Creations Call to In.Spirit.Action~~
‘It is when I seem to be doing the least that I am doing the most.
Leonardo de Vinci
As you may have noticed, my writer self has not been visible on this page lately. Since the beginning of 2010, I have been in a place of deep introspection, contemplative listening: more being than doing, the nourishing nurturing space so vital to the core of my ‘ I AM~ness’. Scanning my favourite art book, I was encouraged recently as I reread Jeanne Carbonetti’s insightful description of her process that so closely mirrors mine.
“…the world goes into soft focus…when I am in the waiting cycle…paying attention to the slightest stirrings that guide me to the next step….the being in the world, but not of the world…. Had I been busily engaged in something productive, I may have missed those stirrings.”
And so it is and was for me, when the art above began to call forth, beckon, flow on to the page guiding me from within to paint it into life. I stared fascinated, bemused by the pattern splay; the moving into intention phase, bringing essence into clear focus.
The following dialogue began running through my awareness ~ I burst out laughing, tears running down my cheeks and I had to stop the paint flow and capture the wordage flow on paper.
“I am Brigid. Brigid the goddess of Inspiration”, she began. Ummmmm… Okay, I thought: I had placed that card on my desk top recently for several months. Good, inspiration was stirring within.
AND THEN THE YAMMERING BEGAN
~I soon began to think of her as ‘Sassy Assy’ rather than Goddess Brigid, as you may immanently understand~
(~~ at sentence beginning will indicate Brigid’s words )
Hey come on You, it’s time to stop this now!
~~Huh~ I ain’t’ stopping
I mean you gotta quit spreading your fire wings…its getting ridiculous…you’re almost off the page
~~So what’s the problem…who’s to say…
Well, I am. You’re going into an art show, and so you will be viewed as a work of art and you should be …
~~Should be what! I’m a work for anyone to judge!!! No way!
Who are you? What’s up….you’ve waited all these years to come to this moment and you are telling me not to spread my wings, not to take up all the space that surrounds me…
Well no, I guess…
~~Whadda you mean…you guess…. I don’t believe you! What happened to you!!
Well we kinda created this YOU… together right?
~~Right… soooooooo
Well I only knew I was birthing something, ‘cause I felt so crappy for so long~ and then I sensed how close I was to this change within and … and I already knew what I was submitting to the International Women’s Day Art show! It was a done deal and…
~~And what !!!! I hadn’t appeared yet! ….so NO deal~!!
Well ummmmm…in my cauldron of mulling and fogginess of becoming ness ummm…ahhhh I just thought I’d play with paint…that creativity always feels good in the midst of my inner turmoil and then…
~~YAH and then….I SURPRISED YOU DIDN’T I~!!!!
Yah you did~ painted~ let it dry~came down the next day~and there you are staring at me~ Up heaving all my plans…
~~Hey you…Linda! …it’s like this…
~~if you are open to divine will, you are on the path of conscious living, willing to transform within and without…haha ~ what a word….within and out wardly….And then I am willing to allow you to paint me onto the page to show you what you are birthing i.e. Your INNER PHOENIX!!!!! What’s your problem with what I LOOK LIKE…~~!!!!!!
You’re gonna go through all this and then Give a Damn about what other people think about how I look!!!!! Seeding, gestating labouring and emerging IS MESSY work alright~~! There ain’t any other way…
~~And now that I am here, Lady….you bet I’m gonna spread my wings any which way I CHOOSE.
LOOK OUT WORLD HERE WE COME~!
Oh my jumping heavenly hosts, I silently mumbled, remembering the truth of the saying:
Be Careful What You Pray For~~
WEIRD HAS A PROBLEM
“Weird has a problem ervyone thought he was Weird, becau his Name was Weird.
The nxst day his Name was Prtty eryone love him.”
As one may see, I have kept this art for many years close to my heart ~ faded only in colour, never in import. My daughter created this wisdom piece when barely 5 years old. I have treasured it always and only now have I been drawn to bring my deep connection to this masterpiece of insight into words.
