The universe keeps repeatedly bringing the message that talented visionaries are out there innovating creative ways to vastly improve the condition of our world.
Donna Karan took an issue that was painful to experience...witnessing her husband go through cancer treatment and be treated like a number or statistic and not a human. Out of this painful experience she created Urban Zen urbanzen.org...a phenomenal, heart-centered organization that trains practitioners to make medical care more human and nurturing. Not only does it create a more caring and healthy environment for patients, while educating everyone on the importance of holistic health practices, but it offers excellent training and creates jobs! As I keep checking in on the Urban Zen site, I watch it evolve and expand to even huger humanitarian levels! Bravo to these inspiring CH-ANGELS! You light a spark in all of us to explore how we can all use our lives to make the world a living dream!
Back in the days of Devo I was touring the US and Greenland in a dance band. We did some Devo songs and I just adored their philosophy of "de-evolution of man." I'm way inspired by Mark Mothersbaugh...the mad scientist behind Devo. Just to watch this video of where he's taken his creativity and how he takes on creative challenges has me way sparked! I'm especially impressed that he knows when to let go of projects when the thrill has ended. I had no idea my little baby girl was growing up listening to Devo's mastermind whenever she watched Pee Wee's playhouse!
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allownetworking="all" allowfullscreen="true"src="http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/static/flash/embeddedPlayer/swf/otvEmLoader.swf?version=&station=wabc§ion=&mediaId=8397843&cdnRoot=http://cdn.abclocal.go.com&webRoot=http://abclocal.go.com&configPath=/util/&site="> I saw this clip on the news yesterday.
It made me cry. It's so beautiful to see someone use their fame as a platform
to sincerely care for and nurture struggling fellow beings. And Jon Bon Jovi is
crediting his lovely wife for igniting this project..as well as the volunteers
who passionately put their energy into this project to make it happen.
It's so exciting to see people both
being innovative with a tangible plan and doing their part to alleviate the
suffering going on in our world right now.
As Jon Bon Jovi calls it....The
Power of We is a very powerful action. I'm so thrilled to witness the
whispers of hope that people are creating by taking situations into their own
hands to create healthy change in the world.
I think I was about 7 years old when I wrote this. It says: "On Sat, Nov 20 I went to the Field Museum. My Mommy took me with her. My Mommy did sketches while I went to the toy shop and glanced at the interesting things they had on display. At the toy store I bought two barometer dogs. Then I watched my Mommy make sketches. When I was glancing around I saw another lady sketching. When my Mommy was finished with her sketch she moved to another display. Soon, it was time to go, so I waited for my Mommy to clean up...at the toy shop. At the toy shop a lady had to sell 17 cents before she left...so a guard bought two 10-cent pencils and said "Now you know what you're getting for Christmas." Then my Mommy came for me and Daddy picked us up and we went home.
I thought I got into journaling when I first discovered the book "Artist's Way" in the 90s. But recently, a dear friend inspired me to dig up some childhood drawings I had mentioned...and because she was thoughtful enough to ask to see some of it... I found a huge stash of sketches from my childhood! What a trip! I had sketchbooks from age 6, drawings from age 3, and I found I also used to art journal as a young girl. I found this entry I typed and sketched of my Mom sketching at the Field Museum in Chicago. I remember the feeling as a child of loving to draw and always drawing whenever I could. I didn't have that adult fear of "it's not good enough"...I'd just draw whatever I felt. I wonder how...that childhood wild abandon gets trained out of us when we become adults.
Ever see something so sad it makes you laugh? This is a good example of that. Things like this really did go on back then! The subtle ways we learned perfectionism!
I spent Indy Day watching the Twilight Zone-athon and couldn't help, but notice the female characters were either bimbos or helpless without a man! In fact, most 60s entertainment still had that feel. Generations after baby boomer women sure missed out on some helpless bimbo fun! Thank Goddess for evolution!
I'm noticing a coachy flavor to my artwork lately. I dedicate this piece to anyone who has given their precious energy to a situation where they feel in their heart of hearts they aren't being appreciated. This is a situation that I think everyone has experienced at one time or another.... whether it's a job or some type of relationship or any other situation where one feels compromised or like they're selling out their life's energy. It's a challenge to keep putting one foot in front of the other without acknowledgment. Do we have a choice in this? Or is this just a part of the process? I know this is a dark issue to observe, but an interesting one to explore.
If we do find ourself in this situation...what can we add to our life that will remind us how important our efforts are? That is where true prosperity is found! No matter what's going on outside....never forget about the wealth going on inside or lose sight of who YOU truly are.
Last October my Mom's precious Sashi left his container to go to a better place. From my own experience, losing a pet is one of life's most painful experiences. They are our true teachers of unconditional love and they are by our side no matter what it is we're going through.
