Between the Reflections
I've been reflecting.
About art, nursing, healing, spirit, human resiliency and potential.
About the power of connection and being present.
About my intentions and deepest desires.
About teaching and learning.
About ease, work and play.
About time.
About living in sync with my higher self... to allow my own expansion to occur naturally, from within.
About how much I love
and how little I know...
in progress. Intuitive/Fearless painting
I've been reflecting a lot.
In the midst of a crazy-busy week with lots of changes in the day to day.
Two new classes, I'm taking.
A new job teaching, leading nursing students.
Letting go of my hospice position for now.
How grateful I am for the quiet lessons from my Elder clients as I sit at their feet, in their homes and try to open my heart and mind to the world and story that is theirs as they face the end of life journey.
How that full feeling of gratitude is accompanied by a sore back at the end of day giving footcare.
How blessed I am. Young. Healthy. Alive. Inspired. With choices. And creative fire.
I've been reflecting on my patterns, too.
And observing.
How my body feels when it gets overwhelmed.
How the fear settles in, that my creative spark will be consumed
by the ever-busy schedule
of making ends meet.
How I set high expectations of myself
and my productivity,
so obvious by a simple objective glance
at my weekly to-do list.
How I can so easily lose sight
of the connection between each step
if I let my mind start steering.
How sometimes, some days, I let the to-dos take frenzied priority
over my rituals of spirit and art
and my commitment to the wisdom of slowing down and making space.
How these patterns then paralyze me in the mucky swamp of sneaky resistance and doubt
if I don't make conscious effort to participate
in my own creative energetic flow and connection to Source
every single day.
Today, I broke away from the anxious overwhelm
and over-stimulation.
I reflected in a living temple,
In the woods, walking with Bluejay.
Breathing the cool wind in.
Listening to the sweet song of leaves beneath my feet.
Smiling at the tree beings that seem to surround, lovingly
with support and simple acknowledgment
of my place and presence Now.
My overwhelm and worries seemed to fall away from my shoulders
to join the leaves of a season past.
And quietly I began to see the corner of a deep Connection for me,
like the discovery of a coveted artifact on an archaeological dig.
My awareness sharpened, the creative juices began flowing again...
And then, with the next breath, the next turn on the trail,
there was another piece of the Connection shining through...
just like that.
and another, as I walked. and another, as I sighed with Mother Earth...
Just little pieces of my greater puzzle of understanding
waiting in the spaces between day to day reflections
amidst the trees and wind
like guides to a wholeness that is already there within.
They wait, these inner guides
in every change, in every turn and every choice,
in every distraction
in every opportunity to defy resistance
and in every effort to reclaim time for the creative expression of spirit.
I didn't find them in my to-do list, or my required reading
or on the phone or computer.
I didn't even find them in my writing or painting this time...
Today, I reflect
on communing with Nature and spirit
to come back to center,
on Listening
and Connection
on how life has a funny way of bringing out our gifts.
And I can't wait to share with you what I've seen...
(and when I got home from my walk, in a beautiful shout-out from the Universe, this is what was waiting in my mailbox from a Fearless painting sister, right on cue):
Please note that prayer submissions for the current painting closed on January 20. If you would like to see the painting when it is complete or hear about future offerings, feel free to click on the submit form and sign-up for the notification.
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