The time has come, the walrus said..

To talk of many things. Of shoes and ships and sealing wax. Of cabbages and kings.

Well, sort of. The things on my list are different than those on the long gone list of Lewis Carroll. But, the time has, apparently, come.

This is a good thing, in the way that newness often is. And a challenging thing in the way that new things often are. You see, on this particular Wednesday, I am even more conscious than usual of being my own Work-in-Progress!

As you may have noticed, one of the owl eggs in the painting on the right is beginning to hatch!

But first, a bit of reflecting on a couple of other art forms. The massive bone broth cauldron is enthroned on the stove. No heat yet. Just raw bones bathing in very cold acidulated water. Bird bones, in this case. But no owls!

And, in addition to the beginnings of a pot of bone broth, quilts.

Last night I dreamed of the endless hours I used to spend, staring at quilt fabric strung across the back of my couch, trying to feel which ones belonged in a particular project and which ones needed to return to the stash for a different moment in the sun.

It seems I am doing that internally at the moment. And the scraps for the project hatching inside me are books and symbols and stories, collected over the last couple of decades, interesting individually and increasingly fascinating as they jockey for position in the mental quilt I am composing which will be called something along the lines of Making Sense Out Of The World.

Perhaps you are hatching such a project as well!

I hope so. I find comfort in the notion that there are many of us at work, creating new patterns and perhaps even comfort in the face of – well – current events.

And I’m really grateful for a host of brave and brilliant teachers through the years. I’ve shopped, in a sense, through classes and books and experiences, for just the bits of knowing that feel so much like brilliant scraps of quilt fabric in my heart.

There will be more to come about all of this.

Soon!

First, I need to learn a bit more about Zoom and what happens if my new project thinks it needs two cameras at once. Right after I ship some art supplies to Texas and Tennessee.

Should you happen to be a wise soul with knowledge of such unquilt-like wisdom, PLEASE leave me a comment, below, or email me at suesvoice@gmail.com

If ever there was a time when we’re all in this together, it seems to be now. Blessings for you and yours. And for the symbolic baby owls hatching in your heart.

ps… A very, very happy birthday to Kelly who “hatched” my favorite owls!

Which Direction Will You Choose?

According to the Enneagram personality type gurus, with whom I’ve been hanging out for just over 20 years, there are 9 personality types. I am among the 4’s, commonly know as artists or romantics.

One of the most helpful things I learned in Enneagram-land is the notion that we humans have two primary motivations for our behavior… or choices, if you prefer.

The first motivation is fear. Anxiety. We, being fairly clever sorts, tend to move away from things that scare us.

The second motivation is love. Passion. Enthusiasm. And, as you’re no doubt hoping, we tend to move toward those experiences. And people. (Also, dogs, but that’s a story for a different day.)

’tis the season, as the old saying goes.

Our current context feels overflowing, at least to me, with scary things. The Covid virus is obvious. Suggestions that drinking chemical disinfectants might solve all our problems. (Not! No way! No time! No how!) Masks, gloves, huge changes in schedules and habits we at least assumed were working before. I’ll give you a break on the rant about political groups filling my email with blatant attempts to get me to act out of fear… read this, send money.

This weekend, though, I spent hours in a group of women tapping into love, joy, enthusiasm and it was soooooooo much more helpful!!!

Intentional Creativity® types, focused on how to share the best of what we’re learning with the world. We worked on ideas for virtual workshops and even on (gulp!) business plans.

Business plans with color and images and reflections of the things that matter most in our lives. And while we worked, my girls kept appearing in my head. At one point, I even opened up my text messages to be amazed, all over again, by the photos of their recent artwork and the grins on their mini-artist faces.

And then the question found me, as all the really good questions have a habit of doing.

Which journey do I /You /We want our littles to see manifesting in our lives?

Okay… that’s not phrased very poetically. And I’m not saying it will be easy. We’ve all learned way too much about the other journey… the one away from fear.

We’re shaming and blaming ourselves for uncertainty in a time we’ve never known before, for comfort eating, for laughing and crying (which-btw-relieve stress, physiologically) and wanting to hide in our beds, preferably with flannel sheets, art quilts, and teddy bears.