According to the Dictionary, one may find the following origin and definitions of ‘weird’
Adjective:
• Involving or suggesting the supernatural (beyond the natural)
• Fantastic or bizarre
• Archaic, concerned with or controlling fate or destiny
A few who have had, or presently live these attributes, often called heretics may include: Christopher Columbus, Joan of Arc, Einstein, Amelia Earhart, Beethoven, Florence Nightingale, Gandhi, Stephen Spielberg, Martin Luther and Coretta King, Stephen Hawking and the Dali Lama.
I clearly remember when I first heard some people scoffing Oprah as ‘weird’ for believing she could branch out into the magazine and television arena. All pioneers, geniuses, visionaries may be considered ‘weird’ whenever they venture into questioning or challenge existing concepts of the time. Moving beyond the known into new possibilities sets one up for labelling, fostered by fear.
Einstein addressed this fear head on, telling us that:
A problem can never be solved from the level at which it was created.
He also stated that imagination is more important than knowledge: a statement that challenges much of our civilized fast forward nations of today.
Having the courage to live one’s differences to ‘risk being weird, may come with a high price tag. Living this truth, one may be criticized, ridiculed, ostracized and even killed. I remember Sonia Choquette saying that like her, we must be ready to stand in the face of a thousand people telling us we are crazy for simply following our natural inner knowing, our intuition that guides us through life.
WEIRD, in the art above looks happy, excited, friendly, welcoming, gutsy and ready for any new adventure that may come his way. WEIRD looks like someone I would love to have as a friend. In many ways he looks like me and several of my closest friends.
I have not known the artist to make anything look ‘Prtty’ just to please others. Her strong sense of self from her earliest years seems to have inherently guided her forward and I highly respect that quality in her.
When she was young child, I remember often awakening to her before 6:00 a.m. questions: ‘Mom, I’ve walked the dog, had my breakfast and done my art? What can I do now?’ She was always excited about life and the next thing she could learn or explore.
She first taught me about sending double body language messages when I was concerned for her safety as she headed out to the road; she just stood there at 4 years old and said to me:
‘Don’t talk mad at me with a smile on your face’.
The one, who when I brought the gerbil cage in for her Show and Tell, immediately took it to her legally blind classmate so he could first see up close, touch and talk to them. Then she passed it around to the rest of the class.
Both the dog house and her bedroom shelf, she constructed from her own inner schema at 7 years of age. She sat in the garage rafters of our new single parent home, politely saying to the neighbour who offered to help us hoist the heavy 2 x 10’s into storage: ‘No thank you, we can do it ourselves’, when he offered to help us. I quietly smiled, since I already knew how she would respond to his offer.
Deciding to construct a dinosaur for her Science project in grade one, I was enlisted for library research that very day. During the month it took to complete the project according to her own stipulations, advice from her dad and me was all she required. The principal later explained that the judges did not award her first prize, since they couldn’t believe she had done such a complex assignment yourself.
This didn’t appear to concern you since you knew and I knew, and also the principal knew her level of excellence. Her belief in her abilities and certainty of outcomes aligned with what today, we term the ‘Law of Attraction’… much like another definition of the word Weird from the dictionary that both surprised and excited me.
Weird: before 900; (n.) ME (northern form of wird) OE wyrd; akin to WORTH; moving into the miraculous.
Akin in my mind, to the solid belief she held and holds in her ability to achieve her visions and goals to this day.
I was reminded of this assurance again the other day in the bookstore, seeing a tiny three year old walking down the aisle toward the children’s section; her mother following behind. At one point her mom instructed, let’s go this way now. She responded never looking back, never wavering from her goal:
‘No, mama, I’m going this way. I have my own mind you know’.
I smiled at her mom; she smiled in return continuing to follow her wee one. I, the quietly championing watcher seeing not just her, but both my daughters at that age, all the while thinking to myself:
YOU GO GIRL~!
In the words of Astrologer Jonathan Cainer:
At school, they teach us all to read, to write, to add numbers together and to behave ourselves. They give no classes in how to develop intuition – build deeper, more meaningful relationships – or even how to relax and enjoy life without feeling constantly pressured. No wonder our world is in such a state. We are urged to value achievement more than empathy and money more than love.
