Eighty-Five and Proud of it!

At age 84 Mom took up water coloring.

"Rose in Vase" is her favorite

(so far she reminds me).

What an inspiring way 

to show us how to live, love, and enjoy life.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Grace: Unconditional No-Matter-What Love

Who does this bring to mind?

Is there someone in your life that

provides this kind of love?

In our family it's 

Mom.  Gramma.  GG (Great-Gramma).

Everyone ... every child, every niece,

every nephew, every grandchild,

every great-grandchild ... everyone

has said at one time or another

Gramma will be there for us No Matter What.

No-Matter-What Love.

Always there.  Always will be.  Always.

That's Grace.

Who do you love like this?

Notice how you're changed, even as

you think about loving someone in this way.

Now ... Enjoy. 

The Delight of Wonder

What would it mean to approach

every day with wonder, as Rabbi Abraham Heschel taught?

What would it mean to see life

as through the lens of a camera, as our son-in-law does?

What would it mean to pause,

to re-approach life with wonder,

so that we might experience

the delightful mystery of life all around us?

Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder.

Surprise me, amaze me, awe me, enrapture me

with Your marvelous things without number.

I do not ask

to see the reason for it all;

I ask only

to share the wonder of it all.

--Abraham Joshua Heschel

Workshop: Ten Tips to Create a Soul Journal

1. Start

Select a color, a word, a symbol, an image. It doesn't matter what you start with. Just start. With anything. The starting is what matters.

This is one of the first pages I made several years ago. It's still one of my favorites, and I really had no idea what I was doing. I simply started. It's really all about the soul.

2. Play

Let your imagination wander. Allow yourself to freely select words, symbols, colors, images. Remember, this is about the soul, not the intellect, and so things don't have to make sense -- in fact, they may NOT make sense.

The woman wearing aviator glasses was in a funky sports magazine ad. I ripped out the page and set it aside. Later I noticed that she seemed to say to me 'have fun! dare to be daring! you can do anything!' in a powerful combination of playfulness and courage.

3. Mess Around

Use scissors to cut something out ... or simple rip around the edges.

I love this method: because there is no way to make something perfect, there can be no imperfection -- Freedom!!!

4. Select a Journal Page

Did you notice? This does not have to be step one. If you haven't selected a journal or some kind of pages for your background, you can do that now. You can use a journal you already have as long as you're comfortable with a few bumps or wrinkles as you can see here, particularly around the glass tiles.

You can also start with a sheet of paper, a sketch journal from the dollar store, or a book from the reduced-for-quick-sale section at your favorite used book store. That's what I've done. I'm in love with books, and this just made sense to me for my Soul Journals.

5. Begin a Background

I brushed on green paint first. Any kind will work; inexpensive acrylics from a craft store are great. You can dry it more quickly with a hair dryer; then it's helpful to lay a piece of wax paper on top, held down by a heavy book so the pages won't curl. While this dried I leafed through magazines where I found this wonderful quote, the Grecian woman, and the large vintage clock.

6. Add for Depth and Texture

You can continue to work with the background to add layers.

Here I took a pad of dark brown ink to brush the edges and smear around the perimeter. I like to use my fingers, a bit of kitchen sponge, or brushes.

Then I smudged on some darker green paint. There's no rhyme or reason. The layers will add depth and interest ... much as the soul has mystery and unknown dimensions.

7. Mess Around Again

I placed words and pictures, moved them around, selected more items, discarded some, added some back in, and changed everything around again.

This is part of the process: allow the soul to freely wander.

After I cut out the clock (I think it was from a Smithsonian magazine ad) I wrinkled it up into a ball. Using the dark brown ink I rubbed over the wrinkles and around the edges -- instant aging! The numbers were from some product box or another -- there are interesting words and numbers all around us.

8. Stand Back

Do you want to move something a bit? Completely alter the arrangement? Add something else? Trust your intuition.

When it seems done, go ahead and glue down your collage pieces. Can you see a shine on these pages? Sometimes I use clear collage gel that dries with a gloss finish. (Remember, you can dry your pages more quickly with a blow dryer and then re-flatten with wax paper and a heavy book.)

9. Finishing

Ribbon, string, and pieces of fabric can be glued down the center or tied to the side; simply poke holes near the edge of the page, pull fabric or ribbon through and tie. Bronze glass mosaic tiles, dragonfly brads, an old button, and vintage stamps finished off the pages.

Is there still something you decide you want to change? You can. Or you can leave it. Imperfect? Unfinished? ... When is anything perfect? Or finished?

Maybe it's perfectly imperfect just as it is. This is all a process.

