Blogtoberfest Day 7 - Inspiration in the forest

After a day at work, looking after friends' animals, feeding my own animals followed by household chores I almost felt too tired to write a post and certainly didn't know what to write about.   Help!

When I'd checked the chooks were in bed, I took Charlie Dog for a walk in the forest, the path lit by an almost full moon and my dodgy wind-up torch.  We could hear bagpipes being played in the distance (honestly!) which added a strangely pleasant ambience.  I started thinking about my day and questioning what I could possibly write about as it had been 'just another day'.  So I started looking for tiny moments for inspiration - and remembered looking through my desk calendar at work as I ripped off each day already spent.  With these calendars there is a daily quote and I like to read them in case there's one or two that resonate with me - and I remembered the one that caught my eye, and as it happens stayed in my mind:

"One can never consent to creep, when one feels an impulse to soar." - Helen Keller

I don't know what stood out for me with this one, was it the rebellious nature of not doing what you're expected to do, or the concept of soaring?  I guess that's something else for me to think about ...

Forest walks always inspire me in some way ... do you have a place you go for inspiration?

bah humbug ...

I hate forms!!  I've spent the past hour and a bit filling in forms for passports.  It's so boring and so long-winded - I'm going to bed because my head hurts!

Oh and another gem from behappy.me, I rather like this one:

Night, night! xx

Quotes to build you up

I've said it before and I'll say it again - quotes are a great source of inspiration and encouragement.

There I was feeling a little sorry for myself as I struggle with trying to combine working with looking after my family (which after all I do see as my main and most important work) and I felt the need to search for quotes to lift my spirits.

I feel so much better after browsing for a while, for me it's almost as addictive as Pinterest :)  One of my fave places to look is behappy.me

Hope these quotes strike a chord with some of you too. xx

yucky ...

... the weather that is.  It's windy and rainy and a tad chilly :)  My kind of weather really, but not so great for taking great shots of completed projects, so you'll have to wait to see pictures of my beautiful hexagon bag.

I haven't done a quote post for ages, and at sewing yesterday my friend showed me this brilliant site called 'be happy' where you can order products with your chosen quote printed on them.  Awesome if you're a quote collector like me!  She picked this quote for me and I'd like to share it with you too dear readers, hopefully it will make you smile like I did and set you up for the weekend  xxx

Blogtoberfest day 3 - First quote for October!

Woah - another heavy day at work with the second day of my training course.  It culminated in having to do role play in front of a small audience to consolidate our learning.  Talk about being petrified!!!  When the facilitator asked me what I thought I'd done well, I replied "just sitting up here and doing it" ... but I did feel so good after I'd finished ... when firstly I'd had to summon all my courage to not run out of the door!

So I came home and decided to do something for myself that I enjoy for a bit of self-care, and today it was looking for inspiring quotes to add to my collection - does anyone else enjoy collecting quotes?

And I found this, very apt I think ...

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.     
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Hope it gives you some inspiration too.  xx

May's Inspirational quote

I haven't done one of these quotes for a while, and as it always happens I found it when tidying up my clutter!

"What would it be like if you lived each day, each breath, as a work of art in progress?  Imagine that you are a Masterpiece unfolding, every second of every day, a work of art taking form with every breath" - Thomas Crum.

Don't you just love the way it makes you feel that we are an on-going process, we're not finished yet?  It gives us a new chance to shine with each moment. 

For each of you lovely works in progress xx

Choice Collage

This quote came to my attention today, and I love it so much I'm going to use it in conjunction with my choice collage that I made the other day as one of a series.  Hope you enjoy it too. xx

"Every person, all the events of your life, are there because you have drawn them there.  What you choose to do with them is up to you." - Richard Bach

A Creativity Quote

I've just finished reading "Knitting Through It: Inspiring Stories for Times of Trouble" compiled by Lela Nargi.  It's a collection of essays and stories by people who use knitting as a way to connect with others, to get them through tough times, to evoke memories, amongst other themes; and if like me, you love to share stories and hear other perspectives on life you will love this book.

One quote stuck with me and I'd like to share it now:

"Everything we create - pies, paintings, songs - resonates with our deepest needs as human beings, as creative beings, to make things of beauty and worth.  It's this act of creation that allows our souls to breathe, enables us to activate our spiritual selves and connect with nature."   
(From the essay 'Knitting My Urban Escape by Barbara DeMarco Barrett).

At the moment I'm working on another afghan, crocheting for all my life is worth.  When I'm feeling a bit scattered I've realized that crochet makes me feel as if I'm in control of something, I'm creating something that is real and I have a creation - if only a single square - in a very short time.  It keeps me grounded, and I like the structure it gives me when my mind is wondering off chasing my own original creative ideas that I can't quite grasp for the moment.  And you just thought crochet was good for keeping warm :)

Slow and steady wins the race ...

"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you don't stop".  - Confucious

I love this quote.  Makes me feel better about my 'go slow' I'm going through at the moment.  Slow with everything - blogging, my dream, work, gardening, school holidays.  BUT - I am being kind to myself and know this is merely a lull before I get my energy back and go at everything at full steam again (then tire myself out, and so the cycle begins again!)

