soak it all up baby girl

backyard tulips . april 2009

my heart is full today...full of friendship and goodness. full of what is real. i soak this up knowing that each day does not always unfold quite this way. i soak it up and tuck it into an inner pocket so that i can twirl inside it on the days that unfold into something else. i soak it up so i can remind myself on another day that i am simply not alone on this journey.

we must allow ourselves to soak up the goodness and the friendship and what is real.
we are simply not alone.
(thank you)

*****

dear ones, your whispers of hope have made me smile widely.
thank you.
thank you.

(i am keeping the comments of the giveaway post open until sunday evening and will choose a random winner and announce early next week.)

a sale, a giveaway, a little hope

I thought I would have a little spring cleaning sale over in my etsy shop, the little room.

Everything is 20% off the listed price for the next few days. After you buy something through etsy, just wait to pay until you receive a revised invoice from me through paypal that reflects the sale price.

This morning, the grey and the rain came back to visit; I found myself sighing thinking it would stay all day. I sent out a little whisper of hope that the sun would push through the clouds a bit, just for a while. This evening, the blue sky peeked out from behind the grey and we have the windows open again to all that spring has brought us. It astounds me sometimes what a little blue sky and the windows open can do for a person, can do for an outlook, can do for a heart.

Tonight, I feel hope blooming a bit as the sun shines through the window. As I walk this current path on my journey, this path of grief mixed with beautiful happiness, this path of life, I find letting hope bloom to be a little gift I can give myself.

I thought it might be fun to share some of that hope through a giveaway today:

A new soul mantra necklace "hope.full" (spelled in that SARK-inspired sort of way).

To win this necklace, just leave a comment sharing a piece of hope you have in your heart, in your world...

updated 4/27: comments are now closed. thank you for all your incredible pieces of hope....

bits of the last few days.

backyard bloom . april 20, 2009

millie snoring beside me . windows wide open . sun . wisdom from a dear friend . the words "yes, i have time to talk" . emails full of excitement . cuddled up in quilts . a really great movie (watched at the theatre to prevent multitasking tendencies) . laughter . tears . deep missing . dreams being lived into reality . flip flops . dresses over skirts . strawberries . tulips smelling like honey . truth . deep, wide hugs . possibility . thinking about what's next . an almost soldout fall retreat . a backyard full of blooming color . picnics on the couch . a tall glass of water . a hint of summer in the air . having someone really listen . reminders that i am not alone . pizza . a crisis averted . an understanding . confusion about friendship and what is real . a whisper of knowledge within . daffodils smiling . a certainty about love . mugs of jasmine tea . poems written . the clicking of typewriter keys . out loud laughter until tears fall . child's pose . thinking about rereading all the harry potter novels . naps . lots of doing . garden planning . sounds that signal it is time for bed

. unearth: registration has begun .

Unearth

(a be present retreat)

October 14-18, 2009

Registration for the Fall 2009 Be Present Retreat has begun!

This October, we will gather in Manzanita, Oregon and spend three days exploring the theme of unearth through workshops that will include painting and creating with mixed media, photography, writing, and yoga.

Workshops:

Unearthing Your Most Precious Hidden Layers

with Andrea Scher

Unearthing Your Messy, Creative, Painterly Self

with Kelly Rae Roberts

Unearthing This Moment: Body, Mind, Heart

with Liz Lamoreux

*****

There is so much I want to say about this theme and the classes we have dreamed up for this fall. While Kelly, Andrea, and I were brainstorming this theme, I sent them a paragraph of an image that kept coming to me. I wrote...

When thinking about our theme of "unearth," this image comes to mind: My grandmother had a ritual of walking around her backyard in the early morning. Closing my eyes, I see her at different times of the year: Pushing aside the dead leaves of winter to look for any new growth. Peeking under the huge pine tree to see if the lily of the valley or trilliums were blooming yet. Leaning over in the small wooded area to pick violets to put in a jelly jar on the kitchen windowsill. Snipping off the wilted blooms so that new blooms could grow. When I would visit my grandparents as a teenager and then as a college student, she would push me to join her. There was often such a bite in the early morning air and heavy dew on the grass, so I was sometimes resistent, just wanting breakfast or to go back to bed or how the list goes on. I didn't realize at the time that she was letting me in on her personal practice. As spring has started arriving this year, I have thought about the unearthing she was doing during these walks as she would literally look for new growth and discard the "dead stuff" but also as she would give herself the space to look inward without distractions during this time alone where she seemed to feel most at home with herself.

In this fall retreat, we will explore tools to add to our personal and creative practices as we unearth our authentic voices. We will discover our core values, begin to listen to the whispers that say we are creative beings, and seek a balance within as we let go of distractions and connect.

We hope you will join us on this adventure! Find out more at the be present retreats site.

Many blessings,

Liz

it is possible.

falling . april 3, 2009

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserve, but have never been able to reach. Check the road and the nature of your battle.
The world you desire can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.

Ayn Rand

define.

little forest, olympic national park . april 2009

When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.

Wayne Dyer

tuesday truths (a guest post from geek girl)

photo by geek girl

it is tuesday
and newly fallen snow is
slowly beginning to melt
again...

when liz asked me to guest blog,
i did a little dance of "me? me...someone-wants-me-??"

this is a familiar dance
for me.

and it makes me wonder why...
why can't i see the value in what i have to offer
when i can see it so readily in anyone else?

i have a photo show happening right now
as we speak
and i downplay it to anyone who asks...
"oh, it's just..."
"it's only..."
"it's nothing really..."

i don't want to make money from photography.

i just want to be known for something...
that's all. i want to be thought of as artistic in some way...
and yet, i can't accept it when it is given to me.

does anyone else ever feel this way...
struggling so hard to be good at something
but then,
not sure if you will ever know when you are being good
at something...

will i ever be good enough for me?

*****

AG is a reader, a writer, a picture taker and card maker. She is a
lover of words, a collector of phrases and desperately wants
a treehouse. You can often find her on the side of the road,
if the light is right, taking pictures of weeds...totally oblivious to
oncoming traffic. You can also find her at two of her familiar haunts:
her blog, geek ink, where this month she is attempting a poem a day and flickr.

love.

spring returns . march 29, 2009

The only thing we can never get enough of is love. And the only thing we can never give enough of is love.

Henry Miller

(thank you)