I’m Loving . . .

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Inspiration Monday

This morning, I am loving . . .

that I live in South Carolina and it is February 21st and today’s high will be 73 degrees.

the painting that I hope to finish today. She is beautiful and holds so much energy

peaceful parenting, though society and certain circles may try to demand something else, may try to stir up fear and anxiety, I can rest in loving my children, living with them in grace and mercy and understanding.  Today I celebrate the choices we have made.  I am the first to admit that I am not always a perfect mother but I am a good mother and if I am a tiger at all, it is the battle on behalf of my children, for them, for them, for them.

the anticipation of a weekend trip with my love and the opportunity to meet someone who is a huge inspiration in my life.

green smoothies and grapefruit juice.

hooping again. and again, the wonderful weather.

sharing some important words with the people …

 

If you read nothing else I post today, please, please, PLEASE read this very important post at Momastery.  I will die on that same mountain.

 

 

Have compassion for everyone you meet, even
when they don’t want it.

What seems conceit, bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign of things no
ears have heard, no eyes have seen.

You do not know what wars are going on
down there where the spirit meets the bone.
-
Miller Williams

via roots of she

 

 

 

Go there. Read, read and read more and make your own declaration …

YOU ARE ENOUGH!

 

 

 

Pretty? Absolutely NOT!

via roots of she

 

 

 

Inside every woman is the wylde child she was born
and to whom she returns as crone
who has rediscovered her childlike self.

the journey in between is called life.
…
There is no dress rehearsal.

Tammy Vitale

 

 

 

No one has really asked my opinion about Amy Chua’s book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.  But just in case you can’t guess my thoughts, Peter Gray sums it up very nicely:

If we want a system of education that is consistent with our beliefs about freedom, self-determination, and the democratic ethos that many of us still claim to hold dear, then we need to found it on the philosophy of the real tiger mother, not that of the tiger trainer in the circus. Real tiger mothers let their cubs play, because they know that cubs are designed, by nature, to play in ways that teach them what they need to learn to grow successfully toward tiger adulthood. Tiger trainers, on the other hand, use the whip to train young tigers to do all sorts of things that tigers don’t want to do, just for the purpose of entertaining others and showing off the trainers’ skills.

 

 

 

Lastly, I leave you with these lyrics, written by David Walker. It is from what I think was his first cd, After you Fall, and I wish I could post a link where you could listen to it, but I don’t think is available any longer. I wish he would include this song on a future album. It is by far one of his best. I put it on repeat this morning and painted for an hour listening to nothing else.

 

After You Fall

Time it seems to roll with the seasons
but the painful colors are breaking down
into the fragments of a new beginning
as tomorrow waits for you to step in

Just step in

Yeah

Just to get another chance just to break another rule

Life is what you get when you give it all you’ve got after you fall
so don’t give up and don’t back down
cause you’re about to see yourself shine on, shine on

and Shine On … after you fall.
And Shine On … after you fall
when all hope is gone
Just keep on

Shine on … after you fall
keep on shining on … after you fall
Keep on shining on … after you fall
keep on shining on … after you fall.
Shine on.

I’m Loving . . .

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Inspiration Monday

Highlighting one of my favorite websites today.  I always find such wonderful inspiration, free stuff and music at Kind Over Matter. Usually, the images are breathtaking.

Here are some recent favorite posts that I am loving:

The Notion of Forgiveness

 

You Can’t Hide your True Colors

as you Approach the Autumn of Your Life

 

Nobody Cares if you Can’t Dance Well

Just Get Up and Dance

 

 

A friend is a Gift You Give Yourself

 

 

Speak the Truth. Even if Your Voice Shakes

 

 

Let your Desire for Feeling Good

Be your Only Guiding Light

 

 

Sticking in a Bundle are Unbreakable

 

 

We all Shine On like the Moon & the Stars & the Sun

 

And guess what?  the lovely Tara is back!  She’s posting again and sharing what is inspiring her (that post is from last week when I took a small blog break)  along with the invite to keep the love flowing even when she misses a week here or there.

I’m Loving . . .

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Inspiration Monday, postaday2011

this free printable from Kind Over Matter.

Spread some positivity around your work place.

 

These words.

I am. I’ll be.

 

Waking Up.

 

Coloring pages

and if you like those, you’ll love the

ones you can get just by opting in

 

These Instructions.

 

This Reminder.

 

and as always, the lovely Tara who is the inspiration to share what is inspiring us.  She’s on blogging hiatus right now but let’s keep it going.

