Creative Battles

Transformation is always on going.......well hopefully it is.  Creative transformation is quite often the last transformation I want to deal with.....turns out I am not alone.  It seems that many run from their creative energy......and many cheat themselves of its benefits.

I read an article over the week-end in Real Simple magazine, a listing of 50 life-changing books.  Many of them I had already read, but one jumped from the page right smack into my face......"The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield.
I looked at Rick and told him we had to buy this book, we both needed to read it.  He bought a Kindle version, my paper back came today.

The sub-title of the book......break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles.  I have just started reading it this evening......if this works, I will sing it from the roof tops.  You know, we all fight this battle, for some it is direct creative energy, but for others, it is a desire to lose weight, beat an addiction, reach a goal we have dreamed about for years.....we all have some gift to give the world, but it seems we cheat ourselves
and the world of those gifts.

I think by tomorrow night I will have read this small book, will let you all know what I think. Personally, I am hoping for a major jump start on winning my creative battles.

Destroyed By Their Virtues

Sometimes quotes speak so directly to me, I cannot ignore them, they have to be shared........this one from Hemingway yelled at me, it described so many people that I have met these past few years.

"for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice.  Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed." - Ernest Hemingway

I bet some of you know these people too, God bless them everyone.

Goodnight, Sweet dreams

Ruby

It is Mother's Day.......I hope that you all have had a good day.  I never had children but I have several nieces and nephews that always remember me on this day.  I got calls, hugs, cards , candy and a rockin' pair of hot pink shoes.

I miss my mom on my Mother's Day, for the most obvious reasons, but also because I loved shopping for gifts for her.  She was so much fun to shop for, and to shop with.  She was a fashionista before that was even a word.  She taught me to sew, to shop thrift stores and she passed on her love of shoes to me.  Her philosophy, fit, feel, and wear it forever.  She taught me well.
I was so intimidated by her beauty.  She was everything I wasn't......olive skin, deep earthy eyes and rich dark hair.
This photo is of she and her sister Betty.  Betty is on the left, my mom, Ruby on the right......they were two righteous babes.  Rick and I went down a few days ago and visited Aunt Betty.  She can tell some great stories.

If your mom is still alive, I hope you got to spend some time with her today or maybe give her a call.  It you are like me, and all you have are memories........then cherish those.  I guess momma got a Mother's Day gift this year after all, Buddy went to be with her.
Happy Mother's Day.

Art In The Park

Art in the Park, is usually at a very beautiful park in Jasper, Al. but because of rain all the exhibits were moved to the college gym......and because of the rain threat, no stage......so all the musicians just gathered around the front door of the gym and had a really fun time!

I love this photo, it shows my ability to balance as well as play and sing.....all those years of yoga have payed off.

It was a good day, music, art and seeing many of our dearest friends......oh yeah and great NYC style pizza.

I hope your weekend is as much fun as my day has been.

Good Fatigue

There is good fatigue and bad fatigue......today is the good kind.  Jordan, our five year old great nephew spent the day.
We painted flower pots for his mom and  Nana for Mother's Day and made cupcakes.

The butterflies on the pots are his footprints...he was so proud of his work in the paint room and the kitchen.
He created a new kind of cupcake.......sprinkle LOTS of colored sugar sprinkles on the batter, then bake, then frost.
They are yummy!

He also got to pick and eat the very first blueberry.
I think he had a good day.  I know I did......it was just what I needed.

One Day, One Breath

I had several students say goodbye this week......it never gets any easier.  They are so amazing, brilliant, talented.......when they leave, I just pray that their lives get better.....that they have peace and joy.....that they find the path they so desperately seek.

There were tears today of sadness and joy......it is so scary to go back out into the world.....in rehab you have a safety net, a large support group......the world hasn't changed, all the stuff that was there before is still there, you have to walk a new walk, talk a different talk and sometimes make tough decisions about your life and those you want in it.

Yoga is a great tool for recovery of any type.........whether you are recovering from grief, illness, addiction......yoga can help.  Learning to be still, learning to breathe, learning to go within........even the movements take you to a different place.  Living in the now, the present is a biggie........most of us try to hang on to the past, while worrying ourselves crazy about the future, never thinking for one second about the now.  We replay those ancient memories and dally with what ifs until we destroy the present.....and then we wonder what in the hell happened to our life?

I closed my classes today with something that I say often.......12 steps teach one day at a time, yoga teaches one breath at a time.......some days, all you can do is  make it through one breath at a time.

Namaste

Funk Days

We all have "funk" days.......sometimes they last for weeks, sadly for some months or maybe years.  I have had a few of them this week......the treatment last week triggered a headache that will not go away, and then of course Buddy's death.

So, how do you get through the funk?   First you have to figure out what is going on......for me, headache induced by treatment and then grief because of pet's death.....and a husband getting wacky over taxes.   I will work through the grief, that takes some time.  Grief cannot be rushed, losing someone or a beloved pet is loss......loss of love.....I know that Buddy was very sick, I also know that now he no longer suffers.  The headache.......aspirin helps for a while, trying to drink extra water.......probably should call doc.  Husband wacky over taxes.....
time will take care of that, ( and maybe a whack on the side of his head.)  :)

One thing I have found about funk......it is like pity, you can wallow in it and it will devour you......or you can begin to seriously look at the cause and take steps to clear things out.  You have to be brutally honest about the funk, what caused it and what it will take to clear it out.
Funk can be alcohol or drug induced, it can be brought on by boredom, by having no purpose,
or sense of direction.......funk can be caused by many things.

I find a walk out doors, some fresh air helps.  Sometimes just a chat with friends, a good cry,
a good laugh and often a long hard look at your life........often it is time for a change.  Change
can sometimes scare the wits out of you, that will get you out of a funk rather quickly.
If it is a funk that is caused by boredom or a dead-end job or a life that seems to have no sparkle......get up and do something!  Go to class, learn a new skill, plant something,  do something different......you have to get the blood flowing and the heart beating.

One other thing, when in a funk......smile.....even if you have to fake it.  Pretty soon the fake  will become real, you 'll look better, and the funk will start to fade. Smiles make others around you smile, they make people around you wonder why you're smiling......and the next time the funk comes to visit.....you've got some ammunition.  My funk is better all ready.