Category: Wisdom Cards

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Holding Hope in the Chaos…

Posted on by sue boardman

This is an #Apothecary painting from a couple years back. I love #Apothecary… especially this one! And, last night, it was whispering from the wall, complete with notions of healing and relief and hope! Of perspective shifts!

Not a huge surprise, really. I mean, the question of our time seems to be all about holding hope in the midst of more chaos than many of us have known before.

As I experience the painting, the chaos is appearing in the sky, over the mysterious blue dotted being who is either an elephant or an octopus, depending on your perspective. (If you’re curious, look up elephant and octopus spirit animals and see what you learn!)

The real hope for me, in this moment, is the reminder that while the chaos feels big and close and – well – terrifying, I know there is more that is true. It has always been so and probably always will be.

My book is becoming more real by the day.

My wrist is becoming more chaotic. More painful. Less predictable. All my “typing” these days – and much of my painting – involves support gloves with copper threads which seem somewhat helpful, at least in the moment.

The big thing, though, is the sense of calling I feel to get this book out into the world – into the hands of our tweens and teens – now, when they probably feel all the chaos, too, and may not have as much practice processing it as I’ve had.

Just now, I’m going to listen to my inner wisdom which is, perhaps, elephant/octopus wisdom on some mysterious level, and let that be enough for this moment.

The Elephant and the Octopus agree! They also agree that I could, in fact, make one more matched campaign donation and turn my phone off… just in case that results in a wee bit less chaos!

ps… if your inner Medicine Basket could use a bit of new wonder, check out my MetaMod Wisdom Cards… for YOUR journey to the place where YOU are called! Just click here to be magically transported to new-ness! Daphne’s eager to help!

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A bit overdosed on chaos!

Posted on by sue boardman

Okay… probably a lot! Don’t worry. I’m not going to dump it all on you! Instead, I’m going to dig around a bit in my Medicine Basket and share a few all-time favorite coping strategies that are actually helping me stay on the road known as Book Deadline Highway!

You might want to take a sec to grab some spare paper, something that writes, and a cuppa. (Cacao could be good, or your most precious flavor of tea…) Maybe even go big and switch off the news!!!

Then, my all-time, very-most-favorite question, re-worded just a smidge for this moment: What am I trying to accomplish? Write that, please, in your journal or on an index card or whatever works. Write the inquiry with your dominant hand – you know, the usual one. Then, hang out. Deep breaths would not be amiss. Something will come forward.

Write that down with your non-dominant hand. And, just in case you haven’t heard me say this before, you will be able to read it, largely because it’s coming from most-real you!

Then, another question, so back to your regular hand… What will be better once that thing I’m trying to accomplish is real? This, too, will come. Non-dominant hand, again. Let it all out. Reaching for a tissue could be a very good sign! Depending on how that went for you, you might want a couple minutes to fix another cuppa, or watch birds flitting around in the garden. Deep breaths are totally in order! We’re about to go to meddlin’!

Back to the regular hand… What’s holding me back??? Give it as much time as you need. Maybe even dream on it…

Of course, you can add some doodles or sketches as you go along. Just be sure to make space for the words. (It’s a whole different processing thing.)

On some level of awareness, things have already changed! Now for a bit of whipped cream on top!

If you have a set of wisdom cards around that you relate to, mix them all up really well, and draw one, while holding your writing adventure close.

No cards handy? No problem! Reach for a favorite book. A trusted author. SARK. Anne Lamott. Fred Buechner. Dr. Estes. Shiloh Sophia McCloud. C.S. Lewis. Even Dr. Seuss! You know… the kind that makes you feel heard.

Then open it randomly and run your finger through a couple of pages until the message finds you. Add that to your writing, and congratulate yourself!

There is no way to fail with this, except not trying!!!

ps… the new book will have new cards, too!

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Okay, news alert! (The TV kind…)

Posted on by sue boardman

Dear heart…

If you live in the US, you’ve probably heard at least a bit of the current flap about reporters from specific TV networks being banned from the White House.

And, you’ve probably guessed that I am unamused. Even if I hadn’t done interviewing, writing, reporting, and audio broadcasting along my winding road, I’d be horrified. Then there’s the preaching thing…

I’ve lived the challenge of telling truth – as best I understand it – in a way that listeners can actually hear. (Otherwise, what’s the good???)

That is not, however, what banning those reporters was intended to accomplish. Instead, the sole purpose was to stoke the President’s irrational ego.

Blessedly, my TV remote will still give me access to the folks doing real news. And, yes, in my world that means MS NOW. When I tuned in today, while waiting for some paint to dry, one of the reporters was interviewing Salman Rushdie.

