Passion and Joy

What do I feel passionately about? What makes my heart sing? Today I do one thing that brings me joy.

The question above comes from a month-long series of questions posed by Kathryn Antyr, the Collage Diva, on her True North Arts blog. I have been answering these questions on my own, and as I wrote today's answer, I thought, Hey, that's a blog entry! So here it is.

What do I feel passionately about? What makes my heart sing? Today I do one thing that brings me joy.

Right now, I feel passionately about fellow bloggers who can write about daily life in a way that makes my heart sing. Gigi received a gift—a beautifully wrapped, creatively wrapped gift. She photographed it and wrote about it in a way that just made me feel like I was right there with her as she opened it. The person who wrapped the gift, Sande, has a blog about gift wrapping (go figure!), and she writes about wrapping gifts in a way that makes me alternately think Hmm—maybe I should try doing this! and Oh, my goodness—these are exquisite—beyond anything a mere mortal could do. The gift wrapper also wrote about how important blogging is to her because expressing our words is what is most important. And when we express our words, someone will hear and respond. And this is what is important.

Reading these blogs nearly makes me weep. To think that these people exist, that they think like this, that they are willing to be who they are and then share that with the world. It makes me weep with joy, with relief, with recognition, with hope.

I want to be a part of this group. I feel the same way when I am with my Journal Group. As the women and lone man read, I think, Oh, I am so privileged to be in this group. Each person brings beauty, fun, freshness, and humor to our group. Each one is so different, yet in vital ways we are the same. We all love to write, love to share, love being able to say what is on our minds and in our hearts.

That sounds a lot like bloggers, doesn't it?

So, today, one thing I do that brings me joy is to read my favorite blogs. The three I mentioned above are just a small sampling of my favorites. Even the ones listed on my sidebar are a small sampling which needs updated. I encourage everyone to read and connect and enjoy—share what you can bring to the party—then we will all participate in the joy!

The Month of Love

Several blogs are devoting their entries during February to the topic of love. Love in all its forms: romance, family, friends, love for pets, passions or treasures. Love for February, for life, for beauty. Since my mind kept going blank when I searched for a topic to write about, I decided that I could write about love. Then my mind went blank again.

At lunch today, I was reading another of my million books about writing. Naked, Drunk, and Writing, by Adair Lara. She says to just write—sit down, type in a sentence, then type another one, then another one. Soon momentum will take over. She isn't the only one who says this: all writing books and authors give this advice. Just sit down and write. I listen, nod my head, and avoid sitting down and writing.

Instead, I started web surfing, reading some of my favorite blogs, and discovering new ones. I read that this month is NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month. Bloggers are encouraged to post an entry every day during February. In Becca's Byline, I read that people are writing about love during February. Christina at Soul Aperture has written beautiful entries about love that stir my heart. I read great posts that were only a paragraph long. (That isn't likely to happen for me—I'm way too wordy—even when I have nothing to say!) Then I closed my browser, opened a Word document, and started this post.

So—love. That's a big topic.

I tell my family and friends that I love them. My co-workers tease me about ending my personal phone calls by saying, "I love you!" They say, "Gee, we aren't supposed to tell clients THAT!" Or, "Gosh, she never tells ME that!" I don't let their teasing deter me.

As a child, I rarely heard my parents say, "I love you." Mom and Dad just weren't comfortable voicing their love. They didn't go in for hugging or kissing either. I loved being hugged, kissed, and hearing that someone loved me. When I had my children, I told them that I loved them—frequently. I hugged them. I kissed them. As an adult, as I and my parents grew older, I decided to do the same with my parents. I started to tell them that I loved them, to hug and kiss them. At first it was awkward; however, they quickly came to expect and enjoy being more demonstrative. I'm glad for that. They are both gone now, and I am so thankful for all the memories of the hugs, kisses and I love you's that I did get.

So, my first post on love is to remind you to tell people that you love them. What will the second post be? Will there be a second post? I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow and see what happens when I sit down and write that first sentence.

Where does free time go?

What happens to free time on the weekends? It just seems to disappear. During the week, I can squeeze tons of stuff around my workday. I do morning pages, log a few minutes on the elliptical, do laundry, post blog entries (sometimes—I'm not diligent about that!), call friends and long for the weekend when I can devote more time to these activities.

