Live Lucky

I have a few of these hats only because I Kev brings them home after visiting the company headquarters. It is one of the companies that we have invested in and so we get them for free. Because nothing in my life isn't analyzed, I had to decipher the meaning of living lucky. Initially I just assumed that living lucky would mean that life just happens to us and sometimes we are lucky and sometimes we aren't. With this kind of belief, it has nothing to do with our intentions or actions and so I would think that to declare we are just lucky would mean we are just pawns that are affected by the events around us.

No, there really isn't such a thing as luck. I believe what happens in our lives is a result of choices. Ours or someone's. Good results are created by good choices. We don't just have a good day. We have to make a good day even if what someone else choose or what randomly happens seems to bring us either good or bad luck.

I wrote and saved this awhile ago but didn't post it. This morning I got bombed by what was obviously a very large bird. It hit my head and I thought the sky was falling. Luckily (yes it seemed like luck) I had on my hat and so it didn't get in my hair. Out of all the places it couldn't have landed, I guess I was lucky it hit my lucky hat.

Paths

I love paths. Whenever I see a nature path, I am drawn to it and long to walk that path. This is a photograph of a path I like to take each Saturday morning. It is glorious.

I have been hearing about walking the covenant path which leads to my Savior. Making and keeping sacred covenants, such as staying morally clean, being honest, and doing all I can to love and serve others are some of the things included on that covenant path.

Some people want to forge their own path through the wilderness and sometimes try to discover the way on their own. I prefer, however, to walk the path that others have walked and prescribed. The stepping is easier and I don't get lost.

We can do it all, but shouldn't

I realize I am capable of doing a lot and I am independent enough to be able to do quite a bit all by myself. But if I do that then I don't allow other people to step up to the plate and do their part. I thus rob them of the reward of contribution and service.

I know that it is sometimes my perfectionism that wants things done a certain way and so I am tempted to want to do it by myself. I am also reluctant to ask for help because I am  capable and thus not wanting to impose on others. I have also been refused help and so I can get timid about asking and then just think I need to get more organized and work harder.  And even if it is overwhelming at times, I do realize that I can be then be somewhat addicted to the "poor me" attitude of martyrdom. 

But when I give all of that up and not only allow other people to help me but expect them to, I not only lighten my load but create a synergistic interdependence that sustains relationships and that can accomplish so much more. It is also a great discovery to realize most people do naturally want to help if given the chance.

Yes, we as strong women can do it and do it all; but we shouldn't.

Think Like an Artist

You know the song, "Walk like an Egyptian?" Well, I believe that if you walked like one enough, you might become that. Same goes for thinking and acting like an artist. Declaring that I am an artist (like we all are in some form) helps me see all the myriad of ways to express artistry. In fashion, decorating, cooking, writing, photography, and on and on and on.

I can get so task oriented that I just want to get the job done, but now my eyes have opened to new possibilities. To think like an artist and capture ways to make even mundane tasks more artistic. I realize that it is a great way to live fully in the moment and savor beauty in a whole new way. It lends itself to more appreciation for all that God created for us and compels me to be a creator just like Him.

Power of our Subconscious Mind

I have been listening to this book on tape while driving in my car. In essence, what we have programmed ourselves to believe in our subconscious mind plays out in our conscious experience.

I have become aware that my "I am" statements are programming my subconscious mind and then I just naturally live up to the expectation.

If I say "I am not artistic" then I simply won't be able to access artistic capabilities because it will go against my programming. If I say "I am not disciplined" then I can only try and white knuckle some control only to finally fail and live up to my subconscious expectation (or should I say live down to).

I guess I am just like a computer. I have to be programmed for good results. I am reprogramming. I am artistic. I am disciplined.

A Stitch in Time

One thing leads to another. When I was at the craft store buying my art supplies, I ran into some fabulous yarn and was pulled back to another hobby I started at a young age. Crocheting. I bought the yarn and a hook and as soon as I came home, I started a little baby blanket.

It too brought back memories and I felt like I was coming home. I remember staying with my Great Grandma Adams and her teaching me how to crochet a nose warmer with a tassel on the end. Such a fun time laughing with her as we put on the finished product. I remember my Grandpa Harper telling me the I hold the crochet hook wrong. Sorry Grandpa, I still hold it wrong. Some habits are hard to break.

I was also brought back to a time in college sitting with my BFF Lisa Zundel now Anderson and crocheting together while we watched TV.  I know that my recent desire to start crocheting again was inspired by Lisa as I read her blog and how she stills loves to crochet while she watches TV. Thanks Lisa, you helped me remember how fun that experience was.   

I have discovered that it is always good to look to my childhood to remember what I loved to do. Next maybe I will have to call Jill, Judy, and Brad and put on another play. Unfortunately my Mom is the only parent alive, so we won't have much of an audience. (I need to clarify. Fortunately my Mom is still alive. Unfortunately, the other parents aren't)

Finding my artistic voice

So...I feel that buried deep inside me is an artist waiting to break free, and I am courageously going to unlock the door and see what escapes. I already know that as I start to freely fly that I must follow that which my heart draws me to.

Last week I started a water color class feeling that is a good place to start. What I discovered as I was mixing the primary colors to create new colors is a pull back to my childhood when I first read the golden book, The Color Kittens. That simple book created a fascination at a early age with colors and the concept of the color wheel was permanently etched in my mind and heart. It was thrilling to recapture a childhood passion and I knew I was coming home.

Today I was at the second watercolor class instinctively being drawn to painting flowers and other natural settings and wondering for what purpose I want to paint and what I will do with my artwork. I  realize that knowing I am taking an art class, my children might be filled with anxiety anticipating framed amateur watercolor paintings as their Christmas gifts instead of the usual cash. I already kiddingly warned them of such. Imagine their thrill...

Luckily in the middle of the night I wake up and started to follow wherever my heart leads. I have just been led to Art Journaling. I know that I have already have a love of journal writing and so now I can combine it with my new artistic expression and create a journal filled with thoughts and artwork. Voila! I get to create something I can enjoy and my kids can be saved from having to scramble to retrieve the dreaded artwork from a hiding place and put it on the wall when I come visit.