Hungry for Change...and Self

Here is the Hungry for Change quote that I couldn't get into the blog yesterday.  If I type continuously and don't at all try to edit this, it will work.  That takes perseverance and determination.  Someone recently called me stubborn - I suppose that word could be synonymous with the others but not as positive to me!!
   "When you take care of yourself, something powerful happens.  You realize you're precious.  You fall in love with yourself and that love shines through you and overflows to others.
   YOU GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO LIVE HOW YOU WANT TO LIVE!!
    Lovely.  When I think about change and all that has happened over the years, I think about the birth and life cycle.  In a few days, it will be 23 years since these little girls were born into our lives.  It was a total joy and blessing to be engaged in their lives (as much as they would allow!) and watch them thrive, grown and develop into the talented and loving young women that they now are.  Happy Birthday to Rebecca and Kathryn.
   Now the cycle has begun again with the birth of our grandson.  There will be constant changes daily as he is loved and nurtured and he thrives!  Yet another blessing.
    I go back to the quote from Hungry for Change - WHEN YOU TAKE

To See Ourselves As Others See Us!

BOTHER!! I WROTE THIS POST YESTERDAY AND THEN COULD NOT GO IN AND EDIT IT AT ALL...SO HERE IT IS AGAIN
 Yesterday I got distracted...by the garden...I was on my way to the pool for warm water exercises and just stopped for a second to look at the cutest little white flower in the front garden.  It was all soft and furry and fuzzy and I wanted to capture it for the Garden album.  I tried and nothing I could do could get a clear picture of her.  All I heard was "I WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PICTURE TOO!!"  It her neighbor the bright orange marigold and she was talking to me loud and clear.  WHAT???  OK...here you are...a together portrait.  It's a lovely combination - bright - vivid - warmth - exuberance and soft, gentle, peaceful.  As the day went on, I ketp thinking about those two flowers and their differences and realized that they had chosen to be together in the garden and share in my visions.  OK.  As usual, I reflect on that for more meaning and relate it to a message for my life!!
  Here is my very early morning take.  It's about me - the issue I often write about - self acceptance and belonging.  It's not just about me but probably resonates with most of you too - truth???  There's an old issue that keeps surfacing - wonder howmany of us have the same experience - over and over again until we 'get it right?"  This is who I am - or who I think I am.  This is how the world sees me - or how I think the world sees me.  Then there is yet another reality.  There is another way to see myself and to understand how the world truly sees me.  The amazing thing is that the other way is much the more positive wayand in my subconscious that give messages of 'not so good' yet I hear loud and clear, "When can we get together?"  "I need my Martie time"  "You know so many people"  "You have so much to share"  "Your work is so creative and beautiful"  "You are talented"  I continue to look over my shoulder and wonder who these people are talking about?  I need to come to the realization that she is NOT over my shoulder but within.   Am I the cute frilly white flower or am I the marigold.  Do I need to compare? Or do I need to choose which one I am cause I am NOT one or the another but both are a part of me!!  Does it really make a difference?  NOT AT ALL...the challenge is to know that within lies the pot of gold - not over the next hill or in make self look "better'in relation to others. Within is the pot of gold and the rainbow - the gentle spirit that is full of zest and life and love.

  Now consider the hydrangea - we could think it strange that there are both purple and pink flowers on the plant and no blue!  For a few years, this plant gave us nothing but green leaves.  Bill was about ready to take it out and I begged for another year.  Now, she produces and is prolific and gorgeous.  Another lesson huh?  Mom always called me a late bloomer - is the hydrangea too a representation of something within me?  Maybe so.  So I am multifaceted and brightly colored and gorgeous like the hydrangea.  These are all BE STILL moments and on reflection, there are sooooooooooo many lessons that come from the flowers and other plants in our garden.  How to really recognize,learn and pay attention to that?!?  Simple, just stop and PAY ATTENTION!!   (NOTE: for those of you who read the original - these words were just blank white lines...now they are real)
   Now it is time to go and settle in and read The Element by Ken Robinson - friend Bob just sent me "IT" and a laundry list of possibilities as I discover my Element and begin to manifest it.  Hey - think about it - aren't I already engaged in the process with this blog and facebook page.  Fancy that!!

