There are “Hands Off” protests going on all over the US, today, including the one right here in my chair! I’m hoping you’ll pardon just a wee bit of over-sharing…

My Fiercely Compassionate Rebel Grandmother’s heart is at the protests. The rest of me is in the midst of a hypermobility flare and a few other inconvenient things, as yet un-labeled.

Which leads me to one of my most precious questions… What CAN I do???

Well, I can speak. I can write. I can open doors to filter-shifts. I can help map the way from here to the place where we are called. And, I can make art!

And, it seems we need a word about art in this moment. You see, my laptop isn’t uploading new photos in WordPress just now. So, the photo at the top is as close as I can get, imagery-wise, to what I meant to share. And I’m grateful, gentle reader, for your understanding!

The “sign” I’ve been working on will no doubt be just as relevant and urgent when I get to show it to you! And, it’s already laid claim to a spot on the front porch, for as long as it takes.

You see, the issues being placed front and center today… some of them are very personal for me. Threats to Social Security, for sure. Medial care. Voting rights. And massive, intentional danger to public education. There’s more, though.

I have assisted in abortion health care.

I have helped to deliver infants by cesarean section for young teen moms… one of them a 13 year old with developmental challenges, forced to carry the child of her mother’s partner, “because they were good Christians.” When I told that child that her baby was a girl, she sobbed, “How will I keep her safe?”

Back then, when my son was 5 or 6, I had never dreamed of becoming a grandmother. And I had certainly never dreamed of being a grandmother in the context of this moment.

One of my grands is touring colleges. And I’m terrified.

Both of my grands were raised with the notion that they have choice and voice. And that’s the way they’ve always done it!

And so, I painted on. I emailed members of Congress. I made a purchase from a company that believes people matter. All people. And one that sells safer, more natural paint.

And I worked on my latest fairy tale. One of the ones where all the people matter! There’s a scrappy, liberated, not remotely matchy-matchy quilt painting that goes with the story and I’ll share that, too. Soon!

Elsie, my story-Gramma who was also my quilt-Gramma, has loaned me her voice. Her sense of drama. Her awareness of some of the old ways. Writing these stories for a world I suspect she’d be plenty pissed about with so much of her spirit within me is an experience I never imagined. An experience I’m beyond grateful for.

Elsie was 30 years old when she got the right to vote. Five of her six children were male. Four of them served in the military. The fifth stayed home to help on the farm, after Grampa Frank passed.

What I remember most is her determination. And, she and I would no doubt have some details to sort in this day and age. I’m pretty sure, though, that she’s not at all surprised that Joan of Arc showed up in my painting just now!

Me, either!!!

And, as far as I can tell, the image at the top holds Joan’s energy and passion, too!

So, a bit more painting – more, hoping and doing what I CAN. Hoping the power holds out during the tornado warnings. And, of course, prayer dots!

The lightning is picking up, so I’m going to call this good for just now. Please take good care of you and yours.

With much love,

It’s 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon. (EDT) and it’s one of those days that is turning out to need all the ME’s!

Blessedly, the ME who is in charge of making tea woke up first. Followed quickly by the ME with the emphatic reminder that turning the house alarm off before letting the plumber in was a decidedly useful plan!

Then another ME chimed in, waving my phone in my face and insisting that I check the notes I typed into texts while I was listening to the paintings whisper useful things in the middle of the night. That, of course, set paint ME to jumping up and down with a new idea for the quilt. (Yep… I’m painting a quilt!)

Filters Me was next up. Very exciting phone call. Big plans on the calendar. Can’t share just yet, but it’s coming soon!

Hearth-tender ME was, a bit belatedly, next. #wipwednesday post for Facebook. That was going well until the gremlins ate my first post and I needed to start over. Aaarrrgh!!! And several deep breaths…

By noon, it was time for 15-minute ME to take charge. Red pen. Designated sketch book. Really helpful revisions to the Fairy-Tale-In-Progress.

And, then, a poet ME from the way-back days.

