A Conversation with the Universe

Recently I met for coffee with a friend that needed help starting a blog on WordPress. After building the “infrastructure” of the site we talked about content and posting.

This got me to thinking about the intent of my blog and how I go about finding ideas for my posts.  Originally I was motivated my blog was to promote my artwork but blogs tend to evolve on their own (see I Was Supposed to be Blogging about My Artwork).  After 2 1/2 years of blogging my posts range anywhere from the creative process to what is going on in my personal life.

When I was a young woman embarking on my life’s journeys I wrote pages of heartfelt letters to friends miles away (see  Letters to the Universe).  That process gave me so much perspective on my life and the world at large. Letter writing in our busy digital age seems to have become a tradition of the past.  I miss them. Unconsciously, I think my blog has become a series of letters written to the universe. I have no idea who might read my posts. The important thing is that I write them and send them off.  It makes me pay attention to my life- a sort of a writing meditation. I’ve been a bit inconsistent as of late. We’ve had some health challenges in our house making blogging more difficult to fit in. Life happens.  You do what you can do. 

Where do my ideas for posts come from?  During the week I am like a magpie looking for shiny objects to bring back my nest to write about These might include such things as……

• fascinations
• frustrations
• ponderings
• places I’ve been
• what brings me peace
• discoveries
• revelations
• the creative process
• what I’ve read or watched that was of interest
• poetry
• milestones

I jot down notes, write a shitty rough draft during the week by hand and then let it sit. It’s important to me to let my work “cure” for a few days so I can come back to it with fresh eyes. On Sunday mornings I sit at my computer and write the post in Word. I read it aloud to myself, make final edits, and then transfer it to WordPress.  From there I add pictures, tags and then publish. This process takes me a couple of hours but it’s a ritual look forward to.   Sometimes I make minor changes after it has been posted. Often the posts I think would be of little interest to others get the most response. The important thing is for me is that I boot my inner critic out the door and write what I need to write.

My friend, Jenny just got up her blog this week and it looks fabulous!  Go check out her first post at

http://oregonized.home.blog

Dear Universe

The rhododendrons by my bedroom window

have burst open

globulous booms of bright magenta

glowing against gray skies

of these rainy May days.

Birds are busy about the feeder

occasionally lit up by the fiery orange plumage

of the grosbeaks, who have arrived

from their homes to the South.

The garden soil is freshly turned

We feast now on fresh lettuce

Skinny tomato plants shiver

waiting for sunny days to return

The dog’s face has whitened

and he is a bit unsteady on his feet.

Iris of pale purple line the driveway

standing tall in greeting

and in bidding goodbye.