What’s inspiring you this week?

I’m Loving . . .

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Inspiration Monday, postaday2011

These rules for life

Live with intention. Walk to the edge.
Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon.
Laugh. Choose with no regret.

Appreciate your friends.
Continue to learn. Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.
-
Mary Anne Radmacher

roots of she

 

Live with intention. Walk to the edge.
Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon.
Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends.
Continue to learn. Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.
-
Mary Anne Radmacher

this video … which just seems

a dance manifestation of this poem

 

This free printable. Think Positive!

 

These doorknobs

 

This owl lover and the artist she highlighted recently

Ashley Percival

 

 

My daughter and her fearlessness

 

as always, the lovely Tara, who is the inspiration to posting our inspirations. Let’s keep it going while she is on blogging hiatus.

I’m Lovin’ . . .

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Inspiration Monday, postaday2011

This Unschooling Truth

I could mess my kids up and make them unhappy and keep them from having access to things,

but I cannot make them learn. I can’t make them mature.

I can give them opportunities and room to grow,

and food and water and a comfortable bed.

Sandra Dodd

 

And this empowerment

You have to make your own world
Instead of succumbing to the one that presses on you
You have to turn the tables on what appears to be fate
On the full weight of society
Against the greatest odds
You have to keep your wits about you
And refuse to surrender to anyone or anything less than
The divine
You have to be faithful to the mystery taking place in your heart
Rather than to any idea or system that would try
With the best of motives
To dis-empower you
And make you theirs.
(From Dark Night of the Soul by Thomas Moore)

via Ronna Detrick — many thanks for posting it again.

This photography

 

These wardrobes

 

This poem

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

– Mary Oliver

via Roots of She

 

This art project

and this reminder that love will win.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

and as always, the one who inspires us to share the things that are inspiring us, Tara

I’m Lovin’ . . .

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Inspiration Monday, postaday2011

This New Year’s Blessing . . .

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness.

I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful,

and don’t forget to make some art –

write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can.

And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.
(Neil Gaiman)

via whollyafool

 

This manifesto … read it, join it, sign up for the newsletter

… you won’t be sorry

 

 

Ted Talks in general and this behind the scenes video specifically

 

 

This reminder to begin, begin, begin

 

 

This project … next on my list as soon as I have time!

 

 

This carving

 

 

This video … this song … this artist . . .

 

 

and last but not least … this post from my daughter, Molly.

Tara, the inspiration for sharing the inspiration

is on blogging hiatus during January.

But we can keep the love flowing

… what’s inspiring you this week?

I’m Lovin’ . . .

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Inspiration Monday, postaday2011

These words.

Especially for those I know who are walking through the storm.

And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.

 

This video

(via Karen D)

 

This bathing suit

 

And this video … applicable to all people, I think.

 

This Article:

The Role of Doubt in the Life of the Soul

Today it is clear our way of life is threatened not by the skeptics but by the true believers who insist that they have the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And woe to anyone who chooses a different path. Doubt is not the opposite of faith, it is faith’s constant friend and helper.

This Song … (have I posted this already? no matter. It’s worth repeating)

And I know I posted this … last week … but I can’t help myself … I’m lovin’ this new blog that gives me these reminders …

Your Life is Your Own

Let Yourself Blossom

See With Your Heart

Remember You Can Do Anything

And as always, the inspiration for sharing the inspiration, Tara … who is on a blogging break during January but that doesn’t mean we can’t share the love.  So tell me … what are you loving this week?

I’m Lovin’ …

A book

 

These Owls

 

And this Calendar (yes it’s owls again)

 

A new blog to follow

 

This question

Where Are you, my Wild Women?

 

This Quote:

“Not only is another world possible, she is on her way.

On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

- Arundhati Roy

This Site:

Not just Creative Planning

but the PERMISSION to be a creative planner.

 

As always, the inspiration of the inspirational posts, Tara.

I’m Lovin’ It

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Inspiration Monday

Not so long ago I discovered Mandy Steward at Messy Canvas and fell in love with her spirit, her pursuits, her honesty.  Since then I have been collecting favorite posts from her blog. I’m going to share those with you today.

I am tired of being a Christian.

I’m tired of being a Christian if being a Christian means I have to be issued my marching orders from “higher-ups” who do not know me or know my heart.