What happens? The weekend comes, I sleep in, I run errands and spend time with hubby, go to church, nap when I can (not during church!)—and before I know it, the weekend is over and I haven't spent any time doing any of my imagined activities.

I heard of a friend of a friend who used to believe that the weekends were totally his time to spend as he wanted. He would stay up until after midnight and then get back up at 4:00 or 5:00 AM, so he could enjoy his free time. He got a lot done and loved every minute of it.

I think about that for a little bit. And I know that I will never be like that—no matter how much I change my thoughts, change my perspective, or try to be more productive. It just ain't gonna happen! I like my sleeping in and napping too much!

I guess I should just enjoy my weekends and free time no matter how it turns out. Go with the flow, since that is my word for the year. If I really want to get in some writing, exercise, or visiting, I can slip them in in small slices, just as I do during my workweek.

I did manage to create a Full Moon Dreamboard collage this weekend. I have been creating these, along with Jamie Ridler, even though I haven't taken pictures, posted and linked them yet. This Full Moon was the Wolf Moon, and Jamie said as we pulled images to ask what we are yearning and longing for.

I love the time I spend collaging. I like looking back at my creations. When I started, I worked in a small notebook, about 5x7. Then I started using a giant sketchbook, maybe 11 x 14, filling one page at a time. Now I fill a two-page spread, and even that is becoming too small!

My husband doesn't understand why cutting, gluing and pasting give me such a thrill. He worries that I'm regressing to a second childhood! LOL I just smile and keep cutting and pasting. I love looking back at what I've created. The pictures satisfy me in some way that I don't understand and can't express.

So, today is Monday, and I'm back at work for the week. I will squeeze in as many creative moments as I can this week. Maybe squeeze in a nap some evening. And the weekend will be here before I know it!

I will have to make time to watch a least some of the Super Bowl this weekend—our Colts are playing. I hope we can make it Win #2! Go Colts!

Simple Things

I read Christina's blog Soul Aperture and feel such deep happiness. She has a way of highlighting the ordinary and making me realize how beautiful daily life can be. I love her posts on simple things and I finally decided to list some of my own.

• Listening to my four-year-old granddaughter request a book from my "book room"
  
• A big pot of chili cooked by my husband, ready when I get home from work
  
• Books and my book room
  
• Email from my daughter
  
• Heated seats in my car when the outside temperature is 16 degrees!
  
• Sunshine
  
• Phone calls with dear friends
  
• Blogs—I love reading blogs!
  
• A free bookmark included in my latest book purchase
  
• Getting a copy of "The Big Tidy Up" after 30 years! This was a book by Norah Smaridge that I read to my children when they were little. We all loved it—and recently it was re-released—and now I own my own copy! (You can find it on Amazon.)
  
• Reading The Big Tidy Up to my granddaughter
  
• Covering up with my FuzzyWuzzy (like a Snuggie) in the mornings while I write in my notebook
  

I love the way reading one blog leads to another leads to another, etc.—and before you know it, you have discovered a site that makes your heart sing—and you are not quite sure how you got there—and you are so glad you did!

What Makes Me Happy

Friday evening, my husband and I spent time with our daughter, her husband, her two daughters, and her son who was celebrating his 22nd birthday. We ate at O'Charley's and had the best overloaded potato soup that I've ever had. We laughed, we hugged, we reminisced about when Randal was born.

This made me very happy!

One Word for 2010

Oh—I wanted to tell you about my word for 2010. This is my "One Word" ala Christine Kane and Ali Edwards. The idea is that rather than setting many resolutions that you will soon forget about, you choose one word as your guiding principle for the whole year.

 

I had sort of been noodling around with the idea that it was time for a new word, what should I choose, here is what I might want, etc. The word "flow" started popping up everywhere –in my reading, in conversations, on TV, on the internet. So I know that Flow is my word for 2010. And I realized that each year that I have done this process, the word has chosen me.

 

In 2008, my word was Trust—a word that I didn't want, and the universe wanted for me. In 2009, I was determined to pick a certain word because it was something I "should" work on—yet the universe kept popping another word into my consciousness—the word "delight." Not something I wanted to work on at all.

 

I began my focus by creating a collage on Delight. The intention was to keep adding to the collage through the year. That occurred only sporadically. My intention now is to create an end-of-the-year collage filled with things that delight me—if I can find the time.