The 79 year old Indian-born British and American novelist had a mouthful of wisdom to share about censorship and truth. My favorite bit was just this:

If you have the story to tell, then tell the damn story today!

I totally agree! (And you’re probably not surprised!)

It isn’t easy, especially if you were raised, as I was, to be politely seen and not heard. To make everyone around you comfortable.

Sadly, that doesn’t solve all the challenges we face. And one of those challenges, much in my heart these days, is speaking up for our Littles. For the world they’ll inherit. For their rights to speak up.

And – not surprisingly – some of that energy is coming forward in my book-in-progress. Blessedly, I had a very good teacher. Yep! Walter Brueggemann, who’s actually got a line or two in the book! And, whenever I need a reminder, I just look at Shoshana, who joined us as we began. She reminds me that I am here and I am ready. And she’s delighted to help remind a new generation, as well!

ps… Shoshana has a new name. (It was formerly Lily Rose.) And, in a way I’ll admit to loving, Shoshana is the Hebrew name closely related to my name which does, indeed, mean lily and rose. I’m pretty sure she’s glad to have her story told, in this day and time, just like Saman Rushdie!

pps… there will be Medicine Basket cards for tweens & teens to go with the book!!!

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Limbs of the family tree…

Posted on by sue boardman

Both my mom’s family, and my dad’s, had people in the way-back days who were named variations on Mattie. I can’t find the details of who and where, just now.

Here’s what I do remember… Mattie-ing on somebody meant something pretty close to herding them. You know – expecting, directing – those kinds of things. And, yes… I’ve been watching the news! (Though not nearly as much as usual!)

Now, I’m no fan of expecting and directing. I’m much more comfortable with intentional questions and suggestions. With noticing and wondering.

At this moment, though, I seem to be the one who needs a bit of Mattie-ing. Self Mattie-ing, to be exact! You see, it’s pretty tempting to just quit trying to make things better. Fires. Floods. Earthquakes. Plane crashes. Murder. Racism. Poverty. Megalomania. You hear me. And I’m hugely aware that I can’t fix it all. In fact, some of it’s way too big for me to fix alone.

What I can do is make what I can reach just a bit better.

That’s where the creativity and Feng Shui come in! (Really!)

The cat-in-progress you just met is a wise voice in my tweens & teens book-in-progress, and she’s coming to life! Layer by layer. (I never tried to paint a cat before!) Her name is Gloria and she informed me, emphatically, that we – you and I – are part of the message Gloria Steinem left for us to carry.

Then, there’s the place where the Legendary Husband and I abide. It hasn’t so much kept up with our changing needs and, for a while, I think we might have been busy pretending we didn’t notice. I’m choosing to notice, again, and it’s getting better, already. Intentionally better!

We’re working hard to make this brick ranch, built in 1962, be safe and comfortable and supportive, here and now. It’s a challenge… though I am starting to feel a smidge more hopeful! (Though the new fridge still needs some help!)

Somewhere, deep in my consciousness, I can almost hear Mattie brusquely suggesting that we stay on the road.

I’m in!

ps… I just rearranged the book shelf next to the magic chair and put some wisdom cards in easy reach. Some from friends. Some of my own! And you can get your very own deck of mine! Just click here for all the info. I’d be delighted and honored to mail you a batch. They really were created to help all of us make what we can reach just a bit better. (Or, maybe… lots better!) It’s that whole perspective and strategies thing!!!

pps… internal book release goal: November 1, 2026!!!

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Perspective Shift!

Posted on by sue boardman

So, you may not have heard from me this week, as you usually do. And I missed you! You see, the tech-elves ran amok! I won’t bore you with all the details. Just two things…

If you’re reading this, I’m grateful for your persistence!!!

And, I – apparently – needed some reminders about not giving up on me!!!

If you’ve been around more than about 10 minutes, you’ve probably heard me mention that I consider myself tech-challenged. It’s a processing thing. I don’t understand any of this stuff. For me, it’s all which finger I move to get the next right thing to happen?

So, after considerable shaming and blaming, along with stomping and swearing, I got some help. An old friend who’s harder to find these days than she used to be, but understands way more tech magic than I do.

Kit was apparently having a come-apart.

What I didn’t know, when we were fixing things online was that some of my old favorite style choices would get a lot harder to find. Like the fairy-tale-ish much larger letter at the beginning of a post which I finally figured out just now!

Yay, me!!!

(I gave up thinking it was rude to celebrate myself ages ago!)

Somewhere in the midst of all that frustration I reached for the only helpful thing I could think of… my very own MetaMod Wisdom Cards!

I shuffled a bunch and passed them – with hope – through my hands, eyes closed, until one called to me.