I’m tired of being a Christian if being a Christian means I have to preface any and all of my actions with an explanation. I am drinking, but I am not getting drunk. I am cussing, but I am doing it in a whisper and I’m only quoting something I heard from someone else. I am not going to church but I’m not alienating myself from the body of Christ. I am writing in the mornings, but it doesn’t mean I’m not getting my prayer time and Bible time in with God at some other point in my day. I’m so tired of explanations, many of which I don’t even believe in.

I’m tired of being a Christian if being a Christian means I have to apologize for being me.

I’m tired of being a Christian if being a Christian means I have to tie everything up in a nice neat little bow

 

And I wanted to be one

“I asked questions – and the theologians answered them all and they were questions which should not have been answered in such finite, laboratory-proof manner. I read their rigid answers, and thought sadly, ‘If I have to believe all this limiting of God, then I cannot be a Christian. And I wanted to be one.’”

- Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water

Who I am

One of my biggest creative hindrances is thinking I owe it to everyone to be the same today as I was yesterday.

Who I am Not

Maybe our problem is that far too much track has been laid for us and we’re the runaway train, wishing we weren’t stuck barreling down rails we have no choice about.

Maybe we need to bust off the track before it’s too late. Before we become too bitter. Before we start blaming everyone else for the metal ties that bind us. Maybe we need to raise our big heavy John Henry mallet above our heads and start busting up the track we’ve killed ourselves trying to maintain.

Next Level Artist

embracing the idea that being an artist who actively seeks to affect and inspire the lives of others is NOT an egotistical endeavor.

Selfish or Steward

“The medicine to heal a sick world is creativity.”

“As we express what we are longing to say there is always someone longing to hear precisely what we expressed.”

“Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got. Do it or don’t do it.” – The War of Art

And the Ego Falls Away

“I know you can be more than your imperfections, your sins, your hurts, your bad habits, your inconsistencies. I recognize you already as a person stepping into their fullest potential. As an artwork created by God. As a vessel filled with Christ. As a person who is whole.”

 

The Empty Mailbox

“Create what you most need to find.”

Breaking the Rules, the Childlike Way

“You learn the rules. You learn the discipline. And then you break the rules to find your freedom.”

-Finding Beauty in a Broken World, Terry Tempest Williams

Fitting for the New  Year (still)

Holy Spirit of novelty
Speak out life; let it fall in me
Whisper the word; gave creation her form
I’m searching for a life; hasn’t been there before

Speak light into the darkness
Breathe life into my lungs
Fill my soul as deep as the ocean
I’m reaching for your love

All that I can do is give it back to you
You’ve taken my old skin and made it new again
Yeah All that I can do is give it back to you
You’ve taken my old skin and made it new again
Yeah-You have made me new, A new creation
All new, a new creation

Holy Spirit of novelty
Bring out the colors that my heart’s yet to see
The nights on fire for the warmth of your love
But every hour there’s a risen sun

Speak light into the darkness
Speak life into my lungs
Fill my soul as deep as the ocean
Reaching for your love

Cause All that I can do is give it back to you
You’ve taken my old skin and made it new again
Yeah- All that I can do is give it back to you
You’ve taken my old skin and made it new again
You have made me new, A new creation
All new, a new creation
Brand New a new creation
So new, a new creation

 

If you do nothing else, download her free e-book … Messy Canvas. If you read nothing else in preparation for your beautiful new year, read this one.

Grace and Peace and … Namaste

(oh and as always, this post is inspired by Tara.  Let us know what you are loving this week)

I’m Lovin’ It

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Inspiration Monday

There’s never enough time to write all that I want to write, to post all that I want to post, to create as much as I want to create and to share it all with whoever reads here.

This week has been a week of putting off, of words waiting in the wings, of the ever-present presence of creative projects waiting for my time, energy, attention.

I am always grateful for Tara’s Inspiration Mondays (even if it takes me until Tuesday Friday to post. It gives me a chance to feel like I am contributing something to the blogosphere. Encouragement. Music. Laughter. Wisdom.

Paying it forward sort of … taking what I have found that carries me through my days and casting it out to others.

So this week, I am loving …

These three posts by Ronna Detrick:

• Enough

• You Are not TOO much

 

• Hardly Too Much. More than Enough.

 

And you know that I LOVE Patti Digh … she’s an art table and so am I.  (HAH! that rhymes!  Love it, made me smile!)

Yep, I think I need these!

and these doors and shutters will do.

Thinking that I am stepping into a season of Holy Selfishness

I’d like to make this for myself.

Creating my own artistic course load for 2011 with this resource.