I’ve blogged about this before: I took part in an art swap, the Global heART Exchange. Today, I received my art piece from Lindsay in the mail, all the way from Belgium. She describes herself on her blog as a “Mixed Media Artist, Photographer, Writer, and Dream Worker.” Here’s the postcard she made to send with her painting:
I am exactly twice Lindsay’s age and we live more than 5000 miles apart (8100 kilometers), but when I read the “about” page on her blog, I notice how much we have in common. We both love “Nature.. nature.. nature!” and adore cats and rabbits, watching the stars, lying in the grass, summer evenings, birds singing, the water, spirituality, meditation, yoga, and the potential of dreams.
We also both like “inspiring people, people who are kind, people who truly dare to live their lives.” I believe that both of us are those kind of people: inspiring, kind, and daring to live our lives.
What’s amazing to me is that she couldn’t have known the color of my art studio, and yet the mixed media painting she made matches it perfectly. Here’s a picture of it, sitting on the corner of my writing desk, where I spend so many long and happy hours.
It’s almost 1 am in Belgium, and I suspect Lindsay is sleeping. I am sending her love and gratitude, and wishing her the sweetest of dreams. I will keep her painting on my desk, and when I took at it, I will remember that I am loved, and wish her the same.
It’s Monday, so it’s time for me to tell you something good.
Just a cute baby owl. That is all.
Friday Birthdays. When your birthday is on a Friday, like mine was this year, there’s a universal rule that you get to celebrate the whole weekend. On Friday, a good friend took me to lunch, gave me a sweet gift (two actually, one was wrapped and the other was her telling me the nicest thing I’d ever done for her and how much it meant), lots of birthday wishes on Facebook (one of the top five reasons to have an account), one sweet email wishing me love and thanking me for a gift I had given that was “life-changing,” a present and phone call from my mom, and more presents from my aunt and boy (Eric made me a book with a secret compartment, so cool!).
Then on Saturday, another good friend took me to lunch and gave me a handmade gift (she’s an amazing artist, so even her cards are something special), and a phone call from my brother and another good friend. Sunday morning, we found that the mail had been delivered late in the evening, so there was a package from my brother and nieces, and another card from a good friend who always says the nicest things, Sunday morning yoga, and lunch at Mount Everest Cafe, where our favorite waiter didn’t even ask us what we wanted to start, he simply brought us out a chai and a glass of Fat Tire as soon as we sat down. It was an awesome birthday weekend.
Picture by Philip Bragg
Shantideva Quote: “If you can solve your problem, then what is the need of worrying? If you cannot solve it, then what is the use of worrying?”
The Open Heart Project. I have a confession to make. I have been struggling with my meditation practice lately. Then I read about Susan Piver’s Open Heart Project on Jennifer Louden’s blog. Susan Piver is a student of the Shambhala tradition, which is also where my meditation practice started, so to begin, she comes from a place I understand. She’s shared a series of videos, meditation instruction and guided meditations anywhere from 5 to 40 minutes. Using these videos to focus my own practice has been so helpful.
Wishcasting Wednesday. This is something started by creative living coach and blogger, Jamie Ridler. She explains it this way: “What would happen if every week you made a wish? What magic might start to stir? Wishcasting Wednesday is a safe haven for wishes, a fertile field in which to plant wish seeds and have them witnessed and tended lovingly. It’s a place where magic begins.” I am going to add this feature to my Wednesday blog posts.
A New Post from Hyperbole and a Half. This is actually more than a month old now, but I somehow had missed it. I had thought/worried about Allie on and off over the past few months. She’d posted she was working on a book, but then disappeared, and knowing what I know about freaking out and freezing up even/especially in the face of something big and good, I wondered if she might be in trouble. Her latest post is called “Adventures in Depression,” and as always, it is heartbreaking, true, and funny. Sometimes I wonder if she realizes how brave and wonderful she really is.
I am exactly twice Lindsay’s age and we live more than 5000 miles apart (8100 kilometers), but when I read the “about” page on her blog, I notice how much we have in common. We both love “Nature.. nature.. nature!” and adore cats and rabbits, watching the stars, lying in the grass, summer evenings, birds singing, the water, spirituality, meditation, yoga, and the potential of dreams.
It’s almost 1 am in Belgium, and I suspect Lindsay is sleeping. I am sending her love and gratitude, and wishing her the sweetest of dreams. I will keep her painting on my desk, and when I took at it, I will remember that I am loved, and wish her the same.
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 