Archive for January, 2012

January 9th, 2012

Where Inspiration Comes From

Yes, sometimes inspiration comes in beautiful things-in waterfalls, quiet carpets of green sprawling grass, in the smile of a child.

But most often the most profound moments come to us in grief, when we’ve fallen down, broken in, cracked on the the inside and have nothing left to give.

It’s during these times that we have a rare glimpse into our true selves. It’s in these moments that we’re asked:

“Can I make it? Will I survive this? Do I have what it takes to move forward stronger than I was before?”

It can come in tragic experiences or in small tests-tests that ask us if we’re willing to accept who we are and the life we’ve been born to live.

If I know anything, it’s this. We were not made to be born the same. We were given our own individual minds and a fingerprint unique to each individual soul. Although society and your friends and family would like you to fit the mold and keep you there for their own safety, you were meant to break it.

On one of Oprah’s Lifeclass she says:

“Your life doesn’t have to be what everybody else thinks it should be.”

And when you can mourn that loss, when you can grieve their expectations that you will never and should never fulfill for them, you will then pick yourself up from that tear fallen floor and rise above it all.

It takes heart, courage, sheer will and a reminder that shedding that skin no matter how painful, is what being human is. It is not to walk the same path as your neighbor. It is not to make a million dollars a year. It is not to exceed your competitor. It is only to be. Exactly the way you are. Exactly the way you were meant to be.

Breathe that in dear friends. You already are more than enough.

CategoryDaily Inspirations | CommentNo Comments »

Tags:
January 6th, 2012

Creative Friday: Painted Calendars

I missed you guys last Friday. But I’m back with a new project. I’m still working my way through my 2012 calendars. It’s a slow and imperfect process. Yet, that’s what creativity is, isn’t it? It’s all about the journey, not the destination.

So here are my February and March months:

The inspiration for these duos has actually come from CB2 catalogs. Catalogs are one of my favorite forms of inspiration in fact, not just for painting, but for copywriting too.

And here’s a black and white one just for fun. {P.S. I only recently figured out I had the option to go black and white, sepia, natural and bold on my digital camera. Yes, I’m slow.}

I have to end this quick creative Friday post with a quote I just saw and shared on Facebook via @OprahWinfrey:

“It took me a long, long time to realize we’re not meant to be perfect. We’re meant to be whole.” – Jane Fonda

CategoryCreativity | CommentNo Comments »

Tags:
January 4th, 2012

Making Meaning in 2012

When I reflect back on 2011, I see a bunch of foggy days wrapped up tight, stuffed and oozing out like a burrito from a food truck. It may taste delicious all and all, but the sight…well it ain’t for sore eyes.

In 2012, I want more. I want to rediscover meaning and purpose and passion. I’m tired of settling for status quo. I’m fed up with telling the same story that everyone has told before and continues to tell over and over again. It’s time now to begin authoring my own life.

This bubbling brook began forming months ago. But it was reignited while I was in Sedona and heightened when I returned to Hawaii a week ago. While I was working and attempting to juggle seeing friends and family, I had a profound dream. I don’t remember what it was about or who was in it. But the message was clear:

“You need to survive this so you can write about it.”

The “this” the voice was talking about doesn’t matter. It could be the stress of the holidays, my fears, my health. But the decisiveness of the message and the feeling it left-a sense of hope and inspiration is what’s most important to me.

If you’re feeling worn down and out and have been thirsting to live, not just survive, you understand. You’re ready too.

One of my favorite songs these days is Shake It Out by Florence and the Machine. In it, she sings:

“it’s hard to dance with a devil on your back”

It made me wonder what devils, what fears, negativity, criticisms, are holding us back from living a life of meaning. And can we shake them off if we are aware of them? Will we choose to continue to walk on the same path that’s been cleared for us? And will we die that way? Or will we take a chance and be brave?