Standing on the Edge

I am standing on the edge.
Toes curled under.
Hanging on.
Like climbing too high on a ladder.
Trying to decide if I’m terrified.
Or excited.
Knowing that, in my body, the experience is the same.
Knowing that whoever decided we could only feel one feeling at a time was wrong!
Knowing that this is neither good news, nor bad.
The wise old man on the mountain was right.
Trying to glimpse the beyond which is past the edge.
I like beyond.
I like creating.
Abracadabra!
For I will make something of the word.
Though I suspect I’ll make more prayer dots, first!
I am standing at the edge.
Hoping I’m excited!

(slb 10/27/16, from Grandmothers Are In Charge of Hope, edited a bit!)

And, yes… I watched a whole lot of news last night!

Also, a bit of The West Wing. Matt Santos, candidate for President of The United States, speaking in an African American Church, after a tragic shooting. And I’m going to go way out on a limb and guess I’m not the only ME who’s been inspired by this…

He was right. We are tired. And more compassion is required of us. And, slowly, too slowly, things will get better.

For now, though, I’m sticking with excited. And, determined!

Stay tuned…

ps… the photo at the top is from the reverse of my #Celebratrix painting. The more traditional “front” side has a big appearance to make tonight. She wanted you to see this view! ME, too!

pps… let’s talk about HOPE! Like the kind of hope your ME is holding! 45 min. My gift. We’ll blow a bit of dust out of your Medicine Basket and claim the next right thing on your path to the place where Hope lives for you! You show up, real you, with a cuppa, and something to write on and with. Red Thread, if it’s handy. I’ll bring the best stuff I know. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up.

The liturgical calendar probably won’t tell you this, but Saturday saw a record set for the highest pollen count in Atlanta in 35 years! I have no trouble believing this is true. And it’s a good thing Kleenex are on sale!

Dogwoods, azaleas, crepe myrtles, forsythia… they’re all doing their thing to contribute to the pollen! Also dandelions and violets! Even in the front yard!!! And, despite all my training in “appropriate” suburban landscaping, I’m totally okay with all that! Even the asparagus is starting to appear!

There’s more excitement, too. We seem to have a pair of hawks nesting in the big pine tree. No sign of wee ones, yet, but the adults are swooping past the windows in an assertive way, probably claiming their nursery.

All this while dear friends in Canada and Vermont are shoveling snow and the Carolinas are praying for rain.

It all feels quite metaphorical to me, just now. You see, that liturgical calendar I mentioned is also a reminder that there will be more news to come, and it’s going to get harder before it gets better. And I’ll own that I’m looking for comfort. For spiritual sustenance.

Perhaps that’s why the Fairy Tales are flowing! I’ve written three of them this week and I’m really excited! I’m writing in my Story-Gramma voice and it feels utterly natural. It also feels important, for the news is, indeed, going to get harder for many, many of us before it gets better.

And, yes… I’d want to change that if I could. Instead, I’m doing my absolute best to fill junior-size medicine baskets with perceptions and strategies for the journeys ahead.

I’m also making prayer dots. With brushes. With fingertips. Even with glue and buttons! My Guardian Angel painting is adamant. She seems to have claimed the task of teaching us to claim and hold hope. And, yes… I’ll gladly take the bonus truth that all those dots are, literally, neurologically soothing!

There’s also a whole lot of purple going on. For many of us, purple is the color for the seasons of Lent and Advent. It’s also the color of the crown chakra, at the top of the head, representing spirituality, enlightenment and connection to the divine. (The chakra part is more recent learning for me!)

And, I “happen to have” appropriately garbed paintings to share! The one you glimpsed at the top is in charge of choice, voice, and sovereignty.

The one just below is my #workinprogress… even though it’s not Wednesday! On your right is my Guardian Angel. (We’re still sorting the lipstick!) And, on your left, next generations of Guardian Angels-in-training!

I’d love to know what they’re whispering to you!

ps… I just went to re-fill my tea mug and glimpsed a pair of cardinals playing in a rose bush!!! If you could use a sense of ancestors checking in, I’ll gladly share!

pps… you’re invited! Visit FierceArtWithHeart. There’s a big sale in progress and lots of great gifts! (Including the original painting, below… “What the World Needs Now!” ) If you’re new around here and haven’t joined this blog mailing list, join there and save an additional 10% on your purchase!!!