Life authentically lived invites us to own the so called ‘weird’ to honour uniqueness in ourselves and in our children: we are meant to ‘have our own minds’ so that the ever expanding, evolving world of new possibilities may grace our lives.
How might life change if people were to influence fate and destiny by owning their authentic worth?
If the chosen definition of ‘weird’ were to mean moving beyond the natural’ or known, what might be possible if we joined in this together?
In closing, I return to Einstein:
There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle or you can live as if everything is a miracle.
May your days be filled with peace and love, this holy season~ Linda
Wisdom From A Free Thinker
Shifting To A New~Old~Ancient Paradigm
Your Choice~
”One ship drives east, another west with the self-same winds that blow.
‘Tis the set of the sails and not the gales which tells us the way to go.
Like the waves of the sea are the waves of fate.
As we voyage along through life.
‘Tis the set of the soul which decides the goal; and not the calm or the strife.”
~ELLA WHEELER WILCOX : Creating A New Paradigm
American Poet & Journalist & Free Thinker
(November 5, 1850 ~ October 30, 1919)
“The art of being kind” was her religion, and she lived it every day of her life.”
The Teacher Of Galilee
The Teacher
He never taught a lesson in a classroom…
He had no tools to work with,
such as blackboards, maps or charts…
He used no subject outlines, kept no records,
gave no grades, and His only text was
ancient and well-worn…
His students were
the poor, the lame, the deaf,
the blind, the outcast—
His method was the same
with all who came to hear and learn…
He opened eyes with faith…
He opened ears with simple truth…
opened hearts with love,
a love born of forgiveness…
A gentle man, a humble man,
He asked and won no honours,
no gold awards of tribute to His expertise or wisdom…
in yet this quiet teacher from the hills of Galilee
has fed the needs, fulfilled the hopes,
and changed the lives of many millions…
For what He taught
Brought Heaven to earth
and revealed God’s heart to mankind.
Verse found years ago on a plaque….
I have long held the essence of this wisdom close to my heart. The simple beauty of a life, this way lived, would be of ineffable worth in our world today.
Offering A Prayer For Our World
I Pray You’ll Be Our Light
And Hold It In Our Hearts
THANKS FOR THIS INEFFABLE GIFT OF BEAUTY
This morning I awoke, hearing the words of ‘THE PRAYER’.
I knew I was to share it with others, along with this wonderous gift of my sister’s photography.
Just as I believe, know, that what and how I think negatively affects my day and my life, I also know the awesome power of the positive in my world.
I invite you to hold in your awareness today the beauty of our world, the gift of creativity ~ of music, photography, writing, art. May these timeless art forms enrich our collective lives by offering breathing space~ahhhaaaa~ appreciation and deepen our understanding of each other.
Know, also that the power of collective prayer, intention, holding light and kindness within, amplifies greatly when we gather together.
Amid all the chaos, this world still holds the light and love of truth, simplicity, inclusiveness and peace.
THE PRAYER
I pray You’ll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don’t know
Let this be our prayer
When we lose our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with Your grace
To a place where we’ll be safe
I pray we’ll find Your light
And hold it in our hearts
When stars go out each night
Remind us where You are
Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Oh Lord, lead us to a place,
Guide us with Your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe
A world where pain and sorrow will be ended
And every heart that’s broken will be mended
And we’ll remember we are all God’s children
Reaching out to touch you, reaching to the sky
We ask that life be kind
And watch us from above
We hope each soul will find
Another soul to love
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Twice:
Needs to find a place
Guide us with Your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe
As sung by Yolanda Adams
And if it speaks to your heart, I offer from my heart, one of my favorite Soul Sayings for times of unrest.
Into this space I now come, affirming:
PEACE, PEACE BE STILL.
Thanks for joining the energy of this prayer for our world. Blessings to all.
Love and blessings Karen, for the many gifts you bring to my life and to our world. Lynn