 

Delight did keep slipping into my consciousness throughout the year. Some days, I felt sad or grumpy or depressed—and then I would think, "Can you find something to delight in?" Or something in my life would lift my heart, and the universe would whisper, "Isn't this delightful?" I noticed that delight usually comes from small incidences—a smile, a sweet, unexpected gift, hearing a favorite song, catching your favorite show on TV, finding a new blog, connecting with an old friend, or finding the perfect pen. I noticed that delight is sprinkled liberally throughout my days. I just needed to start paying attention.

 

So, the universe is now bringing Flow into my span of attention. Looking ahead, I think that this may involve becoming more flexible (yoga anyone?), less worrying, more spontaneity. I see pictures of rivers and brooks, water flowing from taps (remember the scene in Under the Tuscan Sun where water starts flowing from the tap in her hallway?), and blood flowing freely through arteries and veins. I'll have to look up the dictionary definition and write it down. I think of "Go with the flow," and being laid-back. I remember Luci Shaw's book, Writing the River. Oh, yes, my word for 2010 is definitely FLOW.

 

Websites and blogs that I like

A few of my friends have been asking me how I find the blogs and sites that I find. For some reason, finding blogs is one of my natural talents, which is ironic, since I used to be so scared of breaking my computer just by hitting the wrong key! I never dreamed that one day I'd be surfing all over the web and thinking that it is a breeze.

I started compiling a partial list to share on my blog and with my friends. One thing I need to emphasize to them is that most of the time, I am just following my curiosity and following interesting links. When you find a blog that you like, look at the sidebar. Most bloggers have lists of other blogs that they read. Also, most bloggers will mention a site and link to it in the body of their text. Patti Digh even devotes her Thursday entries to interesting, fun, or thought provoking sites that she has found. Follow some of those.

Another important tip is to bookmark or add to your Favorites list any cool sites that you find. Otherwise, later, you will think, "Now, how did I get to that site that I liked yesterday? And what was the name?" And you will draw a blank. Sometimes, I also just think of a subject that I want to read more about, type that word or phrase in Google, and see what comes up. I did that recently with Google images for "writing utensils" and "typewriters." I found a ton of cool sites and pictures just from that.

Read the comments on blogs and follow those links. Chances are if someone is reading a blog that you like and taking the time to comment, you will like what they have written also.

Oh, also keep your eyes open as you read magazines, newspapers, or watch TV. I've found blogs through those also.

So, now I will reveal, in no particular order, (Yes, I watch too much Dancing with the Stars!), some of the sites that I am currently reading. And of course, this is by no means a complete list!

http://brookecastillo.typepad.com/ Brooke Castillo's self development/weight loss site. I've read her book, If I Am So Smart Why Can't I Lose Weight? I like her writing, her advice, her encouragement.

http://www.danetterelic.com/drawingboard/ I just found this blog yesterday. So far, I like everything I've read. She is creative, positive, and energetic.

http://37days.typepad.com/37days/ Patti Digh's site. She is the queen of cool sites. She always has something interesting to say and interesting links to follow. If you only read her blog and followed just the links that she sends you to, you could stay busy and interested for a long time! My friend Cynthia has met her and said that Patti is just as amazing in person as she is on her blog—and she is a very genuine person. Read this one for sure!

http://www.looseleafnotes.com/ Colleen Redman's site. I love her writing. She is so real and so interesting. I have corresponded with her when I bought her book about her brothers and their deaths. I'd like to meet her someday.

http://www.beth-kephart.blogspot.com/ Beth Kephart, a writer for young adults/teens. I've read House of Dance and Nothing But Ghosts. I loved both books. I love the way she writes, and her blog entries sometimes take my breath away. And she loves to dance! I like that.

http://travelinoma.blogspot.com/ I found this site through reading her daughter Marta's blog http://martawrites.blogspot.com/ . Both of these women are good writers. Travelin Oma has been conducting a writing school, posting prompts every day that other bloggers have been responding to. I love reading about their family lives, travel, books, all the interests that they have. Marta also is interested in letterpress, which I love.

These are just a few links to get people started. I haven't even included any of the house blogs, or creativity blogs, or artist blogs, crafty blogs, vintage blogs or writing blogs that I like to read! So go on out there and follow some of these links. I think you might find something to enjoy.