On Gratitude, part 153

This week I was gifted with so much; through my friendships, lessons, inner evaluations, many of which drew tears.  I would like to share with you some gratitude that has made me pause this week.  

I harvested the last crop of mint from our garden

witnessed mushrooms in unexpected places

watched this thumbergia plant flower over and over again despite the calendar date.

I received this Frida Kahlo necklace as a gift from Sherry, my fellow Frida persona with who(m?) I share a reciprocal adoration  and who makes life more real for me on a day-to-day basis in so many unexplainable ways

I watched this spider catch many flies, grateful he stationed himself far *enough* from my house to enjoy observing him and his ways

Another extraordinary event that happened was that I was gifted a spot in Anne-Marie Bennett's next Soul Collage class, something that I have ached for over many, many moons and now, thanks to a very generous heart, will let me jump into with all that I can bring to it.   So whilst I thrash around in the shadows, I have been acutely aware of the ones who show up to light my way, spur me on and keep me accountable for where my feet trod on my path.  I humbly bow to all of you in thanks and gratitude for holding space for me, for loving me for who I am.  

Releasing Ceremony - Welcoming Back the Light

Thanks Ted!

If you have ever had the feeling that Big Brother is closer than you would like him to be, I invite you to watch this Ted Talks

Boo!

Navel Gazing

I have done plenty of that so far this year. I love it when it feels like I've been hit over the head with something that has been under my nose all along. Most of you probably know the Queen of Arts, a.k.a. The Rock Fairy, and the bags of rocks she produces for sale. She chooses rocks from the Maine or New Hampshire beach and then lives with them for a while before painting and labelling them with words. I have both bought her bags of rocks and been gifted them. I love leaving them around, offering them up to people I know with a blithe, "here take one" as I hold open the bag. They produce a giddy kind of feeling, anticipation and always, so far, followed by a meaningful aura of "oh, I needed that". Imagine my surprise when yesterday, as I was placing one of these rocks down at the water near where I live, when it dawned on me that these rocks I pick and choose to leave aren't necessarily messages for those who find them, but messages I need to hear too. Oh my goodness. BOING! CLONK! Here is the rock that started this revelation yesterday:

I usually leave the rocks in a fairly obvious spot and am puzzled when I pass days later and see them still there. This time I decided to be cagey and make it not obvious. I suspended it about six feet off the ground on the top of a sculpture. It would take looking UP to find it.

This morning Riley and I took our granola bars and our dog down to the water, we had each chosen a rock to leave from our own stashes (The Rock Fairy had given Riley his own bag of rocks when she visited us last week). Neither of us knew what the other had chosen but see how well they go together.

We left them on a park bench, in plain sight. Wouldn't it be fun to watch the reaction of the people who pick them up?

Yesterday I Was a Hero

Every other Thursday afternoon I work in the school library. Naturally, it's the time when Riley's class visits and last year I did the same duty. It has been an opportunity for me to observe him outside of our usual settings and it has been very good for me. Last year I worked with another woman, this year I am going it alone and I have been called upon to do things I hadn't before when I could relax a little and let the other woman with years of experience take care of the trickier tasks while I stuck to the mundane. Yesterday one of the grade 1 boys asked me for a book his friend had taken out previously. He didn't have the title, just a few scanty details such as it was about monsters, maybe Frankenstein and it had something 3-D in it. Often these requests for searches are phrased like, "it has a pink cover and it's about princesses", or "it's a book with scary stories". Not the most salient facts to enter into the computer's search engine. But yesterday I found that book about monsters (293 entries in the search results) and it did have a picture of Frankenstein on the cover and a sticker that said "3-D" for some things that were on the inside. I don't know who was happier, me or Matisse, the boy who had asked for it. He actually came back to the library later that day to thank me. The second class that comes through during my tour of duty is a 4th grade class and there is one boy who is, shall we say - "challenging". In fact he challenges all I say or help him with. And up until yesterday I dreaded seeing him come through the door. But yesterday he was checking out a book about origami and we got to talking about that and the beautiful paper and the kinds of things he made and I saw a whole different side to him, the side that is just another human being excited about his craft, delighting in beauty and thrilled to talk with someone who wanted to hear what he had to say and how he felt. And I did feel like a hero and it felt good.

Happy Day!

To all our American friends, happy independence day! Beyond the BBQ-ing and the fireworks, this day celebrates your freedom, something so many are striving for. Wave your flags and shout it from your rooftops!