Enjoying the last few days of spring - summer is on its way! :)

Rest and relaxation

I'm off to Margaret River for a couple of days for some much needed R&R, so may not be blogging for those two days - having too much fun! :)

Here's a little quote to give you something to think about:

"In the middle passage we are invited to find our passion. It is an imperative to find that which draws us so deeply into our life and our own nature that it hurts, for that experience transforms us."
J Hollis, 'The Midlife Passage: From Misery to Meaning at Midlife'.

What's your passion?

A Great Quote ... and light and shade

I was going to share some pics of my 'scapegoat' doll that I started yesterday, but my husband has gone out with the camera and won't be back until late, so that will have to wait.

Anyway, when he's out I get the chance to watch my choice of DVD and tonight I watched a programme about discovering our shadow side, ooooh, very thought provoking! Well, there was a quote that I may have posted before, but it is just so beautiful I want to share it again, so here it is:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson

Oooh, it gives me goosebumps to read it, I should have it printed on postcards and pasted to every wall of the house so that I can read it every day!!

Today was a lovely relaxing day - I went to the local rose gardens with my youngest, and we delighted in feeding the huge koi carp, who practically climb on top of each other to get the morsels of bread. Of course we had to visit the cafe for a milkshake - very yummy, I had a special rose thickshake and didn't feel too guilty as it's made with soy milk. Feeling quite virtuous I followed my youngest through the gardens and was lead to a beautiful rose trellis arch. I just love them! Today the sun was shining through the boughs, casting dapples of light and shade on the ground, we walked from end to the other and back again. Somehow I always feel closer to God when I do that - always have done since I was a little girl and had no conscious idea of spirituality. I've just always felt that there's more to life than we know and I feel it more in the presence of light and shade through the trees!! Maybe I shouldn't watch too many more thought provoking DVDs!! :) As we walked back to the car the air was suffused with the subtle aroma of summer roses - absolute bliss. These simple moments of pleasure are what makes life great aren't they? Go on out and be brilliant!

ps The DVD is called 'The Shadow Effect', with Debbie Ford in case you want to know! :)

Just being ...

I've been having lots of fun catching up with mum and news of the UK. We haven't done much, just mooched around drinking lots of tea and chatting. Next week we'll start with the day trips as it's school holidays and we can go out with the whole family. Should get some good photos of the countryside to share :)

So for now I will simply share a quote with you from a book I've borrowed from the library called 'The Soul of Creativity' (edited by Tona Pearce Myers). Several creative people from artists to musicians share their beliefs about creativity; it's very inspiring. This morning I read about an artist called Michelle Cassou and I love her approach to art, believing that free expression is the ultimate aim. Of creativity Michelle said,

"Creation does not need anything added to it, no reward, no approval, no praise. Creation is a moment filled with spirit, a moment when the soul reaches far and brings back God's heart."

Amen to that.

F-R-E-A-K-Y Friday!

The back of my "Mama Love" doll with 'tree of life' - I made her ages ago! Her hair is made from tiny gumnuts.

The two beautiful monsters painted very neatly.

From the left: Mama Love, Monster 1, Monster 2, my beautiful purple sphere and a lovely polystyrene ball! When the ball rolled up to the sphere, it was almost as if they had something to say to each other!

We had a little creative time today painting some models we'd made several months ago from air-drying clay. To be honest, I'd put them on a tray in our pantry and forgotten about them. My son had been asking to paint his monsters for ages before I realized what he was talking about. But here they are for your delectation! How artistic is my little boy? It must be in the genes! We really needed to do some creative work as we'd spent the morning walking around a shopping mall which is really my least favourite activity and I was feeling slightly stressed!

I love our little models and monsters -they are a little bit different, totally unique, an expression of us!

It's at this point I have to quote something said by my friend and fabulous artist, Violette!

"You may as well your "freak flag" and be loud and proud about it!"

We all need to express ourselves as we truly are. Amen to that!

Embrace your creativity!

I have a new hero - he's called Sir Ken Robinson and he's pretty amazing! I've always personally believed that by the time we are adults our inborn creativity is pretty much squashed out of us. Until recently I've been on a one woman quest to encourage people to embrace their creativity, wondering if anyone else felt the same as I do, or was I in fact a little bit mad. However, more and more people are coming into my life who share the same belief; on 'The 7.30 Report' programme for the past two nights Sir Ken Robinson has been interviewed about his views on education and creativity and what responsibility education has for encouraging and nurturing the innovators of the future. Well, I've been doing a little more research and found lots of information about him and written by him such as the quote below - it really outlines a major problem in the world today:

"We are educating people out of their creativity".

