Day 13

A Recipe for Happiness is not a to-do list.... 

Great activity from Lisa to remind me to look around--notice what is presently joyful for me instead of looking back too hard & too long...

The journal entries got a little too intense for public consumption today but I can share this bit with you. 

...and a few of the other things from my happy list...

At the Construction Site

The Studio Dog

SUNSHINE AND APPLES!!!! 

Long ago I heard of a place whose boundaries could protect but not
confine the endless information welling in
my mind.
Unspoken questions and unheard of answers battle for dominance over 
my changing voice.
Through chaos and chilling passageways, I search the brick and mortar.
My stifled thoughts reverberate against the brittle steel that lines the walls.
Rumor has it that there is a secret door to the room that can 
house my hope
and acknowledge my turmoil.
The echo tells me that I have the key.
The lonely lint curled inside my pocket confronts the echo for a liar. 
Do I search for the key or the door?
I turn the corner, light streaming through the window before me informs 
me that presently I am the master of both.
Heart on my sleeve, 
enveloped in the fresh Crayola scent of possibility, opportunity, 
and the familiar unknown
I enter a solid room of vanishing walls and frozen time.
A shifting wood grain whispers in my ear,
"Creativity, Imagination, and Optimism welcome all those who enter here.
Upon departure you shall
know all that you have brought with you.
For best results: 
Check your ego at the door. 
Welcome to the Art Room"
~Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

One of my Adventures in Creative Writing

Day 12: Rest your weapons

Fading from Day 11 to Day 12...this image is from 00:46 (a.m.) on day twelve...no idea what the prompt for the day was going to be. After waking up to face the day I had no opportunity to work on the prompts...
The day was full of typing and research and indexing and labelling...and legal jargon and blame and remembering all of the stuff that I had put behind me. 

Day 12

Finally at 3:46 am on day 13 I put this one together as I was trying to allow my mind to rest.

The pen is mightier than the sword.

                     Rest is a weapon.

Useless but fun facts about office chairs.

Days Ten & Eleven: What a difference a day can make

Day 10         To be happy

Even when I have to be horizontal, 
Time with him  and them 
helps lots, too. 

What A Difference One Day Can Make....

    

Day 11 Root 30 Day Journal Project

"The darkness inside you can make you feel so small...but I see your True Colors shining through..."
The beautiful moments in the Time Outs that restore my soul.... 
Any man can be supportive of a cause that he has faith in...but it takes a strong and loving person to be supportive of a cause that may well be lost...simply because he cares for the person in it.




The chaos is the raging activity in my brain that happens when my body MUST 

 be still.

Wee hours of the morning on Day 11 my sleep was abruptly chased away by the simultaneous sensations of burning spiders crawling between my fingers and up my forearm to collide with the frigid icicles stabbing me in the shoulder....followed by pins and needles and the toothache in my arm; it took hours to resume any semblance of rest.  In any case, now I know what it means to "die with a toothache in his heel." 

The physical demands of completing this goal...this mission, really
 ... because it has truly ceased to be just a goal...is causing cumulative damage. The basic significance of that is this physical knowledge keeps me dedicated to this cause. It keeps me dedicated to doing all that I can to prevent THIS from happening to anyone else.  

Lisa's  Project prompts remind me that I must adjust my pace if I am going to finish this race. The prompts and quotes are truly coinciding in a timely way that helps me to keep my focus, strength and determination to meet the demands placed upon my mind and body right now. The time outs to restore my soul are crucial to this staggering, discouraging process. 

Day 9, Root 30 day journal project

Day 9  Talking about Worldly Cares.

"Goethe is speaking of creating space—daily— for antidotes to these worldly cares. Which are very real. They will also eat up all of our time, energy, focus and resources if we let them....Why not make a list of the things that re-awaken your sense of beautiful, ...wonder, peace, joy, gratitude?"
 ~ lisa sonora beam said this. 

"Art is our one true global language. It knows no nation, it favors no race, and it acknowledges no class. It speaks to our need to reveal, heal, and transform. It transcends our ordinary lives and lets us imagine what is possible." ~ Richard Kamler

Day 8

  Embrace Today 

Solid Roots 

                Justice

                                Leaves &                                                                       Branches

what the idea of cultivating the root is teaching me right                                                 now.

Points to ponder from Lisa Sonora Beam

What does it mean to be rooted? solid, safe, in the knowledge of strength
                                                  to be uprooted? depends...am I bringing the roots with me or am I being ripped away from them? 

Tending my roots right now looks like?  

                      

feels like?  

  sounds like?

Roots ~ Orla Gartland
"Think you've lost your shine...
Let's get lost between the rails. I've never been afraid to fail....
Sick of standing by...
getting itchy feet....
I know we're ready to dive into the unknown...
carrying our roots with everything we do...
It takes a leap to plant the seed.
All that we are is in the beat of our hearts...
I'd rather break out on my own than be caught in the middle..."  

Day 7 Proceed with Caution, but proceed.

Day 7 prompts to Go Gently    Little Bird.
and I continue to Go Gentle through the bits of disappointment that have come my way because of the moments that just let me Breathe.

To go gently for me means to Proceed with Caution. in all of the areas of my life. To keep moving forward at the pace that works for me. I have been forced to learn this lesson and the ways that work for me. Although it began against my will I am thankful that I now know how to persist with a certain sense of determined Patience.

No matter how slowyl I must go, I Don't Give Up. 

Day 6: Root: 30 Day Journal Project

 

Day 6 "Ring the bells that still can ring
               Forget your perfect offering
               There is a crack in everything
               That's how the light gets in." ~ Leonard Cohen

Thoughts today are about what happens when we seek perfection...and the acknowledgement of imperfections.

Is "perfection" synonymous with "Done"?  

 Merriam Webster defines perfection as something that cannot be improved.  Perhaps "done" simply means a stopping point until the next phase of improvements can be implemented.

Which flaws are acceptable? Which ones are not?  Who gets to decide?

Today's work fills me with many more questions than answers. This IS a good thing.