The October day Sashi departed, I did a prayer ritual and then laid down a tarp to create a garden in his memory. I'm not the greatest gardener, but I knew this rocky soil would stay moist during the winter and be easier to dig come Spring after a tarp was placed over it.
When Spring finally arrived...and it took long this year to do so....I uncovered Sashi's garden area, placed:
fertilizer,
leaves I didn't rake up last fall,
and garden soil
in the memorial space.
I was warned to use only organic fertilizer. When I dumped the first bag on the space there was a plastic cigar filter in it....it made me laugh. What a visual commentary on natural and organic!
This is called a spiral garden. I learned of these in Marney Makridakis' Daily Museletter which is currently no longer published, but will return some day. Cool newsletter...sparky and filled with sites and sights to see...and I'm sharing this site that she had posted there...because I'm proof that even a beginner can make a spiral garden...http://www.theherbspiral.com/spiral/ChooseSpot.htm
Here is Sashi Memorial Garden with seedlings planted. I am thrilled to be growing vegetables and herbs that I have a hand in raising. I love knowing how they were handled...as opposed to eating groceries that may later on request recalls because of ecoli or other scary threats. Plus with grocery prices climbing so fast and pay scales not following suit....food is becoming a purchase only for the elite!
With his seeds of intent, Sashi nurtured those who met him through his special personality....and now there is a spiral garden dedicated in his honor that will nurture all who partake in what its seeds of intent manifest.
Thank you for blessing my life path with your brief visit, Sashi. And whoever reads this...thank you, too, for sharing your visit on my path as well!
Whenever I used to hear the word, "stupid" I'd cringe. And this is only because someone in my daily childhood life labeled me stupid and went into an abusive rage if I pretty much expressed myself ever. This makes me wonder if introversion is nature or nurture. But, it also groomed me to become a coach who strongly supports expressing and living our truth.
I recall Eckhart Tolle discussing the experience of being given the "stupid" label by someone during childhood. And he asked us to consider what type of person would feel it's okay to do such a thing? I also recall Barbara Sher inviting us to explore the up side of being given that label.
Have you ever done something where you were treated as though you were stupid for doing it...then time went by and it turned out to be smarter than you ever knew?
I remember a college professor suggesting we buy a certain out-of-print book for research purposes in his class. It cost $60, used, and I figured if he suggested it, it's important. When I brought this book to class, I found nobody else thought it was worth the money to own it and the teacher even said in front of the class,
"You bought that book? I saw that on Amazon. Is that where you got it? You must've paid WAY too much money for it!"
I felt pretty stupid for buying it for about ten years, until I ended-up selling that book for three times the price to someone who way appreciated they could find and own a copy of it at all at "such an affordable price."
The wildest creativity stems out of trying on ideas that may be labelled stupid or unacceptable. And why not try on "stupid" ideas, refining them to their brilliance a step at a time? I know "the failure factor" of any endeavor can feel like a stupid mistake. But that's the time to tap into your inner Edison. Thomas Edison accepted failure as though it was as common as brushing his teeth. He's proof that eventually it all comes together...and most likely not in the way we expect it to, or in the timeline expected.
So, being seasoned in of the art of stupid....I suggest exploring what stupid can do for you when you make friends with it, find the up side of it and especially learn from it. I think you're going to find that stupid and bravery have a lot in common and that there's a fine line between stupid and brilliant anyway!
"The Sketchbook Challenge"for January asked for "Our Most Prized Possession." As mentioned in this sketch, energy is one thing we all radiate, whether intentionally or not.
I took an energy seminar that changed my perception of live beings forever. I love to study the energy people and animals give off when I meet them, the energy I may be giving off, and how aware we all are of what we give off.
When a particular event, memory, issue, problem is going on in our mind, it shows up in our energy and how we come across to others. (I believe quality actors/actresses have this down!) That is how physically we are connected to our emotions.
If you ever want to have an entertaining day...go out in public, watch people on TV, listen to voices on the phone, radio or recording, and just observe the energy we all give off!
I have to say I have the coolest art gallery of friends a person could ever dream of having in their life! What a way to start the year...one of my best friends took me to see an exhibit of one of my hugest life influences....Andy Warhol. We snuck over to that exhibit between the cracks of the threatening weather that's been hanging around this winter in the East.
What I took away with me from seeing that exhibit was how much Warhol loved process. He experimented with it all the time. No wonder I have such a huge attraction to Warhol! I love to leave results to form themselves and truly get lost in process. Warhol knew this was the way to live life. Adoring process and allowing the outcome to stem out of our loving the process creates a work of art out of all we do in life.