I also love what he has to say on people finding, or not finding, their passion and the difference it makes to their lives and communities in general:

"I'm always struck by how many adults have no idea what their real talents are, or whether they have any at all. Many people just do what they do with no particular passion or commitment to it. I know others who genuinely love what they do; who would probably do it for free if they had to, and can't imagine doing anything else. Understanding what makes the difference is essential for transforming education, business, and communities to meet the real challenges of the twenty-first century."

It's awesome that a man who holds these beliefs about creativity also has so much influence in the wider world. It's certainly motivated me to keep on my journey to help people bring creativity back into their lives. Sir Ken Robinson is much more eloquent than I am on this subject and has written some books as well, so if you would like to read more on his work you will find the link to his website here, a talk and other links on ted.com here, and the blog article with the main quote. It's a fascinating and important subject.

Trying to be as creative as I could I decided to produce tonight's drawing using only the materials I could find in the office pencil pot!

Truly inspiring

I tried to have a quieter day today - my ears have been ringing for most of it after standing so near to the speakers at last night's concert! The day started with a children's party, but then became more sedate when I got home. I've spent the day tidying up again, sorting through some more of my piles of paper (great filing system!), and once again I've found a very powerful and humbling quote to share. Be inspired!

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances." Victor Frankl

Transformational Tuesday!

Today has been the opposite of my art deprived Monday! It has been very productive; I had some quiet time to work in my healing doll journal, and above you can see a (very) quick sketch of my guardian doll, some notes I've made and some felt sheets. I started to create my doll by making a couple of felt sheets for her cloak. I just love making felt! I realized today it's because it is such a transformative process, from soft, fluffy fibres to a beautiful soft fabric in minutes, just by using hot water, soap and your hands! Because the process is so hands on and the wool so tactile, you become really lost in the moment, it's really very meditative.

I received a lovely comment on my post from Sunday evening, and Jacquie (who left the comment) added to the same quote I used from Nelson Mandela. Just in case you don't get time to read it, I will repeat the quote here, because it is definitely worth sharing:

"Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you".

Thank you Jacquie for the quote, it is much appreciated!

Also, I had to laugh this morning when I thought about how sad I felt the day before, as I was wondering if anybody apart from my mum and dad read this blog. As you can see, I was feeling very sorry for myself! Then I had the comment on my blog, and it was like a little knock on my head telling me to stop being silly and carry on writing, because the people are out there and reading!

Releasing fear and moving on

Today I was just going to write up my quote, but then I found this pen called 'Tech-Riter' and I couldn't resist doodling with it! Decided to see what I could come up with in 5 minutes and this is the result - it probably means something at a subconscious level I'm sure!

Here in Australia we have this great holistic journal magazine called 'Nova', and in this month's issue I was reading about letting go of negative beliefs so that we can move forward. The article finished with this quote by Nelson Mandela, which is too wonderful not to share:

"As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates those around us." - Nelson Mandela

As I've been working on overcoming my fear of ... everything ... I thought this was a very powerful quote and a real encouragement to move forward into our true potential, which also benefits those around us - a win-win situation!

Happy Mother's Day

Arthur: 'It's at times like this I wish I'd listened to my mother.' Ford : 'Why, what did she say?'
Arthur: 'I don't know, I never listened.'
Douglas Adams

I did look for quotes for Mother's Day, but some were too soppy and most just not right. The one above appeals to my strange sense of humour, and after all it was my mum who introduced me to 'Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy', so it's kind of a tribute as well you see. :)

In my little book of Friendship I did find this quote which I thought was appropriate:

"When I count my blessings I count you twice." Thanks mum for everything!

Do you like my lovely necklace my children bought for me? It's got glitter and sequins in it, and I love it! I also enjoyed a lovely brekkie in bed and was left alone to read my book for an hour or so. Absolute heaven.

Still blogging ...

I'm still trying to write a post every day in May, and realize I've only just managed it for today. Ooops! But I'm not one to give up easily.

Tomorrow it's Mother's Day here in Australia, so I've found a quote which would be lovely to share with our mums (and other people you love too!)

"I thank you for your gifts. All of them. I see you are trying to teach me all the time. I think of this when the lessons hurt. I love you." - Alice Walker, 'Living by the Word'.

I'll try and find one about mums for tomorrows post, because we need to let them know how much we love them.

Oooh, and the girls won against the boys at Pictionary last night - yay!

Needing help

I haven't blogged for the past 3 days because I just wasn't in the headspace to do it, and today I have a cold so am feeling uninspired again :( I thought my sore throat was because I'd been chatting so much with my friend this morning whilst we were doing our craft, but no, it's those dreaded germs. Boo! So it's paracetamol and an early bed tonight, sleep is the best cure for everything I find.

Decided I need some help with tonight's post and looked through some of my arty books for inspiration. Dear Sark came to the rescue with a quote from her book "The Bodacious Book of Succulence", it cheered me up and now I'll share it here with you:

"Your creativity is an immense force that is inside every cell of you. The value of that is immeasurable. Your creativity in action is so needed by our world and the people in it." - Sark

If you haven't read any of her books, go now and find one - there will be a morsel of encouragement just for you ...

Here's to creativity and the healing power of sleep!!