Have you ever noticed that you have lots of good ideas for other people, but often feel like you’re staring at an empty medicine basket for yourself? Me, too!

I suspect that’s because we tend to get all caught up in the brain chemistry of our emotions when we need some help – which can be no fun – and all those tools we’ve worked so hard to collect get overlooked. And, yes… I’ve been having an experience of this conundrum!

One of my roles in the Intentional Creativity® universe is to offer a writing prompt to my Red Madonna sisters each Monday. It’s tradition!!! You know… a new poetic form to play with. A particular inquiry. Once, practice writing like Dr. Seuss! And, I love doing it.

Sometimes, I need to do it!!! This was one of those weeks. And, it took a bit of hatching time. The prompt was to write a letter – a question, really – to an ancestor, actual or chosen. One who’s walked on.

Here’s where the amazing brain stuff comes in… no typing! Hand written. The question, with our dominant hand. Then, after whatever waiting was needed, the answer we received with our non-dominant hand. Really! And, yes – it’s a right brain/left brain kind of thing. And, yes – almost everybody says they won’t be able to read the response written with their “other” hand! The vast majority of us, however, will be able to read it, partially because we have to access more of our consciousness to write with our non-dominant hand. And, no… I’m not entirely sure how this works for ambidextrous folks except to say usual hand and less usual hand!

Anyway… I decided to receive my own magic! You see, my Story-Gramma, Elsie, volunteered to help me with the Fairy Tales I’m writing! In fact, she loaned me her name for the Story-Gramma in the book. The narrator, if you will, who tells the stories. And, just the other day, the first fairy tale appeared!!!

For now, though… back to right and left! (Not that right and left!!!)

I got out my journal and my favorite red pen and I asked Elsie about a particular choice she made in her own journey. A choice that was similar to one I found myself making as a young woman. And I asked her why she chose what she did.

Crickets! As in, no perceived reply! At least not until I slept on it. (I think she made a deal with the paintings to hold out and make me sit with it a bit!) And, then, it was time to pick the red pen up with my left hand and receive!

Let’s say that the crying adds to the adventure of the writing! And, yes, the picture at the top is a bit of what I received. It feels like really, really good medicine for me in this moment!

There’s bit you can’t quite see in the photo that I just have to share…

For now, keep being Love and writing those new stories for today’s Littles! It’s a long road, dear heart, and a whole lot of us are rejoicing that you’re on it!

And, yes… the next story is hatching, even now!

So, what magic of yours might need a bit of dust blown off it??? I’m serious!

Or what new magic might you experiment with? None of us can do it all, but – as the old saying goes – all of us can do something! If I were Joan Baez, I’d be playing a guitar and singing on a street corner downtown. You know… all the peace & justice classics. Woodstock, even!

I’d probably be giving books away, too. (Don’t mention that bit to the Legendary Husband who might have minor book hoarding tendencies!)

I’m really not much of a singer, though, and standing on the street corner is often a bit optimistic, orthopedically, these days, so here’s what I can do… gladly!

You get the calendar elves to hook you up with 45 minutes. My gift. I’ll witness you claiming that place where you feel called to be and, together, we’ll hatch up a next right step between here and there. This IS my magic!!! And, if you take me up on the offer between now and the end of the month (ie March 31 at 11:59pm EDT) you’ll be entered to win a free copy of my kids’ book, A Creation Poem… Just click here to do the calendar thing!

www.fierceartwithheart.com

Our kids are coming to visit!!! Like, soon! This news was a wonder-full, welcome surprise. And, it created some questions! Like, now that we’ve re-arranged the house again, and given most of the rooms new jobs, where will everybody sleep?

I’m not worried about it, mind you. We’re flexible, capable people who love each other. (Well, some of us are way more flexible than others, but that’s an orthopedic comment, not a practical one.)

So, last night, while I thought I was making progress on my #Quickening painting, I was – apparently – also pondering more practical things, too.

And, in the midst of the painting and pondering, a conversation with a dear friend, paint sister, and fellow grandmother musing on big questions. (It feels like there are lots of those, these days!)

Blessedly, the Dream paintings decided to get in the game! You know… the ones that hang on the wall near the bed and whisper wise things in the night!

