A Nice Reminder

Never was there a child more suitably named than my Emily.  (Her name means "industrious.)  There really isn't much down time in that brain of hers.  The other day she was waiting for me to get ready to run errands with her and suddenly our leafy front yard became her ginormous canvas.

Whoever creates the crop circles in England has nothing on my girl.  She made a really beautiful design in the leaves while she waited on her dawdling mother. 

How liberating it is to just enjoy the process of creating...to simply enjoy exploring and expressing.  It doesn't require a fancy art studio or expensive supplies and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of our efforts.  Thank you. Emily, for for reminding me to see potential in everyday objects and sieze the opportunity to play and create and enjoy this beautiful world.

Better Late than Never...

Julia at  Drawn to the Sea had a great idea when she announced First Word Friday last week.  I was excited about participating again and thought I would post something early this morning, but you see how well I followed through on that one.  (There's not a whole lot of Friday left at this point.)  Let's give it a go anyway, shall we?  As a reminder, here is how Julia introduced her idea:

Posting in short bursts invites you to interact, to be part of the process. Sometimes I simply offer a little vignette... & hope it speaks to you, or through you. Will you share a little of the story you see in the photo above (or in my case, below), in three sentences or less?

The first word is Before...

I really do hope you'll take a moment to jot down a piece of the story this image inspires in you.  What lies beyond this doorway?  Is it the beginning of a journey or the end?

If you get a chance, visit Drawn to the Sea to see others who are participating and read responses to the beautiful photo Julia posted.  That's what I'm off to do right now.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Thoughts and Images

I hope you are finding much joy and beauty in your world today. As promised, I've put together a collection of thoughts from the great poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, and images from my own portfolio to inspire and calm your creative spirit...

Seek those (themes) which your everyday life offers you; describe your sorrows, desires, passing thoughts and belief in some sort of beauty.

Describe all these with loving, quiet, humble sincerity and use to express yourself, the things in your environment, the images from your dreams, and the objects of your memory.

If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself. Tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches. For to the creator there is no poverty and no poor, indifferent place.

Perhaps it will turn out that you are called to be an artist. Then take that destiny upon yourself and bear it, its burden and its greatness, without ever asking what recompense might come from outside.

Your life will in any case find its own ways thence. That they may be good, rich and wide I wish you more than I can say.

Quotations taken from Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, translation by M.D. Herter Norton

All images were captured in the woods that surrounds our home.

English Breakfast Tea

So we were out of coffee this morning and I had to "make do" with tea. O, happy day! I'd forgotten how much I love a good cup of English breakfast tea. Inspired, I pulled out my favorite tea pot and picked a few flowers for the table. It became a morning beverage event.

Please understand, I do love coffee, but lately I've been drinking it more out of habit than by conscious choice. Believe it or not, this small change in routine set the tone for my entire day. It started me thinking "outside the box" to find creative solutions to all sorts of challenges. Maybe you're not mindlessly drinking the same beverage every morning, but chances are you're in some other rut and making little changes in your routine can transform your thought process. You might even be amazed to find your attitude much more positive and hopeful.

It's not necessary to visit a foreign country or go bungee jumping but it wouldn't hurt to be a little daring. Try wearing a weird hat while cooking dinner or dancing in the grocery store aisle when no one is looking. (Don't worry about the security cameras...I'm sure they record that kind of stuff all the time.) Just do some little thing out of the ordinary today and see how much more creative and alive you feel.