Well, a whole lot of things! And, frankly, a bunch of them are bumping into each other in my head just now.
Blame it on the news… or perhaps my over-consumption of the news… if you like. And the memories bubbling up inside me in the context of the news!
Back in the mid-80’s, when I was a young single mom, I began my second job as an RN.
Surgery! And, as you may recall, I got really tired of being told I didn’t get paid to think! So, I got busy thinking about what I was going to learn next.
Mind you… having a 4 year-old and student loans and a rather socially limited perspective of the world meant that the options felt limited.
The first hurdle was accepting my sense that my childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian didn’t seem likely to happen for me just then. It was hard. I’d fought for that dream for years.
And, I let it go because my world had gotten more complex.
Feel free to laugh at this next bit!
Two of the paths I considered were becoming an accountant or an attorney! Blessedly, I paid attention to the very vivid nightmares I was having and decided my first intention needed to be a Bachelors Degree.
Six years later, I was graduating from Seminary!
The world – and my living in it – have changed a good bit since then!!!
It is, however, Sunday morning, and I do have things to say! Bits and pieces of what’s bringing me comfort and hope in this moment…
Mental quilting, if you will.
Mostly with paint!
You see, what I discovered this weekend, as three paintings clamored for attention and energy and space, was that I am claiming my truth in liquid acrylics!
Yes, there are external plans and intentions. Fabulous guidance from all my chosen art-mamas. Like more context!
And there’s also my growing awareness that my heart – my dreams – my history and my hopes – are guiding my brush. (And my fingers!)
I’m experimenting!
And comforted by the deep knowing that I can learn new things. I can change my mind. I can be me.
Not simply on canvas, but in my being!!!
And, it’s still Sunday morning. So, conscious of the context of the news, garbed in my favorite red thread paint shirt, and barefoot (Gasp!), a message which feels helpful and empowering and eternal from my heart (and one of Kathleen McGowan’s books) to yours…
…this is all so simple. It’s about love and faith and community. And that’s it… The only piece of spiritual wisdom that really matters… It’s this: you can throw away the entire Bible if you just keep what Jesus tells us in Matthew 22: 37 – 40. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law of the prophets. Done. Finito. That’s all you need to know… we can make Bible study courses three minutes long, because that’s the entire teaching right there. Everything else just gets in the way and obscures the message.
May it be so! Preferably, NOW!!! And, as another of my teachers – Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes – would say… A-men, a-men, a-men… and a little woman!
ps… the quote is from The Book of Love. The character speaking is Fr. Peter Healy. Thanks, Kathleen!
pps… just in case you suspect you hear Filters at work here… You’re right! Want to know more??? Check it out! (The elves are, indeed, at work!)
ppps… looking for an amazing paint adventure??? Have I got an invitation for you! It’s the next part of the journey we Intentional Creativity® folks refer to as Red Madonna. Specifically, a call to explore the Divine Mother and the Tree of Life through Painting, Community, and Sisterhood!!! Just CLICK HERE (Soon!!!) for all the details… The charming glimpse of a hopeful being, above, is a peek from our current exploration…