At the risk of being redundant…

Wait! There’s cool new stuff in the midst of the familiar bit. And I’m about to be really brave!

Turns out the more news I watch, the more paint I need to stay present. And – well – useful.

When you add the news to some new places I’m wandering, my brain starts weaving things together.

And I start doing scary things.

Being a plan-ahead sort, I started getting scared about today last night. And I took my anxiety to the canvas.

You’re going to have to use your imagination for this next bit…

There are tech elves afoot in the world who believe that the painting you see at the top of this blog post needs to be horizontal to work. (Clearly, they are not artists!)

The actual painting is meant to be vertically oriented but the canvas is so big I can’t reach it all when it’s upright on the easel.

So, I painted sideways… just like you’re seeing it!

The essence of a heart. The anatomical kind, not the Valentine’s Day kind. Part of it composed of fingerprint dots.

Why?

Well, on one level, it’s homework.

On a deeper level, it’s a reminder of a story that helped me learn who I am!

And that reminder opens the door to what matters to me.

And that brings us to the scary bit, today.

First, you’ll need to know that I’m not a huge fan of cameras.

Oh, I’m good at pushing the buttons. I just don’t like them pointed at me.

Which makes this a bit of a miracle…

You see, I did about an hour worth of live, online interview today. And I was the one answering the questions. Gulp!

I could have declined, graciously.

Except that I have 2 granddaughters trying very hard to grow up in this world and the news suggests that the growing up is likely to get harder even than it’s been.

So, I sat down for a chat with a whole bunch of my Intentional Creativity® sisters about ways we could all get closer to what Frederick Buechner described as the place where our deepest longing and the world’s deep need meet.

A big part of that journey is learning enough about how human perception works so that it can become a tool in our medicine baskets instead of something we just trip over in the dark.

And, yes… we’re talking about Filters!

Just contemplate for a moment the difference between the tea bag which lets you drink tea without choking on leaves and the old Southern notion of some folks who are filtering the world through a cast iron skillet! (I’m just sayin’!)

If you’re curious and you’re an Intentional Creativity® sister, ask me. Or Milagros. Or Sumaiyah. Red Thread Cafe, Musea app, etc.

If you know me from other places, Click here for a whole new way to see!

It’s going to take a lot of us, on Fred’s path to the place where our deepest longing and the world’s deep need meet.

For me, at this moment… the canvas is calling for more dots!!!

ps… Leggings!!! Stock up for holidays. Sizes from children’s 2T to women’s 6X. And, just choose 2 pair to save! Click FierceArtWithHeart and enter code BUY 2 – SAVE $8 at checkout. (There are also new ways to spread out the payment!)