Perfection...or not...Acceptance...YES!!

The only perfection we have in life is the imperfection and beauty of Nature that we are gifted with daily.   Recently, a quilting friend and I were gifted with a weekend stay in Villas,NJ.  We were spending our days at a Quilt/Fiber show at Cold Spring Village.  After a full day of fascinating conversations with most interesting people - adults and children alike - we were relaxing with our Key West Tacos and watching a Hallmark movie.  I looked at the clock, looked outside and realized that we knew how the movie would progress and end - so predictable - but would never be in this space and time again with a beautiful evening to watch the sunset on the Delaware Bay!  Hey, want to come?  And my mid 70s friend had her shoes on and tied before I finished my question!  Off we went.  We found a path to to the beach amidst all of the big private houses with their private walkways.  This view is what greeted me as I walked the path tothe beach.  I could have stopped there and headed home but I just knew there were more gifts over the ridge and down the steps!  Onward!!

Careless abandon!!  These flip flops said just that to me!  The sun was shining on them and agreeing with me.  I sat on the step and watched the families come down to the beach and immediately kick off the shoes.  That's more of the perfection of imperfection.  They wanted to romp in the sand and feel it between their toes and they had to be barefooted!  Just did!!  I love what these shoes represent to me - the life lesson they shared.  Just do it - don't think about it - just do it.  Kick off your shoes and go for it!  The sand, the water and the freedom were so there for the taking!!  WOW and if we had sat and finished watching the Hallmark movie, we would have missed out on so many of the synchronicities of life's learninig laboratory!  As an aside, we watched another one when we got back after dark - yep, we could have written the script for that one as well!!

Nature, beauty, sunset and now a QUILT?!?  It's connected folks and that the beauty of life - everything is so connected - you just have to have a mind like mine that creates those scenarios all the time.  A few years ago, I found these hearts and flowers patterns on the Internet (always a great source of inspiration) and decided to just stitch/embroider them.  There were 12 - monumental task to be sure, but in the spirit of life and Lao Tzu, I decided to take the first step and JUST DO IT!  Wow - I finished them and had them at a quilt meeting.  "Friends, what should I  do with these?"  Oh crazy quilt to be sure, Martie was their response. Then I asked the group to share pieces of red materials for me to use and they did!  With the combination of my stash and theirs, forward momentum continued.  Then I finished that part of the twelve squares.  Again, back to the friends - what to do - and since we were meeting at Quilted Treasures in Atco, NJ, Lynn just happened to have the perfect fabric to pull it all together! 

   Why am I sharing all of this?  Well it is about ACCEPTANCE!   I do some crazy quilting because I like to stitch.  This past weekend at the quilt show, I received so many compliments and affirmations for my work that it totally gave me pause and filled me with lots of amazement ...and gratitude.  I reflected on some of the work I have done over the years and realized that I have my style and I do nice work!  Why does that surprise me?  Well...it's about acceptance - self acceptance huh?  The realization that I take wonderful pictures and love my photography and now the knowing that I have some really great and creative quilt work as well - all hand stitched.  One ending to the story, although the chains of connections could well be never ending.  My friend Pat was working on a red,black and white quilt as she lay in the hospital last Fall.  I loved her and her work.  We did a tribute to her and her work at the quilt show.  As we set out the quilts - finished and unfinished, we realized that her last pieces were both finished and unfinished.  The unfinished squares - can you believe there are TWELVE of them - just the same amount as my red work squares and the same size too ?~?  Now, they will be the back side of my quilt and my memory/connection to a dear friend.  Isn't life amazing in its perfection/imperfection and our acceptance of it all??