simple things (on this day)

a pause at metropolitan market . july 8, 2009

christina has invited another day of "the simple things." i am bit late to the party, but i do so want to play along...especially because this was a day when i needed the reminder to gather the simple things close to me, to breathe them in, and to know that this is the good stuff that makes up this life.

we must remind ourselves of the simple goodness that makes up this journey.

my list...

happy skirts . tiny turner sings "better be good to me" into my ear and i dance in my seat at the cafe . the opportunity to make someone smile . the leaf atop my vanilla soy latte . momentum, when it chooses to visit . my husband's one day growth of beard . the visit to the dentist today that resulted in the words i have never heard before "you have no cavities" (took 33 years) . a friend who nods in understanding . a friend who holds the space for me . striped socks . owning that this is me . possibility that is each day . when someone says "yes" . that quilt, yes, that one . when the planted seed begins to stretch . the rhythm of each breath .

(thank you christina. this has really been the perfect bookend to this day.)

(and you reading this, you should go check out the links to all souls playing along today. go on...take a few minutes and read a few...then make your own list.)

an earth mermaid {in moving pictures}

*****

there is actually so much i want to say about this video...about the experience of making it, about the joy that is iMovie and the other tools we used to make it, about how collaborating with jon is really bringing some play and fun into our lives...

but right now, in this moment of a full day, i really just so want to share the movie with you. so, i will come back to this topic of what this movie means to me in another post later this week...

oh and i also want to let you know that the words and the subject are directly inspired by this post, a response to self-portrait challenge, that i wrote just about two years ago...

emerge. (yes.)

The only way I have ever understood, broken free, emerged, healed, forgiven, flourished, and grown powerful is by asking the hardest questions and then living into the answers through opening up to my own terror and transmuting it into creativity. I have gotten nowhere by retreating into hand-me-down sureties or resisting the tensions that truth ignited.

Sue Monk Kid

nine {with goddess leonie}

Nine is an interview series with creative folks that began in the Spring of 2009; the interviewees are asked to respond to the interview questions in photographs (or video). You can scroll through all the interviews here.

Today's interview is with the marvelous Goddess Leonie. It was through a post Leonie made on Sark's Message Board that I found myself in blog world several years ago. Since then, her energy and positive force of goodness have been apparent to me as I peek in on her blog and her art and connect with her across the earth in this incredible world that is the Internet. I imagine that her kind spirit and welcoming, open-hearted nature have probably sheparded many a woman into the magical world of blogging. And I think that anyone who comes across her path will find herself wanting to pursue the dreams of her heart...

Enjoy this insight into pieces of Leonie's world through her answers....

*****

Question 1: Who are you?

Question 2: What do you love about where you live?

Question 3: What might your perfect afternoon look like?

Question 4: If you had an hour alone in your studio/creative space, what would you do?

Question 5: Right now, what are some of your favorite things?

Question 6: What foods nourish your soul?

Question 7: When you need to simply take a breath and reground yourself, what do you do?

Question 8: How do you nurture your creative dreams?

Question 9: Does your heart have a secret wish you want to share?

Goddess Leonie helps women discover the creative, joyful, and spiritual Goddess inside them through e-courses and coaching. Check out her website and blog at www.goddessguidebook.com and see her latest e-course at www.decluttergoddesses.com.

(all photos copyright Goddess Leonie)

scenes from an impromptu eve of the fourth picnic.

brave. know. love.

breathing in . alki beach self-portrait

i am the tumbled dusty pink scallop shell

i am the whispering knee-high indiana fields

know, a new soul mantra in the shop

i am the tucked inside your pocket talisman

i am the moment she said yes

i am the sunset-streaked wave

this is me . alki beach . photo by jon

i am resting inside truth

i am walking through laughter

i am twirling inside what my heart knows

i am . brave, a new soul mantra in the shop

i am brave

i am hope

i am love

love, a new soul mantra in the shop

*****

these phrases are whispering, no, singing inside my heart on this day.

i am hope. i am brave. i am twirling inside what i know. i am love. i am...

in this moment...who are you?

i'd love to know...

good things.

pike place market peonies . june 2009

The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.

Confucius

nine {with jen goff}

Nine is an interview series with creative folks that began in the Spring of 2009; the interviewees are asked to respond to the interview questions in photographs (or video). You can scroll through all the interviews here.

Today's interview is with the beautiful spirit Jen Goff. I met Jen last fall and then was lucky enough to spend a week at the Oregon coast with her (and some other soulfull ladies) earlier this year. Jen teaches me about living my life with an open heart and to listen to the whispers of my intuition. And, I am so excited to be teaching an evening class, Recipes for Self Care, at Art and Soul with her in October.

Enjoy getting to know Jen through these glimpses into her world...

*****

Question 1: Who are you?

Question 2: What do you love about where you live?

Question 3: What might your perfect afternoon look like?

Question 4: If you had an hour alone in your studio/creative space, what would you do?

Question 5: Right now, what are some of your favorite things?

Question 6: What foods nourish your soul?

Question 7: When you need to simply take a breath and reground yourself, what do you do?

Question 8: How do you nurture your creative dreams?

Question 9: Does your heart have a secret wish you want to share?

Jen Goff is a jewelry designer and mixed media artist living in Portland, Oregon. She finds her inspiration in old worn fibers, dream-like photographs, and things collected on walks in the woods. Currently, she is working on a body of work that includes a lichen coat and a seed pod dress. Her hope is that this entire collection will be shown in an open field with live cello music and birds flying overhead. You can see more of what Jen is up to at her blog, Unravel, and view her jewelry at her website, Paper Wings.

(All photos + video copyright Jen Goff)