Unfolding My Potentials

This week, I'm going somewhere. Literally:  I'm going to Ohio for a best friend's wedding! Figurativel y:   I'm leaving the rut I've been working on, to be there for someone I care about.  Literally:   I gotta prepare.  Get organized. Make lists. Fit 4 days into a backpack to take on a Spirit flight. Good thing the weather encouraged smaller clothing and fewer layers! Figuratively: I gotta prepare. Let go of my fierce grip on my Long Beach reality.  Trust that my relationships will be here when I get back. Reminder-  Hey! I'm only gonna be gone for an extended weekend! Literally: I'm so ready to take a break. Change surroundings. Figuratively: I gotta  let myself have this break, and   allow room for my perspective to shift with the change of information reaching my senses.    Regardless of the layers of my human experience: I'm grateful for the opportunity to take this trip. I'm grate...

Sometimes I get Lost.  Feeling overwhelmed.  Too much information. All external.  Not sure where to go.  Wandering around in circles. No direction.  Every direction. Time to regroup. Pressure. Idea that "bring in-motion is best", but getting nowhere . Bombarded with others' maps and suggestions. Only I know the way for my Self. How to get centered, and find MY way: A Plan of Internal Action STOP MOVING Do not take in new information REST Breathe.   Let the panic dissipate Then 1.  Take stock:  What do I have right now, in this moment? Resources, skills, connections... 2.  Create a compass:  Where do I want to end up?  What are my passions; what gives me life?  Letting the goal arise from this. It is authentically mine. 3.  Create a map:  How can I create a path to my goal, with what I have?  Are there mini destinations I have to focus on first?...

This week, I wanted to write a little bit about my art.  Currently, I am offering a selection of my artwork as prints (see link at bottom of page) .  The selection does not include the most "fine art" specimens I have ever created. I chose the selection because they are all genuine pieces of myself.  I created them as a way to ease the pressure of different felt-experiences; allowing the emotions to leak out of my heart and into the paper.  This gave movement to the feelings, allowed light to reach them, and cleared the way for healing. The pieces I focus on today are my series of tree drawings. These trees were originally created as an emotional "check-in"; answering the question, "How am I feeling?" in that particular moment.   I drew many of these trees during graduate school (for Transpersonal Counseling Psychology and Art Therapy), where it was imperative for me to track my own emotional experiences in order to receive the full benefi...

Big birthday yesterday.  Probably the most public I've been about my birthday in a long time.  I have felt so Loved!  Messages, calls, gifts; getting to share time, cupcakes, laughs, and silence with people I've been lucky enough to come in contact with in my life.  Celebrations flowing over days. Reminding me that time isn't about our constructed "days" and "hours"... It's much more fluid.  Transitions don't occur in a cut and dry time-frame. I feel a little silly that I was Worried about letting go of my twenties; to coalesce all my time and experience into my 30th year of life.  Worry was completely unnecessary (as it often is...). I've really never felt so Loved, Accepted, and Supported.  My birthday experience reiterated that I'm in the right place and the right time with all the right people. YOU are included! At the end of yesterday, I found myself unsure of how to process all this Love!  It was int...

Busy.  Distracted? I become distracted by being "busy."   In the past, I often used "busy" as an excuse to avert my focus from what's harder/scarier:  My own goals.  Ah, distraction as a defense mechanism... Since the start of 2018, I have been living in an "in-between" period. A transitional space. So much unknown to keep me busy! Becoming overly involved in my external environment Distracted.   Making connections, yes, but NOT keeping my personal goals close and clear. I am envisioning: My heart's goals, my passion's goals as A solid core  Surrounded by the details  (people, places, circumstances, timeline)  that are Unknown and flexible Completely controlled  By the creativity of the universe (Not me...lol) How do I remember?  How do I not get lost in life's details (willingly or unwillingly)? For me, I talk to friends about my goals (so they can gently hold me accountabl...

Practicing having my heart Open I envision a cage in my chest; opening a door with rusty hinges: A little painful A little freeing  A little empowering A little scary Exposing the soft, vulnerable piece within Thinking about being "ready" to be Open Sometimes, I think it's easy to say , "I'm ready" Ready to be open to connection Connection with other humans, connection with the universe But Open also lets in rejection, disappointment I'm not ready for that Is anyone?  Can't be picky when Open Can't discriminate to keep what I deem as "good" and turn away what I deem as "bad" Open allows all experience All emotions  And, Closed blocks it all I think To be open equals the ultimate practice in bravery