May 2019 – Page 2

It’s been a bit of a week!

On Thursday, Luther had his eye surgery. It was a very long day, made do-able by major assistance from our crew of gracious and supportive Dog Aunties.

The procedure went well, for which I am very grateful to the ophthalmology team and support staff at the Blue Pearl specialty vets on Howell Mill Road.

My very large, fuzzy buddy and I are now on our third day, camped in our new family room/library space.

Sarah and Phoebe have been helping with the healing by enjoying a Camp and Spa break. They’ll be home Monday which means that today we’re working on “normalizing” our routine a bit. Cutting back on pain meds. Spending a few more minutes outside, bonding with Dad. Moving around the house a bit more.

Luther has done the vast majority of the sleeping.

I’ve been channeling the long ago nurse that still lives inside me. Meds. Soft food. Watching the swelling. Listening to him breathe.

Blessedly, the Muses have been keeping me company.

First, the one pictured above, from my Color of Woman Muse painting.

Her face is marked with the Greek words for optical seeing, visionary seeing, and knowing, which reminds me that there are many ways of seeing, even when the optical kind doesn’t work.

Also the Muse many of you know as the writer, Anne Lamott. Especially these five words.

Dog love is god love.

This is one of those sentences that works kind of like a mathematical equation. If you replace the is with an = it can be read, at least for me, in either direction.

It’s no secret that I love our herd of Newfoundland rescue dogs. And this week, I have ached with Luther as he moves through the pain of his surgery and healing. I know that, hopefully soon, this process will relieve the pain he had before and prevent more in the future.

He doesn’t know that. He just knows that somebody yelled tilt and nothing feels normal right now.

I’ve cried when he cried and rejoiced when he wagged his tail, and I believe that the Creator of my understanding weeps and celebrates with us, as well.

I also believe that our Creator loves us like Luther and Sarah and Phoebe love us, even when we don’t get it all right.

All of which has helped through the days and long, dark nights when my piece of the red thread has been a bright blue long lead running between Luther and me.

And, there’s a bit more dog love in our family these days. We have a new granddog!

Hazel is a black Lab rescue who appears from the picture to already be busy loving my girls. I can’t wait to meet her!

To see more of my art in museum quality reproductions visit fineartmarketplace.com

I got an email this week from a dear writer buddy of mine who said she was “confused about my blog.”

I get it.

She went on to say that she, “originally thought you were interested in uniting and empowering elders as a dynamic power… also things like it’s difficult to mature in our culture, which is why we should treasure the brave and courageous people who do mature and become powerful wise elders…”

Because I know her, I can hear the gifts of her academic and activist filters which I so treasure in her question.

If you’ve been reading along for a while, you may have wondered, too.

My blog isn’t the same these days as it started out, nor is it the same as my book, Grandmothers Are In Charge Of Hope.

I still believe and want all the things my friend mentioned in her email and all the things I wrote about in my book, which is, by the way, pretty handy!

The thing is, that I, in my personal grandmother-ness, am still learning. I have grown and discovered new ways of actually doing those things I believe in. Many of those ways have to do with art and creativity.

You see, as I get more empowered and in touch with the inherent creativity in each of us and with ways to share that in the world, there’s more for everybody! And there’s way more for my girls, for we do these things together, as often as possible.

The work of Intentional Creativity is often about paint, for sure. But it’s also about putting hopeful, empowering images into a world that desperately needs them. Especially feminine images.

And, for many of us, it’s also about teaching others to put that same energy into their families and communities and the world.

Many of the people I learn with and teach are grandmothers. A whole movement of us acting in love and peace and diversity around the globe.

And it’s also about some very cool things like accessing right and left brain processes and more of our own consciousness so that we can all live our gifts in the world.

I want my girls to grow up thinking that’s the way things are supposed to be. I want them to claim their gifts and put them to work creating a world that works for all of us.

And the best way I know to do that is to share what’s changing in my life with grandmothers and grandkids and seminary students and yoga students and friends dear to my heart.

Come. Hang out. Read the stories and check out the images. Ask questions.

Roll around in fierce compassion alive in the world. Roll around in paint, too, if you’d like! Or soup. Or words. Or quilts.

Create, because it’s a huge part of being human.

Risk learning new things. (How cool a model is that for your kids???)

Grow some asparagus in your front yard.

And vote, if you live in a place where you can. Preferably for fierce compassion.

Month: May 2019

I get by with some help from the Muses!

An Interesting Question…