Last night began with a vision from the way-back machine.

My Dave must have been late pre-school/early Kindergarten at the time. The house we lived in – the first one I ever owned – had literally been built on the back lot at my high school by a bunch of sports coaches and athletes as a learning/money-making project, then moved down the road a bit and sold. They planned to do one every year.

World War II intervened, though, and mine was the only one that ever got done.

It was a sturdy little house. The original owners lived there for decades. Then, they needed to sell it and decided it needed a bit of “fluffing” to be ready. And someone decided carpet was a good idea for the kitchen. Clearly they did not live with a small child!

So, one morning while I was brushing my teeth, I heard a funny noise in the kitchen and went investigating. There was my intrepid child, trying to pour orange juice from a practically full gallon jug into a plastic cup he’d placed on the floor, as he couldn’t reach the counters. And, yes… there was approximately a teaspoon of juice in the cup and the rest on the very squishy floor!

Blessedly, I’d already spent enough time hanging out with my Developing Capable People buddy, Steve Glenn, to swallow the temptation to yell, and set about – you know – stomping on towels to get the juice out of the carpet. Dave thought that part was big fun!

And, here’s the thing. He made a huge, inconvenient mess, for sure. But, he was reaching… trying to help himself and that’s worth celebrating!

Now you, dear soul, may well be wondering why the walls were whispering this story just now, and I have a pretty good idea! You see, there’s quite a bit of reaching going on in me.

I’m writing. A lot! And painting. A lot! And creating a deck of wisdom cards. And getting ready to teach my heart and soul – the biggest stuff I know – even more than I’ve done before. And, while much of this is happening in community, it’s coming from me, reaching!

Which brings us to our #inquiry, if you will. Our question for this moment…

What are YOU reaching for???

Really!!! I’d love to hear! You can leave a comment, below, or email me at suesvoice@gmail.com

And, I’d love to help you claim the next thing on your path! 45 minutes. My gift. You show up ready to reach a bit, with a cuppa, and something to write on & with. A bit of Red Thread if it’s handy. We can get a lot done, even with all the OJ still in the jug! Just click here and the calendar elves will be delighted to hook you up!

ps… Daphne wants you to know that a copy of A Creation Poem… would make a great gift for the Littles you love, in this season of blossoming and holy days! She wants them ALL to know they belong! And, she’s got a special offer! Buy 2 copies, and get a third for free, shipped to the same address. Offer expires Tuesday Mar 25 at 11:59pm EDT and is strictly limited to quantity in stock, so hurry! Just click here! No special code needed… just put 3 books in your cart, along with whatever other goodies are calling your name. The shop elves will do the math!

pps… there’s an old story about a monk named Brother Lawrence who said cleaning floors is praying, too!

Well, several things, really.

First, not much sleep. And a whole lot of prayers that the new pillow will show up soon and actually – you know – help! (My neck’s notion of comfort seems to have shifted.)

Then, a whole lot of drippy paint. I love drips! My favorite part is the way they’ll suddenly hang a left or a right on their way down the canvas and claim a new path. Talk about helpful meditation!!!

As a bonus, watching drips goes really well with mental prep for a podcast interview, which happened this afternoon. The Grandma Magic podcast. Huge fun!!! Can’t say much just yet, but I’ll keep you posted. Let’s just say that kids’ books and Filters “might” have come up!

This morning’s drips, by the way, will wind up on the cover of the new kids’ book!

All of which is to say that I’m a wee bit behind on my usual Wednesday list. Or, I would be behind if I believed in such things!

For this moment, though, a new mental puzzle picture out of some treasured old pieces!

We were chatting about Fierce Compassion in podcast land and I had an amazing new thought… which, sadly, didn’t make the recording. The good news is that I can go ahead and share it with you, now!

Fierce Compassion is Good Trouble!!!

Good Trouble is Fierce Compassion!!!

And we need all of that we can get!

So, I’m curious… what might YOU do with that notion???

Really!!! You know – like two of our favorite things… voice and choice!

Here’s mine… fresh and timeless from the archives…

What would it take for me to give myself permission to take a whole day for what I need??? No shame. No blame. No guilt. Just love.

