I am inspired by this quote about what it means to be authentic from Brene Brown, a woman who seems to me to be the epitome of her real self. She said “Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real….
I was re-reading my journal today and came across this piece I wrote in response to a writing prompt “This space I have created”. It speaks to the life I have chosen to live after being given the gift of recovery from breast cancer. This space I have created … Allows me to breathe. It…
How do you keep your feet on the ground when life is busy and exciting and your spirit is soaring? I was reminded recently of my need for grounding. I was sailing along, running along the Dartmouth waterfront with my friend Karen and tripped and fell in front of a team of gardeners! Mostly my…
I’ve been struggling lately. Our family is experiencing a painful situation that has had me digging deeply to try to find my usual creative, positive methods for moving forward. It has left me feeling raw and vulnerable on a whole new level. My friend and I were talking about how I have been finding it…
Lately I’ve been thinking about curiosity and its usefulness as a life skill. I must confess I’ve always been a naturally nosey and curious type of person. Google dictionary tells me curiosity is “1. A strong desire to know or learn something, a spirit of inquiry, inquisitiveness. 2. a strange or unusual object or fact.” I’ve…
Did you ever have something inside of you that you were bursting to say? Only to be told not to be so loud, or so boastful, or so full of yourself? When I was a young girl singing in the school choir, a teacher told me to just mouth the words, not to sing them…
As Mother’s Day approaches, I’ve been thinking about the joy and pain of motherhood. I’m speaking from the perspective of a woman in her early sixties and about my role as a mother and as a daughter. This past year has been one of joy and pain on both fronts. There has been a surprising…
Don’t you love the feeling of being in the flow? When I’m in the flow, ideas for writing and rug design coming easily, I’m able to make decisions in life and business and I feel active and engaged in my life. It feels like being inspired. I was asked recently how do I get inspired?…
“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” Rosalia de Castro It is in the space of not knowing that our creativity is released. All we need to do is to hold space for ourselves to allow that opening. The…
Do you ever think you’ve got it all together and then suddenly you don’t? What helps you to keep moving forward? I recently had an experience that stopped me in my tracks and gave me pause to think. As you may know, I’ve been doing my self-care work for the past two years. I was…
What do you need right now? What do you need to feel well, to be well, to take care of yourself? What is the one, simple, next step you need to take? Not feeling well on a physical, emotional or mental level can be overwhelming and it can be difficult to know how to move…
I’m not a Chakra colour expert. I was introduced to the idea of using the Chakra colours for well being by Louise Gale. Louise has an online class called Chakra Colour Art Journal. I took Louise’s class the summer I was waiting for my diagnosis of breast cancer. I had rented a cottage by the…
How hard would it be for you to write yourself a love letter, a note of encouragement? I was surprised recently in my writing class. Several of the participants struggled with this Invitation to Create from my latest book One Loop at a Time, The Creativity Workbook. “If you were writing yourself a love letter,…
Sometimes we reach a point of not knowing how to get moving. Maybe we are in a spot of overwhelm, with too much coming at us. Maybe we are at a crossroads. Maybe we have been moving along freely and something happens that knocks the wind out of our sails. Maybe you can relate. Feeling…
January is a time of self reflection, a time of new beginnings. It is a time that I like to review and repurpose my self care goals for the coming year. The holidays are over and I’ve worked hard to choose meaningful gifts for friends and family, to cook delicious and interesting meals and to…