I was tempted, too. Instead, just for a while, I made neat in the studio. I cleaned the screen on my magical transporting machine, aka laptop! I even got out my watercolors from Italy (!) and played along the path to the future.

I moved in the direction of love, passion, and enthusiasm, which, as you’ve probably remembered by now, means something pretty close to filled with God in Greek, because I get to choose.

Tomorrow will bring more choices. Sheltering in place some more. Finding a pattern for making masks. Sharing pantomime hugs with my neighbor when I’m out watering the itty bitty veg and herbs, along with flowers for the bees and butterflies, sprouting in the garden.

And planning new ways to share the wonders of creativity in the world we have.

Stay tuned for virtual workshops and for stories about paintings. Their moments in time and their symbols and codes…

The littles are watching!

 

 

I wanna shop!!!

Okay… self-disclosure alert!

Rumor has it that, when I was a small child (who talked very early!), I had to be carried from a grocery store, screaming, “I wanna shop!!!” at the top of my tiny lungs. It’s remotely possible that there was a diaper incident involved.

It’s worth noting that I’ve never told this story before and those who might have been able to confirm or deny are safe in the place beyond the need for compassionate distancing.

But, really, lots of you have asked what I’m buying and where and why in this particular context.

So… liability disclaimer! I’m a grandmother who used to be a nurse who grew up in an environmentally sensitive summer camp program. I’m also an author, artist, activist, coach, and teacher of things having to do with images and their power for change.

Translation – I’m a picky omnivore who chooses sustainably raised, preferably local foods, grows herbs, veg, and grapes in the space formerly known as our front lawn, and practices the magical arts of homemade bone broth.

I also have an unfortunate history of waaaaaaayyyy too many cases of bronchitis and pneumonia so I am not the primary procurer of things in my family just now. All of which suggests that we, like you, are learning new things. And we’ll continue to practice those new things whether the governor of Georgia wises up or not.

Okay, I’m over that for the moment! And, while we’re getting over things, let’s just recognize that all of our choices have ethical and political implications and there are not, in this moment, many perfect choices.

Hence, the number of things delivered to our house!

First on that list is what I’ve termed sanity food, which is also not inherently objectionable to my holistically inclined physician.

  • Really, really dark chocolate. 80% cacao or better. Preferably organic, fair trade, etc. I’m not the only one with this opinion and it’s getting harder to find. It’s really high in antioxidants and, the higher the percentage of cacao, the lower the sugar. It also supports serotonin levels which helps reduce stress. Greene & Black’s is one good option.
  • Pistachio nuts. Organic. Roasted. Sea salt. In the shell. Eating them takes longer and is a cross-lateral brain movement which reduces stress, as does – for me – the salty, crunchy thing.

Next, proteins.

  • Veg/vegan friends may skip down a ways. My friend, Rusty, and all the gang at Pine Street Market and its branch office, Chop Shop ship, deliver locally, and offer safely distanced on-site pick up in Avondale. Most importantly, they make (and ship) REAL bone broth, healing for body & soul.
  • For veg, eggs, dairy, etc., with or without said proteins, shipped, check White Oak Pastures. Also my friend Chad at Carlton Farm whose wonderful folks will deliver to your home in the Atlanta area. Check where you are.

Then, the rest of the stuff.

  • You’re on your own for t.p. Sorry!
  • Hands raw from washing??? Good olive or coconut oil for hand lotion works wonders and is naturally anti-microbial! Add a couple drops of lavender essential oil to a batch if you like the relaxing scent.
  • Then, colloidal silver solution in a mister. It’s a safe, effective anti-microbial. I spritz my face (eyes open) a couple of times a day and whenever I’m feeling – you know – inadequately distanced. Do your research. I like Argentyn 23.
  • Tea tree oil soap for face, bath, hair, you name it. It’s anti-microbial, safe, and, with the oils in the soap, not drying.

And, a bit of borderline meddlin’.

