creative journaling

Synchronicity & Our Word for 2020

I love moments of synchronicity! Like when I discover I’m on a similar wavelength to a person I admire. The other day I was writing in my journal options for a word to inspire me for 2020. I chose the word OPEN. It turns out, so did my mentor and friend Mary Jane Copps, The…

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Tidings of Joy – without expectations

Full confession here – I struggle with the holidays. I was writing in my journal today, which is where I go when I have things I need to work out. These things can be business or personal, or both. My journal serves the whole me. I was writing – What if I could enjoy December…

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Grounding

4 Strategies for cutting through the overwhelm

Do you have tools you regularly use when life gets busy? Perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed and find yourself spinning your wheels instead of accomplishing what needs to get done. Here are 4 strategies I teach and that I find personally helpful at these times. Taking time to breathe. When I get too busy I…

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Self Portrait Detail portraying an open heart

Making room

How do you make room in your life for new things to happen? Recently we invited our son and his wife to move in with us. They are saving to buy a home and were living in a mould-infested rental property. This adjustment has resulted in a huge making room event in our home. Having…

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Maman sculpture in Ottawa, Ontario

The power of the collective

Do you work alone? As a writer and artist I spend most of my days creating in my home studio (otherwise known as my dining room, my sunroom and on nice days on my deck). Some days I facilitate or attend a seminar or lunch and learn, but for the most part it’s my pets…

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What draws you in?

I have a friend who is fascinated with lichen. She is an artist and is exploring lichen in her work. I love the beach. I love to walk on the beach. I love the feel of sand in my toes and the sound of the waves as I walk. What I love most about the…

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Spinning in the sunroom

The One That Got Away

How do you deal with disappointment? Just the other day I got the news – that a proposal I had submitted was not accepted. It was a potential piece of work that made my heart sing when I heard about it. I knew it was a long shot, but found myself deeply disappointed not to…

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A change of scenery changes your perspective

Change of scenery

It’s amazing what a simple change of scenery can do. My last blog post was about finding unexpected beauty all around us. In this post I share my observations from a journey I took recently by train, and how it changed my perspective. We traveled from Truro to Montreal and back on an economy seat…

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Unexpected beauty

Unexpected beauty

Unexpected beauty can arrive in many forms. All we need to do is to take the time to notice and feel the joy of it. Unexpected beauty can come in the form of the perfect shade of violet in a flower, or a snapdragon growing from a crack in the foundation of your home, or…

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Summer balance

How do you balance making the most of summer – the warmth, the fullness of this glorious weather, enjoying the soporific heat – with making sure you get stuff done? I’ve spent this summer working on leaning into joy. I’ve been enjoying getting to know my new dog Nita, walking her, spending time with her….

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Inner voice, speak to me

Tuning into my voice of wisdom is not always easy. For the past several years I have been learning to listen to my heart, my inner voice. I’m not an expert, but am happy to share what I have learned along the way. Creating quiet Inner listening is partly about creating the sort of quiet…

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Hand spun yarns & fabrics hand dyed

Does Creativity have a Season?

What is your most creative season? Mine is summer. I wrote both of my first two books in the summers of 2016 and 2017. Summer brings to mind sensations of warmth, less clothing, feeling unencumbered by extra layers. There is more time for beach walking, for planning fall teaching and speaking, and for impromptu gatherings…

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Burano, Italy 2019

May You Live in Interesting Times

What story are you telling through the work you do? What inspires you and gives purpose and meaning to your life? My vacation to Croatia, Venice and Florence in May of 2019 had me thinking about these questions and more. Croatia had amazing natural beauty. It also had sharp contrasts, being a country that was…

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She raised me up

The older I get, the more I appreciate my Mom and the women in my life who have raised me up and kept me afloat. We thought we were going to lose our Mom in December. My brother and I travelled to meet my sister to say goodbye and make plans. Apparently Mom had other…

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Love Letter 3 detail

Ode to a friend I never met

This blog post is dedicated to a friend I never met. It is about the power of social media to help us find kindred spirits, living each day fully and with love and speaking and acting with principle and conviction. I first met Teva Harrison through hearing her interviewed by Shelagh Rogers on The Next…

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