Needed
Earlier this week I was at the art supply store, and felt compelled to buy a box of 100 Fabriano Medioevalis cards ~ they are 3 1/2″ x 5 1/4″, watercolor paper-ish single cards with textured edges. I brought them home, and after adding a little color to the edges with watercolor, I began to write a series of my “You are…” messages with ink and a brush. I don’t know how many I created in that first sitting, but during that time I shifted into a quiet, meditative state of mind, focusing on one word at a time, letting the meaning of each message sink into my heart. These weren’t for a job, a project, or Etsy, these were tiny paper creations assembled for no reason other than that was what I needed to do at the time.
As I wrote each card, I was saying the messages to myself, to my family, to my community. And I thought about the funny way we often give others the exact same advice we need the most, how we teach that which we most need to learn, how we forget to give ourselves the same level of kindness and compassion we give others. And I thought about how difficult it can be to believe three little words, words such as “You are brave” or “You are enough”, and how the simple act of saying them out loud, or reading them once a day ~ and then carrying them with us everywhere we go for the rest of the day ~ can make a difference. A huge difference.
I have a stack of these cards, and I will be making more, so if anyone needs a hand painted “You are…” message card, email me at christine@swirlygirl.com with your name and snail mail address and I’ll send you one. If you email me, I will simply draw a card and mail it to you, and trust that whichever message that happens to be will be the right one for you.
September 20, 2010 Update ~ I just mailed my last card. Thank you to everyone who emailed me!
Arrival
{Photo taken in Big Sur earlier this year.}
Deep breath. Exhale.
There are still some wee glitches getting worked out on the new site, but I have to say I am so happy with my new online home. I have been the sole designer, builder, developer and updater of all of my online endeavors for about fifteen years now, and this was the first time I hired someone to design and build my website. My first Swirly Girl website launched sometime in 1996, and I can’t even count how many times I gave that design an overhaul. I also created 52 Figments, Sparkletopia, another short-lived venture called Glittertopia, my typepad blog and Christine Mason Miller. That’s a lot of hours wearing my Web Designer hat. It was absolute bliss letting someone else breathe an entirely new kind of life into this space.
Christine Castro of Darling Studio and Brianna Privett from Utopian.net made this all happen ~ so to these two lovelies I say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! And one more THANK YOU! for good measure.
Beyond the work I’ve been doing over the past couple of weeks on this website, I feel like I have been in a bit of an in-between space mentally, emotionally, and professionally. Although things have settled down since those first sleep-deprived, deer-in-the-headlights days with Tilda, it still takes quite bit more effort and planning to get everything done that needs to get done. This past month has had one particular kind of focus, which is paring down, and paring down some more. Significant projects are being wrapped up and meaningful steps are being taken to remove items off of my plate, with a steadfast refusal to add anything new for the remainder of the year.
Once I return home from teaching at Squam Art Workshops next week, I will feel like I have the wind at my back, especially with regard to my book. I will have no other travel plans at all in front of me and the only major commitment besides my book is for my group show on Saturday, October 23rd.
There is one other story in my life that I have alluded to from time to time here, always with a dark cloud hovering over whatever words I type to try to express it without explaining all the sordid details of it. That story continues to drag on, and I feel compelled to expose that sliver of my life today because, well, there is something magnificently difficult for me about the idea of sharing half-truths here. And I am, as always, hopeful that by being honest (even if I have to be vague about the circumstances) I will help someone out there feel less alone.
Having said that, what I am learning ~ what I keep learning over and over again ~ is that most of the time, whatever the story is, I don’t have to do anything to fix it, change it, respond to what someone else expects of me, announce my feelings or thoughts on the subject, react to it, alter it, control it, or in any way try to avoid, hide or run from it. I can simply be still.
I feel like I need to write it a hundred more times: I can simply be still.
And that is what I continue to practice each day. With every twist, turn, and development in this story and all others, I turn to the same five words: I can simply be still.
“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.” ~Zen Proverb
Five Things
1. One of my Etsy favorites is Lacuna Works ~ beautiful handcarved journals.
2. I recently met Brooke Butler of BodyTalk Tahoe at Trust the Mess, and she treated me to a spur-of-the-moment Reiki session. Brooke has a gift, and is beautiful inside and out.
