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.
I hear it more often than not...."I don't do resolutions for New Years....they last about a month and then things fall right back into the way they've always been."
I can understand that. That's why a few years ago I tried Subconscious Re-soul-utions.
At the end of the year...I make a very pretty, artsy list of all the things, situations, dreams, etc. I would like to have manifest in the upcoming year. I seal it in an envelope and put it somewhere where I can find it on December 31 of the upcoming year. Then I go about my year and forget what I put on the list.
The coolest thing is to open the envelope on December 31 to see what actually manifested on its own, what didn't manifest, and what morphed into something better.
After a few years of trying Subconsious Re-soul-utions on my own, I've started doing this ritual with a coach friend to see if it works for her as well...and now I'm offering this concept to everyone I know. The results have been fascinating. Sometimes we are so hard on ourselves we don't even realize we are working on manifesting something we really love and desire because we don't see the results soon enough. But this list is proof that in little increments we really do make dreams and resolutions come true.
If you do try Subconscious Re-soul-tions...let me know next year by posting on this blog what your results are.
