Tag: focus

My Words for the New Year 2021

Poetry, The Creative Process

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions.  That concept sounds so burdensome.  Instead, I have a personal tradition of picking one or more words to aspire to live by for the coming year.  I revisit these words from time to time and check in on how I’m doing.  (Writing them on the bathroom mirror is a very effective strategy.)

My words for 2020 were acceptance and focus.  I almost wore out the word acceptance with the pandemic and political matters and it’s unlikely I can ever truly accept the damage of the forest fires had here in Oregon this year.  Climate change is unacceptable and is something I will always fight against.  Thus it has been a mixed bag with that word.  FOCUS has been an ongoing challenge for me but I am happy to report that I am BETTER!  Being a creative soul I am forever distracted by my thoughts and every shiny thing that comes along in my day.  Now though, I am more aware of my distractions and am honing a system to keep me on track.

This December I mulled over what my new words would be.  I wait to see what will bubble up to my subconscious and pick the ones I resonate with the most.  So drumroll..  my new words are:

Commitment–  I allowed myself this year to go “fallow” and dabble in a lot of creative pursuits.  Now I am ready to synthesize what I’ve learned into specific avenues.

Generosity– Give more of my time, talent, and money to others

Focus – This word remains on the list as I need more work with it.

Let the year unfold!  What are your words for 2020?

and my poem for you this New Year…

A Toast for 2021

It’s the season of new

the Earth has spun through the heavens

and arrived at the place we call the beginning

a bookmark we humans have put in the order of things

the New Year, the first day of the first month of the 21st year of the 21st century

All is new, yet all the same

a cycle in a continuum of millennia

yet a comfort that we have a fresh start in our minds

Shall we proceed then with our new slippers

virgin calendars full of exotic pictures

day planners devoid of marks

and forge on with gusto?

for we have been given another turn

a blank canvas to paint another 12 months upon

Let us mix up our palettes with new intentions

hope, faith and the unseen circumstances that will surely find us

stroke, splash, and drip with abandon

make your marks with love, touching others with color

bringing forth new memories

painting this Earth a brighter place

Check out my other blog onesweetearth.art.blog on sustainable living.

Twelve Breaths

Uncategorized

spiral-1000782_1920“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

There is power in the breath and it is so easily forgotten.  Sure you get reminders in yoga and exercise classes but once in a while isn’t enough.  Earlier in the week, I had a profound connection with my breath.  I was feeling a migraine coming on, not too surprising with stress over medical issues and an elderly parent.  Oh…then there’s that whole the state of the world thing and the anxiety that often comes with the creative process.

I examined my usual options- ride it out for a couple days of excruciating discomfort or take the prescription for it, which works, but gives me a hangover the next day.  I decided to try a new option- lie down and deep breathe through it.  When I say breathe, I mean deep belly breaths that seemingly fill my body.  Amazingly enough, my headache was gone in about 15 minutes.

This was a huge breakthrough for me.  What if I used breath throughout the day as a preventative to keep stress and headaches away?  Now I have adopted a practice (in keyboard-393838_1920addition to my 12-minute daily meditation ) of focused breathing.  Three times a day I sit or lie down, close my eyes and take twelve DEEP breaths. Inevitably my shoulders relax and I get back in a centered space.  I set a reminder on my phone.  Try it.  Even one time a day can make a difference.  Air (for now) is free and no mantra is required.

For added stress reducers I’ve deleted the news app, and social media apps on my phone (too much information). Often have my phone in the “do not disturb mode” and keep it out of my bedroom at night.  There is also great power in taking charge in one’s own brain…

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Return from Simplicity

The Creative Process, Uncategorized

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Our lives are frittered away by detail…simplifly, simplify.   Henry David Thoreau

Transitioning from my art retreat at Ghost Ranch,  New Mexico back to my home base has not been an easy one (see my last post).  For one blessed week, I did not have to drive, deal with purchasing or preparing my food or tending house in my basic camp style lodgings.  My life was structured with making art, eating communal meals, hiking and other activities that were provided.  Cell phone service was non-existent and Wi-Fi sketchy. The news of the world was kept at bay.  I did not miss any of it.

So I am back.  I do enjoy my own bed, my partner, my dogs, but dealing with the complexity of daily life again is daunting.  Not only are there the domestic chores that my house and yard present, but then there is the pile of mail, email, computer tasks for my art and other business that needs tending.  It is easy for my creative pursuits to get put on the back burner.  This modern world we live in is rife with distraction.  I miss the simplicity of life at Ghost Ranch.

But, this is my reality.  For the last week, I put my head down and got into bull-dozer mode catching up on everything from laundry to weeding the garden.  Now I am back to finding more balance.  I have to schedule my art time and keep it sacred less it gets eaten away.  This is a constant challenge.  If I don’t write or create something every day I get moody.  It’s a spiritual food.  After being away, I realize that my life needs to be simplified so I can concentrate on those things most important to me.  Next year the garden will be smaller, we will get more help around the yard.  I will be purging the house of lots of stuff that is no longer needed and take myself off mailing lists.

Continue reading “Return from Simplicity” →

24/7

Poetry, Uncategorized

texting-1490691_1280

We are all open on Sunday

And available

24/7

Texting, tweeting

Surfing, checking

Posting, blogging

Multi-tasking

Thumbs dancing

Thoughts racing

To the point our roots

Have pulled from the earth

& screens are the master of our minds.

Surrender the busy- ness

To the being- ness

To the pause between

The in & out of the breath

The rhythm of the beating heart.

dandelion-1557110_1280Go outside & gaze at the sky

Feel the wind on your face

Your feet on the ground

Wrap your arms around your people

And give thanks for the day.

 

 

These Lines

Poetry, Uncategorized

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THESE LINES

from my pencil

anchor me to this earth

like a kite on a string.

These lines

form words on pages

giving shape to my thoughts

running wild in my head.

These lines that form words

are lassoed into sentences, then paragraphs

a calm order brought from the spiraling chaos.

My soul is tamed

At least for a while

From the simple act of writing.