Avoiding the Well-Trodden Path

My husband and I went hiking this weekend. But we went late. And the directions on the map were unclear. The quickly setting sun was making my heart palpitate. We were lost. We couldn’t find the well-trodden path and we would soon lose the sun. So we threw our hands in the air, put away that map and made our own path. The experience was scary and yet invigorating. As we walked along the side of the mountain and heard what sounded like owls or cows (they all sound the same in the dark), I realized that all I needed was faith and intuition. We’ve gotten dependent on our technological tools to guide us. Perhaps the answer to living a more meaningful life lies inside of us. Perhaps we had our own inner map all along. But we’ve lost in along the way with cell phones and GPS, with cars, with experts telling us what to do. We gave up the thrill of our lives for the stability of a non-life.

If you want to live with meaning in 2012, toss that map you have in front of you. Take a risk. Follow your heart not your wallet. Yes it will be scary. Yes there will be bumps in the road. Yes there will be cows and owls and scarier things to persuade you to stop and get back on the “right” track. And you can choose to live that way. But since we only have this one life right now, why not consider just for a moment, what your life could be like…if you just took a chance?

CategoryFollowing Your Dreams, Inspired Life | CommentNo Comments »

Tags:
January 3rd, 2012

New Year’s Day Every Day

Once in awhile someone will cross your path by chance and you know it’s for a purpose. I felt that way about this lady, and I feel the same way about my guest blogger Cindy Scheopner. Her story below brings me hope about the possibility of changing our lives. Not just on New Year’s Day, but every day. It’s such an inspiring post.

by: guest blogger

I cannot ask for a New Year better than the one that ended. Each year has mostly been better than the past. I am pursuing a PhD in philosophy in Hawaii, a late in life, third career that is going well. My life partner is supportive and kind. He sails while I philosophize. Our children and grandchildren are healthy.

That does not mean everything is perfect. I manage, somehow, to stress myself while living in Hawaii. I am behind on several projects. My kids call with complaints about what I have or have not done. I’m overdue for a haircut and still carrying around more weight than I would like. I haven’t yet found the Tai Chi group I’d like to join.

These concerns pale in contrast with the past. Once, I struggled to balance a very demanding professional life with an increasingly dysfunctional private one. The man who captured my heart insisted on stomping my spirit – an exercise that destroyed us both. Making me feel bad didn’t make him feel better but he couldn’t stop and I couldn’t stop caring. For many years, I thought I could become perfect enough to make him happy. Even after I no longer believed that, I wasn’t sure how to release myself and my children from his death grip.

I cannot say the process was easy or fast. But each day I take a certain number of steps. The days that I take more steps forward than backward leave a foundation for the next that is higher than the last. Some steps were through blurry tears. Some were through sheer terror. But they led me to a place of respite where I could forgive myself and look ahead.

Eventually, I craved adult companionship but could not imagine who would want to share my messy life. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a fellow refugee. We joined hands and continued to make daily steps-still sideways sometimes, often in circles but always beside one another.

Often my partner says “I can’t believe we can live like this!” He means living in Hawaii, but he also means living in peace with one another. I don’t know how we managed to find one another, but we each realized how lucky we are and hang on tight. The advantage of a miserable past is appreciating a less-than-perfect present.

As I walk along the beach, I watch each new wave erase footprints from the sand. It is an ancient, eternal process that restores the sand perpetually. I seek not perfection in my future nor to erase the imperfections of the past – only the new beginning promised by each wave.

About Cindy Scheopner: Cindy lives in Hawaii with her partner, Rick. She is writing a dissertation to complete her philosophy PhD while Rick sails. Between them, they have six daughters, four step-children and three grandchildren. In past lives, Cindy was an attorney (briefly) and a journalist (lengthily). She has no idea what she’ll do with a philosophy degree, but it’s a whole lot of fun. She Tweets as @Scheopner and posts random pictures and thoughts at: http://scheopner.posterous.com/

CategoryInspiring Guest Blogger | Comment2 Comments »

Tags:
Newer Entries »