Let’s celebrate today (plus, new owl art)
- At April 13, 2016
- By Elizabeth McDonnell
- In Business, Life stories
0
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate” – Oprah
I want to celebrate today.
Celebrate the Journey, available here.
I want to celebrate, but not because I’ve achieved a big new goal. Instead, I want to touch on what often gets covered up by those bigger milestones. Today, this includes:
I'd like to read more, please»Little adventures (plus, a new painting begins!)
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places” Roald Dahl
Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you.
I love this line.
I also love that seeing the world through the lens of a new experience is pretty accessible, even if you can’t travel to another country or make a major life change.
I’ve been stretched outside of my daily routine a few times recently (and it feels good!).
First, I took a trip to New York this past weekend to see some of my oldest friends (we met in elementary school). Right now we live in 3 different states, so having even a few hours together is a great reminder that the people we walk through life with are to be cherished always. Thanks for the renewed perspective, friends!
New painting progress (plus, how we spend our days)
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day” A. A. Milne
It’s been an interesting few days.
Last week I had jury duty and was selected to be a juror on a civil case that started yesterday. My first instinct after being selected was to feel stressed at suddenly having much less time this week than anticipated. How would I get my work done? Would I finish the new painting I wanted to share with you?
My second (slower) reaction was to stop, get a cup of tea, and close my eyes.
In moments like these I always come back to one of my favorite Annie Dillard quotes which reads how we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives, and I love how simple a concept this is (and how steeped in truth).
Find your peace. Print available here.
I don’t want to be so annoyed about what I can’t change that I lose days of my life to a grumpy fog. There’s still peace (sacredness, every day magic) to be found inside each day if we’re willing to look for it.
My pledge to you is that I’m choosing to refocus this week as much as I can. Maybe my contribution as a juror has helped someone to move beyond a difficult period. The time away from my business (and computer!) has given me some unexpected fresh air and friendly conversations with people I’d have never met otherwise.
How do you need to refocus this week?
Shifting perspective is not always easy, but goodness does it make a difference.
I'd like to read more, please»New year, new studio space!
“May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well. May you be peaceful and at ease. May you be happy” – Tibetan blessing
I hope you’ve had a beautiful beginning to 2016.
I hope you feel at ease as the holidays leave us and we enter the new year.
I hope you feel curious about what lies ahead.
And most of all, I hope you don’t have a giant, long-lasting head cold like I do. Ahhh! Here’s to health.
2015 reflections (plus, my favorite word for 2016)
“Observe how endings become beginnings” Lao Tzu
I’ve always loved honoring the passage of time with specific markers (a new day / month / year, one season of life ending and another about to begin).
The end of the year is no different, as we make the transition from 2015 to 2016. I decided to give myself a true rest for the holidays this year, and will be taking some time off between Christmas and New Years. Hello, search for balance!
In the meantime, I want to look at some of the highlights from this year.
2015 reflections
This was a year of experimentation and growth. I left my full time job in December 2014, and the next several months were steeped in an immense transition from non-profit employee to being my own boss.
To make the transition easier, I did a lot of painting. Here are just a few of my favorites from 2015:
Twilight. Print available here.
Gratitude, special deals, and art-in-progress
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude” A. A. Milne
I feel like no matter how old I get, I’m never too old for Winnie the Pooh.
There’s so much (fun, silly, charming) wisdom to be found inside the Winnie the Pooh stories, and I especially love Piglet’s take on gratitude.
In the wake of so much worldwide fear and sadness recently, I’ve felt the overwhelm of being just one person in the midst of it all (perhaps similar to Piglet’s fear that it’s hard to be brave when you’re only a Very Small Animal).
I’m with you, Piglet.
If you’re like me and feel like a Very Small Animal in the world these days, join me and turn your focus to what we can control: helping whenever possible, spreading messages of love and peace, and keeping gratitude close to the heart. We all have an impact when we speak and act out of love instead of fear (and there are simply no small acts of love).
Love to you, and to me.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I'd like to read more, please»
Follow the whispers (art-in-progress, new sketches, and more)
“What is calling you? Follow the whispers” Kelly Rae Roberts
As I’ve mentioned in the past, my first artist mentor was Kelly Rae Roberts, a social worker turned artist who has captivated so many people with her art, inspiration, and generous spirit.
Kelly Rae talks often about following the whispers, or tuning inwards to the quiet voice that nudges each of us to say yes, this is good, I’m inspired, let’s give this a try.
I remember my first creative whisper came after I discovered her website and couldn’t get her story out of my mind. It took me months to realize that I kept thinking about her art because I wanted to paint also, but in that interim period I just sat with the feeling that my heart was trying to tell me something and that with patience I would figure it out.
I’ve always loved that she calls these moments when we’re quietly nudged in certain directions as whispers. A whisper is gentle, non-threatening. A whisper is only heard if we’re curious and paying attention.
What whispers have you been hearing lately in your own life?
I'd like to read more, please»Close to your soul (plus: art in the shop, UncommonGoods, and more)
“I will always lean my heart as close to your soul as I can” (Hafez)
As the past two weeks unfolded, most of the experiences I had focused down to one simple point: connection keeps us going.
Then I came across this Hafez quote and it spoke so directly to the mission of my art business, to the person I try to be on a daily basis.
I will always lean my heart as close to your soul as I can.
Chills! I love this so much.
I’ve had a number of conversations lately with friends about how much easier it can be to see the successes, joys, talents, and gifts in other people’s lives than to see the same in our own. Do you ever struggle to acknowledge how beautiful and wonderful you are?
Let’s take a moment now.
You are amazing.
You are needed.
You are enough.
Thank you for being you!
Every day I work on acknowledging my own joy and gifts, but sometimes I feel unsure and tired and my self-love doesn’t cut it. On those days it’s the people in my life who bridge the gap and remind me how special I am.
Who makes you feel loved? and connected? and full of hope?
Reach out to those people today. Connection keeps us going.
I'd like to read more, please»
Keep some room in your heart (plus: sketches, updates, and a new festival!)
“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable” Mary Oliver
Dream and Fly. Print available in the shop
Keep some room in your heart.
When I recently came across this line from a Mary Oliver poem, I paused.
Quotes, poems, nature, new art: I love everything that makes me pause and look a little harder or think a little longer.
Here are a few other great lines from her work that have stuck with me :
Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed
Let me keep company with those who say “Look!” and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads
I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed
I'd like to read more, please»Let life live through you (plus, pictures from Greenfest!)
“Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?” Rumi
I came across this quote recently. Let life live through you.
I also recently had a conversation with a woman I met about how each of us lives inside our own truth when approaching new situations. If I believe that the path to success is inevitably stressful, or full of struggle, or alternatively, completely joyful, then my experience is colored by that belief regardless of what is actually occurring.
My favorite reminder. The print is available here.
Stress. Struggle. Joy.
How do you choose to react?
I'd like to read more, please»