Yep! Matilda and Aslan… my Warrior Archetype buddies, right up there at the top!

The WOO really can help!!! Even in the fighting for good over evil!

They, of course, came bearing a question.

What are you/we trying to accomplish?

My list is pretty long at the moment, what with a book launch approaching and all. Here’s the bottom line, though…

I am trying to accomplish HOPE! In as many ways and for as many people as I can, starting with the tweens and teens we love. And the new book is all about that!

Here’s a peek…

For now, though… if you’d like to brush up a bit on perspective and tools, check out all the goodies, including my Meta Mod Wisdom Cards… at WingedEyeWisdom.com

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Scrap Quilt Brain Day!

Posted on by sue boardman

My conscious day began with a scary sound. You know the kind! Oddly high-pitched, and coming from the direction of the front window, which is where the TV lives.

It wasn’t chirpy bird sounds, though I was hoping it was. It was quite regular. Drippy. Peeking out the windows & front door didn’t help. Nothing likely happening next door. My next thought was the dreaded basement. A bit of Hardy Boys help from the Legendary Husband ruled out – you know – floods.

About that time, I decided tea was in order. And, news! Frankly, the potential flood was more more fun!

The US Supreme Court, battling over Birthright Citizenship. Let’s start with the reported presence of POTUS in the public gallery during the oral arguments, for the first time, ever. Intimidation springs to mind, and I object… but let’s move on from that!

The next thing that sprung into my mind was a song from the Broadway play, 1776, probably because the current Attorney General is a guy named John Sauer. Thus…

Sit down, John! Sit down, John! For God’s sake, John, sit down!

In the play, the reference was to John Adams who was, at least, making sense back in the day.

Apparently, today’s actual event got boring because MS NOW reported that POTUS headed back to the gold (Oops! White) House with nothing resolved.

I, however, have more words in my head. You’ve probably heard me quote the ones from my Intentional Creativity® heritage, before.

I matter. You matter. We matter.

And, my own addition to them…

Mattering Matters!

And, that, dear friend, is what this whole us and them debate is about. “Leaders” who want to matter MORE than everybody else. To decide who matters and what the only right things are to think. Kratos!

I, as you’ve no doubt guessed, OBJECT!

And that takes us straight to the scrappy notion of MetaModern… the place where many things are true and not all of them get along very well. The place where we live! The place where we can choose what to create out of all those scraps. So… off with the news!

I’m off to research geese which live in Florida swampy places. Really! It seems my #Mother Nature painting has requested the symbolic presence of the Holy Spirit! And such geese apparently have pink legs and feet! (Patience, please… photo to follow!)

It’s kind of an odd way to matter, but it feels better and that, as the old saying goes, ain’t nothin’!

Love it if you’d leave a comment, below, and let me know how mattering is happening in your world! (In a scrap quilt world like this, it’s going to take a whole bunch of us!!!)

ps… want some more info on the whole MetaMod thing? Check out my Wisdom Cards… Survival skills for here & now!

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The Void!

Posted on by sue boardman

Buckle up, dear heart, for the real deal! #Apothecary goes on… And, as is often the case, it feels scary-timely!

First, you should know that I don’t always follow the directions. In this case, the step included covering everything already on the canvas with black paint, creating the void!

Frankly, the void feels pretty close, in this world, already! I’m grateful, though, that there are other stories in my head, too. Including one I learned in #RedMadonna, way back at the beginning of this year, about the earliest known artists, making marks.

Yep… thumb prints. Red clay, perhaps. Or blood. Hunting? Birthing? Perhaps we’ll never know for sure, but – in my tiny corner of the world – I’m going with birthing!

Right there in the midst of the the void!

My mark. My birthing.

Not the original one, of course… but NOW! My becoming. My choosing. My beginning what’s next. Now.

And, then, I woke up this morning with a whole lot of book happening inside me! Cards, too. Different iterations of me, with learning to share.

And I wonder if, maybe – just maybe, humans have always felt like this! If we were created to feel like this… to keep doing new things, even when it’s terrifying!

So, I did what I often do. Research! I looked up my name. Susan. (Just type girl’s name ________ into your favorite toy.) What I discovered is that this name I have – supposedly because both my parents liked it – calls forth both Rose and Lily.

And, that, dear heart, brings up a whole lot of other stories! Some of which will play big roles in that book borning inside me.

First, though, I’m going to need to practice claiming me! So… that red thumb print in the middle of the void. And a whole lot of questions!!!

ps… Curious about YOUR magic??? Glinda & I would love to help! Just click here and the calendar elves will be delighted to hook you up up with 45 min. My gift. The time to step through the door is now! Fix a cuppa, grab your journal, and bring a dream!