  • Capsules known as Recovery Tonic from True Botanica. These help with stress and adrenal recovery, should you happen to believe in such things. My doc and I do.
  • Ditto, tiny, sweet pellets of something called Aurum Hypericum Stibium from Uriel. Homepathic remedy for “headaches” which translates, I’m told, into anxiety.
  • Vitamins D3 & K2. I get an immune boosting combo by Life Extension. Follow directions with fat soluble vitamins!
  • 5-HTP, a building block of serotonin. (Are you sensing a trend?) I like Natrol’s version which claims that it Promotes a Calm & Relaxed Mood. Again, directions!
  • A coloring book wouldn’t hurt!!! Or new, uplifting art!

Again, do your research and check with your doc. These are NOT things I learned in nursing school!

Speaking of nursing school, doing what we can to take care of ourselves and those we love, body, mind, and spirit, is the best way to support millions of front line folks taking care of those who are ill.

I am totally aware of the privilege involved in making a list like this. Bill and I do, in this moment, have choices about what we eat. I also remember buying food for a growing boy when my grocery list included 5/$1.00 generic mac & cheese and 99 cent frozen pizza. Those of us fortunate enough to have choices in this moment can also choose to give so others have real food. If you want some suggestions, just ask!

For now, keep sticking with you and yours!

 

 

I Skipped Iron Chef!

If you’ve been hanging around for any length of time, you know that I often spend Saturday evenings watching Iron Chef America. Tonight, I got my fix at 6 and 7pm and then I fixed my supper and changed the channel.

Channel 9, in my case. WGCL which is a CBS station in Atlanta. One World TOGETHER at Home… a celebration of first responders and the countless others working to keep us all safe and fed and sheltered in these days.

This show was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and my personal late night guy, Stephen Colbert. That, all by itself, is something of a miracle.

Organized, in large part, by Lady GaGa, the big name types assembled to call attention to the $50 million dollars raised for the World Health Organization’s efforts to to curb the Covid virus pandemic and to shed light on first responders.

Now, I know many of us have differing opinions on some of the entities making headlines in these days. I suspect many of the folks who gave of their time and talent and resources to pull off television like this, with everybody performing, seemingly on one stage while sheltering at home, have differing opinions as well.

Yet, for a few moments in time, those differences were put aside to bring us together as one world, at home.

One of my personal stars was only there inside me. You may have heard me mention him before. Dr. H. Stephen Glenn was the force behind a program called Developing Capable People which changed my life, especially as a young, single mom, and went on to change the lives of the countless people I’ve shared the work with over more than 30 years of leading DCP groups.

Here’s the punch line…

There’s no such thing as failure. Only experience to be learned from. 

I’ve been thinking about that a lot in these days. And I’ve realized that there’s one thing I’ve learned that Steve didn’t have a chance to learn in the same way because he passed on before he could experience it the way we are just now.

Yes…

There’s no such thing as failure. Only experience to be learned from. 

But that assumes the ability and willingness to learn.

I’ll let you do whatever math on that works for you, because just now a physician from New York City said, with tears in her eyes, that yes, she had heard New Yorkers singing from their stoops and balconies every evening in thanks for health care workers. And then, asked what she would say in response, the doctor replied that she wanted everyone to know, “If you can’t hold your mom’s hand, I’m there to hold your mom’s hand.”

Right after that, a young woman I didn’t know before, a singer named Lizzo, belted out a fabulous version of a song I love  by the legendary Sam Cooke.  The name of that song is, A Change is Gonna Come. 

And that, I think, is the prayer of this moment for almost all of us, including Michele Obama and Laura Bush who joined forces to speak out for getting through the crisis together.

Right now, I’m going to go find another box of Kleenex and watch some more. And while I watch, I’ll be giving thanks for all of those willing to learn who came together to speak and sing and give for all of us together. And I’ll be praying. For me and mine. For you and yours. And for all the “thems and theirs” who share this planet with us and those we know.

May we stay at home together, and be safe, and willing to learn. And may the change we so need come soon. Amen. Amen. Selah.

ps… A charming pink young lady named Abby Cadabby (who’s new to Sesame Street since Dave’s days with “Bernie and Ert”) says that when we have feelings about all the changes, “It helps to give yourself a hug.” Thanks, Abby! And thank you, Lady GaGa!

pps… Abracadabra can be translated, I will create from the word. Let this be our prayer. (Veg and herb seeds, freshly planted, work, too! And paint brushes!!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making Sacred Space

A dear friend told me today that she was having a Marie Kondo tidiness moment during this inside-out (Or is that outside-in?) time we’re in.