3. If you live near Portsmouth, NH, the Teeny Tiny Art Show opens tomorrow at Three Graces Gallery.
4. One of my favorite Twitter feeds these days is from The Onion ~ they give me my daily giggle.
5. My BFF is looking for stories from people who have dealt with the loss of a sibling before the age of 30. Head to her blog My Red Tutu for more details.
100 Books Project :: Salt Lake City
[Book #67, left in Salt Lake City, Utah by Book Fairy Jenica McKenzie.]
The lovely and amazing Jenica McKenzie handled the Book Fairy duties for Book #67 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here's here story:
August 9th, 2010
Salt Lake City, Utah YWCA
"As I pondered where to place this special book one of our favorite parks kept coming to mind ~ one in particular where we like to feed the ducks. But each time I would think to place it, we'd either forget the book or the camera. A friend suggested the YWCA, pointing out that as much as you and I sometimes struggle to find joy, there are many women who truly struggle just to make it through the day. And while we can all use a source of encouragement and inspiration, there are some sweet sisters that need it even more than me. So I decided to place it in the halls of the YWCA and I know the right eyes and hands will soon have it to hold."
Thank you Jenica!
So
So my external hard drive stopped mounting on my desktop computer for no reason a few weeks ago. It did not fall on the floor, I did not drop a ten pound weight on it (it was six tops*). It just stopped.
So I emailed the manufacturer and they said, "No problem! Send it in and we'll either fix it or replace it."
So I sent it in with multiple post-it notes and emails making sure they knew I needed my data to be saved. I know this sounds crazy, but because it's a hard drive that I use to back up my data, there's actually data stored there that I have, you know, nowhere else. On the planet.
So a box arrived on my doorstep from the manufacturer with a new hard drive and the "defective drive", pictured above.
"Hmmm," I thought.
So I plugged in the new hard drive, expecting to see all of my files intact, and excited because, you know, I've been needing these files during the many weeks it has taken to get this issue "resolved."
So the hard drive icon shows up on my desktop and I do the ole double click to open it up and hear the angels sing, and instead I hear…
Crickets.
Empty hard drive.
So I email the manufacturer, using a lot of CAPITAL LETTERS, asking WHERE MY DATA IS. And I get this:
"I apologize, but the drive was beyond our ability to repair. The failed drive should have been included in the package so that you can look into professional recovery if you choose."
In other words, "We manufacture external hard drives so that computer users like you can back up and store your precious data. Until the hard drives stop working for no reason, in which case your data is probably toast. Good luck!"
So I began to panic, and thought about crying. And screaming. And throwing a fit.
And then it hit me: What's the point?
First off, maybe ~ just maybe ~ there is a magician out there who can pull my data off of the "defective drive" and second, if not, what good will a throwing a fit do?
Sometimes fires burn down homes. Sometimes thieves break into cars and steal belongings (happened to me in Australia.) Sometimes jewelry is accidentally flushed down toilets and wallets full of cash fall out of pockets.
Sometimes things get lost, and then we have a choice. Freak out or accept. Surrender or resist.
Either way, laughter always helps.
* Joking! Totally joking!
October 23, 2010 ~ Messy and Brave
Messy and Brave ~ A Group Show
Five Artists ~ One Night Only
6:00 – 11:00pm
11306 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90066
Christine Mason Miller
Gus Harper
Lisa Occhipinti
Trevor Meeker
Sabrina Ward Harrison
Click here for more information.
100 Books Project :: Hungary
[Book #63, left in Budapest, Hungary by Book Fairy Livia Kenyeres.]
I am going to send you over to Livia's blog straightaway for her marvelous story of Book #63. A little sneak peek:
"For the perfectionist in me, it was a great reminder that it doesn’t really matter if things do not turn out as I want them to. Very often – almost always in life – we are only able to connect the dots looking back at our lives and very rarely in advance. Sometimes we have to relax and let life unfold in front of our eyes. I have to learn to believe in my instincts and my inner-self more often and let my rational self loose a bit." ~Livia Kenyeres
Thank you Livia, for letting this journey unfold in such a gentle, inspiring way!
Click here to see the full 100 Books Gallery.
