It is all too easy to think of art as something we aspire to, an ideal by which to measure our efforts and find them falling woefully short. Well, that is one way to think of art, and God knows we have bludgeoned ourselves with it pretty thoroughly. Our concepts of “great art” and “great […]
I Open Myself
We have been taught to believe that negative equals realistic and positive equals unrealistic. -Susan Jeffers My nourishment comes from many sources. I accept my good and all the multiple costumes and disguises which it may undertake. My good comes to me as people, as events and opportunities. My good comes to me as wise […]
Affirmative Prayer
A prayer of gratitude is a prayer of celebration. We count our blessings. Rather than pray in entreaty, “Guide me and guard me,” we pray with conviction, “I am guided and guarded.” We do not need to beg for our good; we need only notice it, accept it and affirm it. We might pray, “Thank […]
Receptivity
We think we must “be inspired” to create art and that this inspiration must have an emotional force to it. That is not my experience. I have done some of my best work from what was essentially a neutral position, not unlike a court stenographer. When I was striving to “get something down” rather than […]
By Teaching I Learn
I first learned that I should teach as I was out on a walk. It was 1980 or 1981. I was praying for a sense of direction and I heard, “teach.” I was shocked. I wanted a creative idea, and teaching seemed punitive to me. I called a girlfriend up, distraught. “I’m praying for my next […]
Cherishing
All who would win must share it. Happiness was born a twin. -Lord Byron Sometimes we are less a person than a place for those we love. Our hearts are the hearts sought by the lonely. I offer those I love the steadiness of my companionship when times grow difficult and dark. Recognizing that my […]
A Child’s Heart
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. -Pablo Picasso My heart is a garden for creative ideas. I recognize that art begins in the heart. I love my creative nature and I love expressing it. I create as an act of love and connection. I […]
Happiness
One is happy as a result of one’s own efforts, once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness–simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream; of that I now feel certain. -George Sand Happiness is a by-product of […]
One Spirit
If you want the truth, I will tell you the truth. Friend, listen. The God whom I love is inside. -Kabir One life, one love, one energy, runs through all of creation. This life is Spirit, an inner river that can be tapped into at any time. Knowing this, we are divinely guided at all times. […]
Wisdom
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body Love what it loves. -Mary Oliver, from the poem “Wild Geese”
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