I hear that!

I wish I was doing more than listening. Actually, I have been. Homework, to be exact. Lots of it! Making it. Taking pictures of it. Fixing it. Losing it. Finding it again. Dreaming it. Swearing at my laptop on behalf of it.

Part of me feels something approaching fulfilled.

Part of me wants very much to set the studio right. Not just neater. Weeded in the way that fills the recycling bin and puts homeless things on the curb with Free signs.

I want to dust baseboards. Really! Besides, the pollen already has me sneezing so there’s not much to lose!

I want ALL the paintbrushes clean. Not just the ones I use the most. Not most of them. Every. Last. One. And, when the new paint arrives tomorrow, I want a place to put it, all lined up according to my quirky system of which favorite colors go with which.

When all is said and done, I want Sacred Space.

I want room for new-ness.

Even deeper than that, I want healing. Me. You. Mine. Yours. Ours.

And “they’re” all ours in the ways that matter.

Some of the work is begun. The floors are splashed with creativity. The walls are dotted with prayers. Images my girls helped make rest here and there. And, close inspection is likely to find some Studio Angel fluff in the hard to reach corners.

The studio has become even more my sanctuary in these days. Paintings are asking for hearts and prayer dots and tears on their cheeks. Or, perhaps, they are offering to hold them for me.

And, when you get right down to it, all that homework which has been messing up the studio has been creating sacred space inside me where I can share it even in these days of Compassionate Distancing.

Art actually may save the world!

ps… I just pushed the magic button, dispatching all the homework, probably to California. Watch for updates… Maude, the Storytelling Ape is hatching new possibilities!!! (And she told me her name!) Blessings…

pps… Many, many thanks to Leisa, Natalie, Molly, Cherie, Hobby, all the brilliant Musea gang, everybody else, and the Legendary husband!!! It takes a village to finish Motherboard!

 

There’s a Hymnbook in My Head

There is, indeed, a hymnbook in my head. It’s an odd, patchy old thing covered in bits of dark green and faded burgundy and a bright lapis-ish blue with purple around the edges.

It doesn’t get much use these days for I can usually summon the words and tunes I need on demand, rather like YouTube music videos. I’ve been thumbing through it for several days, now, searching for an Easter hymn that feels real in these days of Compassionate Distancing and lunatic autocrats. Days when I’m missing my girls hunting eggs. Days when something ancient, deep inside me, wants desperately to smear lamb’s blood on our door frame.

Last night — well, actually very early this morning — my hymn found me. Perhaps you know it too. It begins like this:

God of grace and God of glory,
on thy people pour thy power;
crown thine ancient church’s story;
bring her bud to glorious flower,
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour.

Lo! the hosts of evil round us
scorn the Christ, assail his ways!
From the fears that long have bound us
free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.

The triumphant organ music is missing. Oh, I could summon it if I chose, but it doesn’t feel right, somehow. This year, my hymn is sung a’cappella, probably with the help of cell phones and some sort of mystical space/time editing I don’t need to figure out in order to hear the music in my heart. And the singing goes on:

Cure your children’s warring madness;
bend our pride to your control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal.

Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore;
let the gift of your salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving you whom we adore,
serving you whom we adore.

I’ve known this hymn for ages. I needed to know, in this moment, its writer and its context. Here’s what I learned…

Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote these words in 1930 for the dedication of the Riverside Church in New York City. In the middle of the Great Depression, between two World Wars, “Fosdick was a champion of the social gospel, a movement that recognized the plight of the poor, especially in the urban Northeast during the Industrial Revolution.”

In an article on the history of the hymn, a professor of sacred music named Dr. Hawn goes on to say that, “Under Fosdick’s leadership Riverside Church was interdenominational, interracial, without a creed, and, astonishingly for Baptists, required no specific mode of baptism. At the center of Fosdick’s ministry was urban social ministry.”

All of which sheds light on the reason that it is this hymn which found me now.

In this moment, I must close my hymnbook and go back to my homework, some of which includes a thing called Sacred Scribing. Ideally, I would have done it before, but it somehow seems appropriate to this day. Perhaps I’ll scribe “my” hymn.