Blessedly, tomorrow is an option for such a day! And, by the time you read this, I will have begun! It’s that thing my old friend, Steve Glenn, called modeling!

I’d love to know what you discover!!! Leave a comment, below, or email me. sueboardman@gmail.com

Or, we could talk! 45 minutes. My gift. Topic: Reverse Engineering! ie… the place where you feel called and the next right thing on the road from here to there! The calendar elves will be delighted to hook you up!

ps… This world needs a whole lot of us, and that means being Fierce Compassion for ourselves, too!

pps… painting counts!!!

I’m going to ask you to be patient with me for just a few moments, dear reader. It’s going to take a bit of background before we get to the more important part of this story. A bit of packing and checking the map before a journey, if you will. And, there’s a surprise along the way!

First, though, greetings from an old friend! Yep… a blue friend who appeared on my easel late last summer, during a big journey called #Animystica. It had a lot to do with relating with the natural world around us. The kind of awareness that often – in these days – goes unnoticed.

And, yes… there were surprises involved! Also crystals. And, in my case a couple of unplanned mythical friends that needed lots of looking-up!

It’s worth noting, first, that I’d been thinking a lot about voice in those days. You see, we #Animystica people we were also writing a book! And one of the first questions any writer faces is that of whose voice they’ll use to write. My usual choice is first-person with lots of “I” statements. That book, not so much! In fact, it was probably my first experiment with what we might call an “omniscient” narrator voice. And, just between us, that was more than a bit scary. (Fortunately, I’ve had some really good teachers!)

For now, though, back to my blue and purple friends. In fact… let’s start with the purple hair! It’s meant to be amethyst crystals, completely composed of fingerprint prayer dots. Amethysts are known to be beneficial to the mind… soothing or stimulating, depending on context. They’re also associated with tranquility and believed to be supportive during meditation. My favorite part of their lore, though, is that they may help with decision making, opening one to common sense and spiritual insights.

All of those things felt really welcome in those days. You see, I was claiming some insights which at least part of me knew wouldn’t be real popular with a whole lot of the characters in the news.

That brings us to the other kind of crystal. Kyanite. The blue kind. An indigenous Shima – or wise woman – I know had told me, soon after we met, that it was a power crystal for me. And, given the fact that it, too, is believed to have a lot to do with empowering voice, with speaking one’s truth, I added some to my Medicine Basket. In fact, there’s one on the window sill, just beside the magic chair, as I cause these words to appear! It’s also believed to help cut through fears and blockages. Kind of a Filter thing I can hold in my hand!

There’s more, though to the painting. The part I suspect was really calling to me as I dreamt.

Yep! Selkies!!! Or, in Celtic traditions, seal people. Another of the things I didn’t learn in school…

They are believed to symbolize the wild, untamed feminine spirit, connected to sea and nature, and holding the potential for both beauty and mystery. The one on your right, as you look at the photo, literally appeared out of the under-layers in the painting. And she looked lonely, so I added the second.

Now, we’re ready for this moment. I was writing, late in the evening, utterly overdosed on news and needing some auditory company. Joan Baez was apparently busy, and, while I was arguing with all the streaming buttons on the TV, a surprise popped up. Princess Diaries!

Yes, I’d seen it before. Largely because I love Julie Andrews! In that moment, though, I was hearing with new ears.

In her role as Queen, Julie speaks these words to her struggling granddaughter, just before the big ball is about to begin:

Courage is not the absence of fear, but judgement that something is more important than fear.

And, yes… the tears started to flow! On screen and in me! It was time for research!

Turns out, those were the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the USA, during the World War II years.

And, as I slept and dreamed that night, I was somehow joined by crystal women and selkies, all celebrating the wonder that I had just claimed a new Filter! One that seems, well, timely!

And so it is. And so it shall be, in me.

The notion of Promise… well, that’s for another day, very soon!

ps… that book I was writing back in the day was, indeed, A Creation Poem… Since I need to go to the Post Office anyway, I’d be thrilled to hand sign and mail you a copy! Just click here to order yours. Maybe some sacred holiday reading??? And, if you sign up for my mailing list, you can save 10%. Now would be a really good time. There’s big fun – and learning – just around the corner!