366 HOPE

 I am so loving the Honoring Our Precious Earth (366 HOPE) project that I began a week ago. I thought I was doing a really selfless thing, committing to spending some time each day in prayer and meditation for our earth. And instead of photos, which can get too caught up with ego for me, one of my daughters suggested I do art and so each morning, I spend half an hour writing my Earth prayer for the day and doing art in combination with it. I am SO not an artist in that way, and so this seemed challenging and also perfect. No too much problem with ego when you pretty much suck at something and have zero expectations. Not going to be showing it to anyone or posting it here! And so in that way, it became a more private project that I had at first envisioned, and I really like that.

What I didn't expect was what a total boon this would be; how amazing that half an hour ends up being, how lost and mindless I get in the writing, and then the colors and shapes and doodles that present themselves on the page. How deep I go inside myself; like a kid again with crayons and a piece of paper, creating only for the sake of creating, no agenda, nothing that has to look a certain way, be defended or acceptable, or god love us, get a grade. What a relaxing, inspiring, fun, meditative joy it has been.

I'm also noticing my relationship with nature changing. I'm drawn more and more to be outside, and feeling more and more comfortable when I am; less afraid, more nurtured. This morning I went to one of our wilderness parks, found the creek that runs through it and a rock to sit on and stayed for a good chunk of the morning. I've always been afraid to be out in nature alone... it's a woman thing, a conspicuous thing, a mountain lion/rattlesnake thing... and yet there I was.

It seems like it's also a dolphin thing... planting seeds, watering them... watching in awe as they sprout and grow, knowing there is no way I could have choreographed this. And once again, I'm just so blown away.

* * * * * 

And p.s., these photos were taken with my new Lensbaby lens... I don't even really know what I'm doing with it yet, and already I'm so in love. The Lensbaby motto is "See in a New Way"... how perfect is that?! It's all about blur and choosing exactly what is in focus and amazing bokeh and infinite new creative potential. :))

How About You?

This morning when I went to the park, there were so many crows, and they were raising a huge ruckus. I mean loud, so loud and so continuous that I finally just had to stop meditating (or trying to!) and marvel at them. Perched high in a couple of the big, broad trees, deep black shapes against the sky and the foliage, new ones flying in, announcing their arrival, it was a beautiful sight.

When I got home, I looked them up in my Animal Speaks book, and here's what Ted Andrews has to say about them:

Wherever crows are there is magic. They are symbols of creation and spiritual strength. They remind us to look for opportunities to create and manifest the magic of life. They are messengers calling to us about the creation and magic that are alive within our world every day and available to us. 

It's hard not to be in awe... every moment, actually. If we just look around, pay attention, be aware. Nature is magical. She is mystical. She has so much to share with us, show us, teach us; so many ways to inspire, to amaze, to help, to heal even. Do you ever stop to think that our lives are completely and utterly dependent upon Her? That without Her, there would be no life, period?

My wonderful & amazing friend Jill has decided to start her own Honoring Nature project this Monday as well. I'm wondering if there's anyone else out there who might want to join in? It doesn't have to be much... maybe even just a moment during the day, an alarm set on the phone, to remind you to stop what you're doing. and think about our Earth home. Or as you're waking up, or just before going to sleep, when the sun sets, the wind blows through the turning leaves, the crow caws. When you eat that tomato, that piece of chicken, drink the milk, be it cow's, almond, or coconut, gas up the car, when you read or hear that she, our planet, our home, is in peril. Maybe pause for just a moment... send out a little thought... a thank you, a prayer...  a little piece of  your heart.

Image from the 2011 Official Earth Day Poster, Words by Llewellyn Vaughan Lee, beautiful font by Bright Ideas, Typography design by me. 

Maybe There Really Are No Mistakes

Artist Unknown, which is too bad, I would love to credit the creator of this beautiful image.

Maybe Blogger knows what it's doing after all... or is in cahoots with some greater invisible wisdom, mysteriously sending out random old posts - that are weirdly changing things. The first one actually got me writing again, this last one, from yesterday, about the (former and incomplete) 365 Grateful project has got me seriously thinking...

Thinking about a possible new project: about making a commitment to something meaningful; about honoring nature, our planet, our beautiful Mother Earth. It most likely will involve 365 days, and photos, it might even involve prayer - though that said, since I'm not religious, I'm never sure who or what exactly I'm praying to... and yet I believe in the power of prayer; thought is energy, energy makes our world go round.

Next Monday evening (my local time) is autumn equinox. Here in North America, autumn equinox marks the first day of fall. It's when the day and the night are (almost) exactly equal in length. It's when the sun passes into the sign of Libra. Nights and mornings are brisk, leaves are beginning to turn, change is in the very air itself. It's the time of harvest, of completion; and also, in spite of the fact that we normally wait to do this at the calendar new year, it's the time for assessment, for shedding the old; it's a time of transition, and planting the seeds of new growth and goals. So stay tuned... it seems like the perfect time to take on something new...

And thank you to this weird random Blogger/Universe thing for setting this whole idea in motion


The autumn equinox opens the cycle of the Year of the Soul for one who wishes to attune to the true mysteries of Nature.   ~Ted Andrews, Nature - Speak: Signs, Omens, & Messages in Nature

What's Going On With Blogger??

Some of you receive new posts by email... and I appreciate all of you who subscribe to my blog. A couple of times lately, for reasons I have no idea of, old posts have been emailed out again. So, if you get an old post, please disregard it... and I will see if I can figure out what's going on.

Thanks so much!
Love,
Debby

Words

I have always loved Kahlil Gibran. I know I was in my late teens when I was introduced to his work, though I have no idea how that came about... except that it was the 60's... a time when his writing, especially The Prophet, made a big resurgence. (Ah... the 60's...!)

That I have owned a copy of this book since I was that age says a lot about my love of words. The right words have the capacity to carry me far away... and at the same time, to bring me so deeply inside, so squarely home. They can melt my heart in an instant, leave me breathless, inspire, bring understanding, wisdom even, touch places that are - weirdly - beyond language. Certain poems, song lyrics, quotes, that single paragraph in a novel can be magical, and can captivate me like few other things. In fact, to say that I love words doesn't begin to cover it. It's a love affair, plain and simple.

There has been a longing in me for quite a while now to begin incorporating words with some of my photos. Since I began learning about typography and the art of design a couple of years ago, since discovering the beautiful fonts that people are creating, I have wanted to venture out into a whole new branch of creating; combining in my art images, words, fonts, feeling...  though I haven't said a word, because fear and anxiety have stopped me. Fear and anxiety, those god-awful twins, that can so keep me paralyzed...

I am in a seven-week Wisdom Goddess course that is exploring the Hindu goddesses. This week we are studying and meditating on Kali... always known as the great destroyer, yet now what I'm learning is that what she destroys is untruths and things that keep us stuck, and that what she desires more than anything for us is absolute liberation and freedom. This morning, while sitting against a big beautiful oak tree meditating, I offered Kali the cloak of fear and anxiety that I have worn since I was at least five years old. It was heavy, beyond cumbersome, there was fear even in the removing of it, but I was able to, and I handed it up to her, where she danced atop a roaring fire. I watched as she dropped the garment in the fire, sat mesmerized as it went up in flames and was quickly reduced to ashes. All the while she continued her dance and stared lovingly, so incredibly lovingly, straight into my eyes. And now here I am, a few hours later, putting into words what I have been afraid to say... which is, what I want to do with words.