Wordless Wednesday

Challenging times bring blessings

Hello, blog visitors! I have been MIA for quite a few months, but I am back, at least briefly.

There’s been so much going on in my life since last fall: I moved into a new space, worked a temporary job and commuted 75 miles round-trip, and recently I have been dealing with some health issues. I’ve learned a lot about myself and life in general, and I’ve decided to share some of my insights with the hope they might benefit someone else.

 

 

What challenging times have taught me:

• Let go of expectations. Hold onto dreams.
• If someone offers to help, let them.
• If they ask what you need, tell them.
• Pay it forward. If you can help someone now, do it. If you can’t do it now, do it later.
• Believe in something. It doesn’t really matter what it is – yourself, a higher power, the power of love, medical miracles, etc. You will immediately feel more empowered.
• Take time to digest what is happening and then choose how you want to think about it. Don’t just react.
• Be braver than you thought you could be. There is a core of courage within each of us if we just reach in deep enough to find it.
• Stop trying to control outcomes. It never works, plus it wastes precious energy that could be used for more positive and uplifting things. I think it was Einstein who observed, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
• Be creative. It’s the perfect outlet for your emotions and also offers the opportunity to immediately improve your day.
• Forgive everyone, including yourself. Especially yourself.
• Live without regrets. When it’s over, let it go.
• Stop complaining. It’s counter-productive.
• Take time to daydream. It feels good and lines up your energy for a better tomorrow.
• When people express their support, take time to feel the love. It’s one of the silver linings that come with challenging times.
• Challenging times can be the catalyst for powerful personal transformations. Consider not just what you are going through but what you are learning and feeling and how you want to live your life from this day forward.
• Take time to appreciate what you have, because no matter who you are or what you’re going through, you have so much.

Whether you're experiencing challenging times or not, you can grow stronger, become more clear-minded, and express your creativity today! What are you waiting for?

 

 

The heart of a plum

Photography on the fly: When I cut open this plum and it formed a heart shape, I was inspired to grab my camera and do a little photo shoot right there in my kitchen.

I think this is what people mean when they say beauty is everywhere. You just have to be open to it. And I guess you have to be someone like me who appreciates the smaller things in life. I love the big things too! But while I'm waiting for the big things, I'll continue to enjoy those small things that enrich my daily experience.

Seaside Saturday

I gave myself the best birthday gift I could think of: a day trip to my favorite place, a state park that's right on the Maine Coast, about 44 miles from my home. It was only the second time I was there this summer, which is so depressing I cannot even bear to think about it. But the good news is I had a simply fabulous afternoon! The weather was perfect, the park was not crowded, and I timed it so that I could sit on a rock as the tide came in and just relax and let the water wash away my cares. It worked! It always works! Better for me than meditation or anything else one might suggest for clearing away worries and cobwebs from my brain. Anyway, please enjoy these pictures I took on Wednesday at the Maine Coast. (Click on the first image so you can see them better.)

 

 

Wordless Wednesday: cake day

To risk or not: Inspiration from Anish Kapoor

If you’re creative or want to be creative or want to understand more about how creative people think, I encourage you to watch the SundayMorning interview on cbs.com with the sculptor Anish Kapoor. If you watched the Olympics, you probably saw his sculpture, Orbit – huge, red, and towering 35 stories above Olympics plaza. I saw him on Sunday Morning yesterday and was struck by this particular piece of the interview:

“I think one has a duty to continue to experiment, to say I truly do not know what I’m doing, but I’m going to take not knowing seriously and risk whatever it is that needs to be risked. And allow a process to emerge, a thing to emerge out of a process, that may be quite mad. What’s wrong with that though?”

What I especially like about what Kapoor said is that it can be applied not just to art, but to life. To risk something and fail or end up looking like a crazy person – as Kapoor said, What’s wrong with that? I’d rather try and fail then reach the end of my life regretting that I didn’t do something I always wanted to do, that I didn’t even try. What do you want to do? What do you want to risk? What’s worth any risk to you? It may be your art, your relationship, your work. Maybe you’ve wanted to move to a different part of the country, or the world, but it seemed like too big a change to undertake. Let Kapoor be your inspiration. He built a sculpture 35 STORIES high! And Orbit's just one of his many quirky sculptures. Whatever you’ve been afraid of, confront it now. Then make the decision: Will you risk whatever needs to be risked?

Seaside Saturday

Last Saturday night, after returning from the Maine Coast, I posed one picture. That was sort of a tease, wasn't it? Well, today I'm posting a whole series of images from my afternoon last Saturday at my favorite coastal park. Please click on the images to enlarge them.

Sailboats on the sea.

Sailboats in the distance, tidal pool in foreground.

A gull gets the best view.

Huge ferns thanks to our rainy spring, I think.

Swimmers in the lagoon at twilight.

Why I love this park: Rocks, ocean, pines.

Also beaches (not shown in above photo).

The reason we are The Pine Tree State.

Last swim of the day.

I love this little scene with the worn wooden fence

and the path to the beach.

Another view of the fence and beach grasses.

The glorious water!



Setting sun reflected in the lapping waves.



Strollers on Mile Beach.

The water is so very clear and lovely.

What I call beach debris. I love all of the textures!

Close-up of driftwood log.

More interesting textures.

Another shot of texture: feather on top of seaweed.

This one's all about the sky!



As I was leaving the park, I was treated to one last surprise: 2 deer crossing the road!

It happened so fast, I shot right through the car windshield.



There he goes, following his friend.



The last shot of the day, taken at a little marshy area with pond

just down the road from the park.

I hope you've enjoyed these photos of the Coast of Maine. Better yet, I hope you get to experience them yourself  -- if not today, someday soon!