Be Ready for Surprises

I spent Saturday with my 89-year-old mom celebrating her birthday. At a local flower show we saw competitions for complex garden/art related theme exhibits and witnessed the Best in Show simple floral blossoms in minimalistic containers. My mom introduced me to several of her friends, we watched bees working in their hive, and enjoyed the day. Before leaving to bring her back to her apartment I stopped in the Women’s room. What greeted me was a most unexpected surprise.

A glass vase full of calla lilies sat poised on a countertop in front of a mirror, next to a dramatic frosted window. For me, this was the best display of the entire flower show! Taking out my new smartphone (a Mother’s Day gift from my sweet husband) I quickly snapped this picture. It’s a beauty I must say.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Be prepared, use your artistic eye to spot creative expression wherever it pops up.

P.S. I’m in the process of changing my website and this blog’s layout will change with it. I’m excited about the upcoming new way of communicating with you. Stay tuned!

Starting Again

Hello everyone, I’m back to writing my creativity and wellness blog, after enjoying a break from it this summer. If you are a regular subscriber to this blog, welcome back! If you are reading it for the first time, I hope you find something you like and visit again. In once-a-weekish short essays I’ll share inspiring quotes, messages, and revelations geared to enrich your thinking and sometimes soothe your soul.

After having a busy summer, filled with deadline-oriented professional responsibilities and a truckload of personal ones, I’m getting my feet planted in this new season. I was reminded over the weekend how easy it is to slip back into old habits, ones that aren’t good for me. My vulnerability is going into an emotional place that I call the wounded victim. It’s that place in which I consider my glass half empty instead of half full. It’s an old familiar place of discomfort and I see that I have more work to do digging myself out of my own pit. Writing this blog entry actually helped me clarify my thoughts and in turn my spirit lifted.

If you find yourself in an old habit that doesn’t serve you, use the metaphor of going back to school as your guide. Start again changing your frame of mind or commit to applying paint brush to canvas, or hands to wet clay. Pick up your unfinished manuscript and start where you left off.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Just like an artist with a sketch pad full of empty pages, let yourself create a new sketch.