This isn’t good-bye or farewell, but instead an "I’ll see you again soon."  Thank you to everyone who sent supportive emails and posted encouraging comments; I feel like I am being sent off on a wild adventure with confetti twinkling in the sun, colorful banners waving and smiles everywhere.

A dear friend sent me an email over the weekend with a story about a woman he knows who is taking a sabbatical of her own from something that is near and dear to her heart, knowing that the only way she will be able to get clarity on how to best support this thing she loves is to walk away from it entirely and see what rises to the surface.  What a wonderful gift she is giving to herself and her passions – time to pull away from everything so her heart has as much room as possible to speak to her loudly and clearly.

Thank you, MD, your email has given me something to smile about all day today, and reminds me how important it is I cherish every single moment I have before me as I re-forge my artistic path.

A few business matters:

* For now I’m going to keep 52 Figments the way it is.  I haven’t quite figured out what is best for the project in terms of a possible new format, so until I do it will continue as it is, so keep sending postcards!  This week’s question:  Get a pen ready – what are you thinking about RIGHT NOW?

* Wise and delightful Kate Swoboda just started a new website, One Little Drop.  Visit the site, make a difference.

* I will be updating my online portfolios as I get new work done this summer, and will announce updates here.  If you don’t hear from me by early July, feel free to email me and say, "What the hell?  Are you working in your studio or what?  Let’s see some work, woman!"

This weekend I went on a bike ride for the first time in weeks.  I was on my bike regularly up in Solvang, where traffic wasn’t a big concern and the scenery was wide open and beautiful.  It has taken me a while to get used to the idea of cycling along Sunset Boulevard and the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), where cars whizz by at more than fifty miles per hour and it is impossible to ride without finishing things off with a great big hill climb because of where we live.  I have been avoiding riding ever since we moved in April, but this weekend I finally went for it.  My confidence was not especially strong and I was nervous about the final big climb, but I made it all the way and loved the realization that I was in better shape than I thought I was, and more capable of facing my fears about traffic – which come from a bike accident seven years ago that put me in a back brace for three months – than I believed.  What it took to reach this point, more than anything, was one simple step:  getting on the bike.  I have found that most of the time it is the very first step that is the most daunting, but that once I take it the rest comes naturally, no matter what challenges lay before me.

This summer I encourage you to take that first step for whatever your dreams may be, and share your journey as much as you can.  With every first step that we all take – and share with the world – we create a ripple effect of inspiration that encourages more and more people to take first steps of their own.  And the world could use more of that positive energy and influence.

What is a first step you have wanted to take but haven’t? 

This summer, I dare you to take it, and I’ll be back September 1st.