Let yourself BE you!

I don't know about you...but I've grown really tired of being bombarded with "what I want", "what I need", "what's missing in my life", "what I can't live without", "what will make me truly happy" and on and on and on goes the bullshit that the advertisers feed us on a daily basis!

The truth is....I don't need any of this crap. It's just stuff. And with stuff comes the need to organize it, store it, worry about losing it, cleaning it and so forth. I really don't want to spend my precious time on more stuff. 

In fact, thanks to the Universe I already have all I need...every day.  No more stuff.

And this goes for who I am too! Seems as if everything outside of myself is generally geared towards trying to change me into something different.  No need. I am all that I am.  And as difficult and challenging as it is sometimes to just be true to ourselves...it's where peace lies.  Peace in knowing that I am perfect just the way I am.  And so are you.

That being said...absorb all that 2016 holds for you fully.  It's gonna be a grand year!!

There it IS!! And it was obvious that nearly everyone in the room saw it too!

I used to love to sit and watch my sister create various baked goods in the kitchen when I was young. I didn't understand it at the time...but I now know that it was because what I was really watching was her creative process and her joy and passion SHE experienced throughout that process. And...nine times out of ten the finished product, be it cookies or a cake, or pastry, turned out amazing...and...I got to taste test (an added bonus of course).

Over my years I have learned to spot this passion in others too. And without fail...I'm drawn to it.

Here's a few examples:
Musicians in jam sessions...playing their hearts out, ad libbing with the other musicians there and creating a sound that would never be heard like this again. 

Painters caught up in the creative process, when you look into their eyes there is such a concentration, such a focus....that you can hardly wait to see the strokes they add to their painting and what colors they'll use and watch attentively for what will emerge.

Teachers who are passionate about their subject. They have such a way of engaging their students and passing on that same passion and in turn drawing out the best in their students. Challenging them to become better at whatever the subject may be...be it mechanics, music, education, athletics, etc.
And on and on I could go.

Goodness...I know I'm not doing what I've seen of these moments in people any justice in trying to describe it here. But I saw it again Tuesday night.

OH did I see it!!!!!

On Tuesday night, the 38th annual Kennedy Center Honors aired on tv.  The Kennedy Center selects five honorees each year to receive this prestigious award for their lifetime artistic achievements. Recipients to be honored at the 38th annual national celebration of the arts were: singer-songwriter Carole King, filmmaker George Lucas, actress and singer Rita Moreno, conductor Seiji Ozawa, and actress and Broadway star Cicely Tyson.

The moment however that I've been referring to here throughout this post was during the presentation for Carole King.  It will help to understand  (reference http://www.caroleking.com/bio) that Carole King and her husband at the time Gerry Goffin (with input from Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler) wrote the song "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" in the late 60's and was immortalized by Aretha Franklin.

It is said by Joe Marshalla that the greatest gift you can give to another human being is "generating such a safe place around your being that that person can be free to be who it is they actually are in that moment."

Exactly what happened next!!!!  

Watch for yourself. 
Aretha Franklin (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - Carole King - Kennedy Center Honors 2015

So who do you suppose was introduced to come on stage and sing this incredibly moving song? You guess it...none other than Aretha Franklin. The performance that followed by Aretha was electrifying! But deeper than the performance and plain as day...was the response that Caroline had as Aretha performed. Caroline completely embraced who Aretha was in that moment...and set her free to just BE in that moment...and so did seemingly everyone else in the auditorium. It was beautiful!! To watch Caroline in her complete and utter joy watching Aretha so gifted and so amazingly talented as a singer... and clearly a seasoned veteran on the stage...and of course Aretha brought the house down...first by sitting at the piano and playing along while she belted out "A Natural Woman" followed by her standing and facing everyone in the room and giving us a glimpse of a passion for singing and performing like no other!  Thank you Aretha Franklin, for sharing your gift with us!

Want to see this for yourself?  Click here. 
Be prepared to be moved!

Do you see it too?

A little New Years reflection via Calvin and Hobbes

From left to right it's reads like this:

Calvin: It's a new year...a new beginning! New possibilities!
Calvin: This snowman represents the spirit of the new year.
Calvin: Looking ahead he strides forward with confidence and determination!
Calvin: He challenges! He imagines! He invents! He calls forth the best qualities of human drive and ingenuity.
Hobbes: Very inspiring.
Calvin: Thank you.
Hobbes: And over here is the REAL world?
Calvin: Right. This is why we're always glad when the old year is over.

Happy New year everyone!!
May your 2016 be full of imagination!

When our hearing goes to sh*t.

It's happening. Has been for some time now. Like these reindeer, I can't hear for sh*t.  And yep...this makes for some good belly laughing around our house. The repetitious ..."what?" and the occasional...confusion such as "did you say, 'I have a big gash on my blouse?'  No, I said, "will you please take the trash out of the house."

Yesterday I chuckled even more when ordering through a drive-thru speaker and the cashier clearly wasn't hearing what I was requesting and I turned to Chris sitting next to me and seriously asked, "Am I mumbling?" She confirmed for me, "no" and then after a bunch of clarification the cashier got our order right. So maybe it's not just me with this hearing thing?

