFTING REQUIRED! By merely using my capacity to imagine, Belief easily creates my new awareness. It is then, as I become more and more nimble at this, it appears as if MAGIC is happening. But the truth is there is no magic, it is just little ol' me becoming more and more who I am meant to be!

What do you declare?

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Trust

“THE EDGE, there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”~hunter s. thompson

'Soft Verges' is a sign I saw posted whilst driving in the English countryside last year. Verges are the edges of the road. They are also, "She is on the verge of something great!" Or "He is on the verge of a nervous breakdown." If we are lucky we are always on the verge of something. That means we are living in discovery and all the time growing.

John O'Donohue writes, "Though we know one another's names and recognize one another's faces, we never know what destiny shapes each life. The script of individual destiny is secret; it is hidden behind and beneath the sequence of happenings that is continually unfolding for us. Each life is a mystery that is never finally available to the mind's light or questions. That we are here is a huge affirmation; somehow life needed us and wanted us to be. To sense and trust this primeval acceptance can open a vast spring of trust within the heart. It opens up our lives to become voyages of discovery, creativity, and compassion. No threshold need be a threat, but rather an invitation and a promise. Whatever comes, the great sacrament of life will remain faithful to us, blessing us always with visible signs of invisible grace. We merely need to trust."

Are there times you could make use of Trust?

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Good Fortune Awaits

"Dreaming without action is never going to get me what I desire"

I love this wonderful photo I captured today? I feel so lucky to have recognized the wonder of this moment. I am so glad to be alive and kicking. Seems this new year is begun with electricity, instead of blood, in my veins. 

I am kindred today with Harry, a feral cat, so fortunate to be given shelter by a local shopkeeper in this most luxurious manner. How does a cat of his wild sort achieve such good fortune? 

How do any of us get so lucky?

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