First, though, the blessings of this season be with you and yours.

IMG_2657

May you know grace and glory, wisdom and courage, in your own way and may we, each of us who are paying attention, do what we can so that as many of us as humanly possible might be passed over.

Amen. Amen. Selah.

 

Crossing the Bridge!

It’s been quite a while since I was a Brownie Scout. I’m sure there are many things I’ve forgotten. Here’s one I remember:

When my friends and I “graduated” from being Brownies all the way to becoming Junior scouts, there was a ceremony. The ceremony involved a small wooden bridge in the gymnasium of the local elementary school. Each of us walked onto the bridge and stopped in the middle to say the magic words. Then we walked the rest of the way across, newly minted “big kids”. My mom always swore my dad cried!

Oh! The magic words…

Twist me and turn me and show me the elf. I looked in the water and saw myself!

I’m reasonably certain you’re wondering what on earth brought this to mind, let alone to blog-land. That’s easy! I crossed another bridge today. But, before I tell you more about that, there are a couple of things you need to know.

If you’ve been reading along for a while, you may have noticed occasional mention of a mysterious thing called Motherboard. Translation: Intentional Creativity® Coaching. I’ve been learning and practicing and pondering, not to mention buying markers by the truck-load since late last summer, to be a certified one of those coaches and graduation is looming before us, soon!

I have no idea whether an actual bridge will be involved but there have been plenty of figurative bridges along the way. The one I crossed today was one of the figurative kind.

Here’s the short version…

In the ICC pattern, two real, live people sit down together, often in the mythical world of Zoom, with some large-ish sheets of paper and an assortment of pens and markers. (Paint takes too long to dry. Chalk smears too much.) The photo, above, will get you in the ballpark.

One of those two is the Coach and the other is the Client. (These roles are fluid in the learning stages and may flip flop back and forth.) Today, it was my turn to be the Client.

After a bit of deep breathing and some gold “roots” in an imaginary journey, we moved along to, “What wants un-stuck?”

Wow, did I have an answer! It had to do with talking about what I do in the context of life in the Covid virus days.

My partner, the Coach, offered me a tool that was new to me. Again, the photo, will fill in the blanks.

Bottom line… externalizing (my language) all my inner yelling about what felt stuck. Swearing permissible, but not necessary.

Then, what I’d choose, intentionally, to say, having gotten all the ranting and raving out of the way.

I won’t bore you with the details.

I’m hoping you’ve gone hunting for a piece of paper and something that makes marks. Eye liner, if necessary!

Here’s the bottom line, or what I learned as I crossed the bridge from stuck to un-stuck…

I have lots of the power that gets things done. Starting with a business card, all designed, and a big reminder that the more my girls see me using my power to get things done – to get unstuck – the more they’ll take a chance on having some of that power of their own!

This was an awesome day’s work!!! And I am hugely grateful to Natalie, my partner, and to our mutual teacher in IC land, Jumpin’ Jenafer Joy who introduced Natalie to the magic spiral thing.

I kind of wish the story of this day had ended there, but it didn’t. When I emerged from Zoom land, I discovered that Bernie Sanders had suspended his campaign for POTUS. I wasn’t surprised. I am heartbroken.

You can fill in the blanks according to your particular perspectives.

Here’s what I know. Bernie is a guy with YUGE power to get things done and I’m beyond grateful for all he’s helped me see and learn and live. And I’m grateful for the fact that, in many ways, Bernie has been and will be leading the USA through the Covid crisis and into the future.

A future in which, as Bernie (echoing Nelson Mandela) said, we must believe that we deserve health care and education and civil rights, etc., etc., not just personally, but as human beings. There was more, but I’m crying again.

And holding on to my power, not over others, but to get things done. We have more bridges to cross. And I have a very important hearth to tend in the Red Thread Cafe Classroom this day.

 PS… My friends at Learning Strategies and Centerpointe are offering a free sound meditation for days such as these. All you have to do is click Surviving Chaos and you can download the meditation to your device and listen to it as often as you please. I downloaded mine this morning. Now seems like a good time to go soak it up!

Sue Boardman, Certified Intentional Creativity®
Color of Woman Teacher & Coach