10. Enjoy

Have you noticed how a very young toddler will take a picture book and stare at the pictures for ages? I often wonder what's going on inside.

Try the same thing yourself.

Allow your gaze to wander into thoughts, memories, hopes, dreams ... allow yourself to settle into serenity, joy, quietness ... and enjoy the journey.

Look for future posts on continuing your soul journal. Meanwhile, don't forget the first step ... Start.

Please remember to post your comments and ask questions. I'd love to know you've visited and I'm always glad to explain things!

Joyous Dancing Among the Waves ... ... ... ... With Cherries!

"What in God might appear to us as play,

is perhaps what God takes most seriously.

We are invited to forget ourselves on purpose

and join in the general dance."

--Thomas Merton

As my preschool grandson would say,

Amazing, huh?

I've been so excited about sharing this quote with you

that I was up at 3am (!!!) to finish learning

how to combine images on Photoshop to go with it.

Enjoy the quote, enjoy the image,

Enjoy the Dance.

(PS: If you'd like the full quote email me

and I'll gladly send it to you.)

Surprise!

I had my morning coffee with a squirrel

and thought about Emily Dickenson and

Beatrix Potter with their squirrels.

Ours played beneath the corner bench

scrubbing through mulch,

intent on finding some yummy thing.

For one moment I turned my back,

set down my coffee and the last of my toast.

Ohhhh that mischievous neighbor!

But I should have known.

Wonder who enjoyed more

the crispy crunch,

the seeds and grains?

I decided that I did,

for mine was topped with

delightful entertainment,

joy and laughter.

Gazing as Prayer without Words

Just look at the serene blues and greens in this watercolor --

and the tranquil reflections in the water are amazing!

It's the lake I wrote about a couple of posts back.

I'm so grateful to Mike Thomas for permission to use

Boathouse at Smith Lake, Washington Park, Denver.

It really gives a wonderful impression of the the park.

I love how our thoughts and feelings can be subtly

affected by contemplating a setting like this. Last Friday

as I gazed at the currents flowing across the lake,

I slowly rested into hope; that was my prayer.

Words were unnecessary.

When talking isn't helpful and words only get in the way,

gazing at an image can help shift our thoughts -- and in turn

shift our physical and emotional reactions.

For example, have you ever found that talking about a problem

doesn't bring relief, but instead causes a tense visceral reaction?

Things like an anxious tightness in the back, churning knots

in the stomach, or tense clinching around the shoulders.

What I tend to notice first is how my voice rises a level or

two ... or three ... and how my pattern of speech often begins

to gallop into breakneck speed.

By gazing at a calm scene or a soothing watercolor like this,

our mindful attentiveness can become prayer.

When our lives are disrupted and our souls disturbed,

when words are insufficient even in prayer, we can

allow our gaze to settle into prayer without words.

Nicknames

Seeing old friends is great.

You know what else is great?
To be able to respond
when asked "How are you?" with
"I'm cancer free -- and
I'm depression free."

I call them
the "Big C"

and the "Dirty D"

There's power in a name.
Liberating power as well as oppressive power.
There's calm centering power,
and there's also the
whimsical redeeming power of nicknames.

What are some of your favorite nicknames
for struggles or Pains-in-the-Neck?
Favorite practical jokes?
Dreaded foods, days, or tasks?
Alter-egos or an Inner Child?

Tranquil Waters, Gentle Waves

Every Friday morning I meet a group of friends

at one of the parks in the Denver area.

Today we gathered near the Vintage Boathouse at Wash Park.

We spread my Great-Great-Aunt-Sissy's quilt with its faded pink flowers

beneath huge lakeside shade trees and lounged with

our coffee, tea, and morning snacks.

The peaceful water seemed to soothe everything around us.

Even the white geese with trailing toddlers

were more tranquil than usual.

I gazed out over the gently drifting current

and thought of friends whose days and realistic expectations

are anything but calm, serene, or tranquil.

Hundreds of applications and dozens of interviews,

sleepless nights and stressful days,

anxious weeks extending into months.

How long? How long, O Lord? echoes the 13th Psalm.

How long must sorrow remain? How long?

There are no words sufficient for my hopes.

But there are gentle waves drifting by.

Something New to Try!

What might it be like

to lighten our souls, brighten our lives,

and find joyous moments throughout our days?

(How often it is that we think of our life journey

as something 'serious' -- you know,

when even the word 'serious' is spoken

slowly, sedately, and in our deepest voice;

something weighty and pendantic!)

With my new blog,

I hope to share with you

a journey filled with

whimsical creative practices

for joyous moments in a thoughful life.