Anyway...here's to a happy healthy and good hearing Christmas holiday season!

When nature whispers to our souls.

You ever feel the urge to do something and until you do whatever that is...the whispers won't go away? (I think this is really some sort of inner wisdom talking to us...telling us what we need in a particular time in our lives).

This is what walking in the woods and absorbing the abundance of nature does for me.  I get this urge to get outside and "play" and until I do...it just won't let up.

So here's the results of my recent romp-through-the-woods-experience. (I brought the dogs along too, since they too needed a good romp in the woods.)

I ended up on a trail that runs along the north side of the Maumee River between Grand Rapids and Waterville, OH and is flanked by the remaining portion of the Miami-Erie Canal. The Maumee river bluff trail is part of the Providence Metropark system and stretches for 9 miles...although I walked about 2 miles of it this time around.

There's some pretty cool history wrapped up in this area because of the Miami and Erie Canal. Home to a one-mile stretch of canal with a functioning reproduction of a mule-drawn canal boat, the Isaac Ludwig Mill (a working water-powered saw and gristmill) and lock number 44.  If you visit this area from May to October you'll see the park staff dressed in period attire welcoming visitors to a time gone by.

You can read up on this history and what all this entails here at the Toledo Metroparks website.

Watch a youtube video about the Canal experience at Providence Metropark.

While none of the canal boat activities were actively going on (since it's December) it is still so peaceful to walk along flowing water and to listen to the wind blow through the trees and watch the squirrels flit about gathering last minute nuts for their winter stash.  There are very few songbirds left in the area right now because most have migrated south for the winter...although I have seen bluejays and the red-bellied woodpecker and of course sparrows.

I've found in the past few years it's hard for me to walk in the woods now and not reach out and touch the trees that line the trail I'm walking along.  I can't explain it. Just something about touching trees and saying hi. As if you're sharing in their life's wisdom somehow. I don't know what it is...but a comforting exchange occurs.  While I seriously doubt I do much for the trees...they do a LOT for me.

There were some HUGE trees stretching high into the sky in this area (I think they are black walnut trees but I'm not really a tree identity guru...so I'm not sure).  The one in this picture probably would take 4-5 people standing hand to hand to reach around it's trunk.  A magnificent tree!

I often wonder if these trees could talk (like treebeard in Lord of the Rings-The Two Towers) what would they tell us?  Oh the stories they could tell, I'm sure!!  Maybe this is actually why I feel the need to touch them...in an effort to glean some of their years and years of wisdom.

What's your latest adventures?  Life is full of them if we seek them out.

More to come....
Rachel

Another art evening that's a wrap!

Well, last night's Holiday Evening of Expression sponsored by the Black Swamp Art Council (BSAC) and hosted by "The Blue" restaurant in Archbold, Ohio....is a wrap.

Folks came, shopped, admired and wandered the aisles of the 14 featured artists scattered throughout "The Blue's" cleared out dining room space. And an abbreviated menu was also offered as well as a full bar with a portion of those proceeds benefiting BSAC sponsored programs.

So here we are in all our glory last night. In the above photo, that's me on the left...Isabella in the middle and Chris on the right. Here we are on the right chillin in a different order...waiting for our order of the sexiest flatbread we've ever eaten!!

For four and a half hours...there was much-a-do-about-art in downtown Archbold!  Was fun to hobnob amongst area artists!

We even picked up a new FABULOUS painting for our own collection...and found some gifts for others too! I mean...as an artists...and Chris now being an appreciator of orginal art...we love to collect originals together!


Special thanks to the Black Swamp Arts Council for making this night happen...and for the opportunity to participate.

I met some pretty cool folks.

Onward and upward for the arts!!

Until next time...

Rachel

#58 Put Art in Your Life!

I was reading through some blog posts from back in my Dickson Gallery days and came across this gem. Definitely worth re-posting here!  Put art in your life!  Thank you Tom Peters!

"I'm a HUGE Tom Peter's fan. In fact, when it comes to business progressive thought...this is the guy I turn to for information. He's a business-info guru! And at the same time, he's not touting rhetoric that we've all heard over and over and over. He understands staying "ahead of the pack" in how one runs they're business, department and even themselves.
So...every now and then, I go to his website to see what the latest greatest mind-blowing thoughts are...low and behold I found a .pdf titled "Tom Peter's 100 Ways to Succeed/Make Money" -item #51-75. So I clicked there and low and behold I smiled when I read #58!!!! Here's a guy who studies all facets of business everyday. Talks to hundreds of fortune 500 CEO's and Execs...travels all over the world speaking to thousands upon thousands weekly...and yet...READ what he rights as NUMBER FIFTY EIGHT!!
Click here to download the .pdf and see for yourself. (scroll down to see #58) I love it when I find business people whom I respect...and they validate my own ideas. LOVE THAT!!!
So I'll go ahead and say it here...if you don't have art in your place of work, where you live, and where you play...you're missing the boat. We ALL need inspiration around us to keep us pushing towards that person we're working to become!! Let it be ART!
happy inspiration! ...oh and check out www.tompeters.com and be prepared to be inspired!"

Want to read the original posting of this from January 2008?
click here

Onward and upward for the arts!!
Rachel