A Life...

i hope you all had such a wonderful christmas season!

ours was filled with much joy and happiness...

and also sorrow...

my husband.s grandfather.s health is failing...

and we spent the weekend gathered around sharing in his memories...

what an amazing life...

one filled with hard work, tears, joy, and extreme stubbornness ;0)

how quickly time passes...

how our heart.s ache with moments lost...

but how our heart.s are filled with deep love and respect...

as we begin a new year let us...

all strive to live a life realizing dreams...

a life of no regrets...

a life filled with family...

a life filled with love...

Inspiration and Dreams: Tears of Joy

It was only recently that I heard this said. I wish I knew who wrote it as I love the wisdom and the inspiration of it. How fitting as we celebrate this time of looking forward and looking back here at the I-Studio!

Tears of joy. Tears of sadness. We only experience these kinds of tears in the extremes of our living. The more I reflect and am thankful for my last year, I realise that perhaps life-living is meant to be extreme. Perhaps we are meant to dare it all: to risk the finding and the losing of everything that we want in our lives in order to have everything that we want in our lives.

I watch my 2-year old daughter vacillate between the extremes of sorrow and joy many times in a day, or often in an hour. She does this with the professional fluidity and whole-heartedness of any toddler. And whilst I don’t condone throwing oneself on the floor to rant loudly about the traffic or rising taxes, I do think that running full-tilt, and arms-wide-open at the ones you love each morning is a brilliant practice. Perhaps we should also be running this way at the things, and the places, and the dreams that we love too?

How is it that in our growing older, and more socially appropriate, that most of us lose this sense of spontaneity? We forget our ability to live extremely in the moments of our days. We no longer marvel at the magic that happens when we make fortresses of pillows and blankets. We stop trying to march, or hop, or run instead of walking. We don’t climb trees or spin ourselves dizzy for the joy of falling on the floor. We rush and we worry, and we don’t stop only so that we can rush and worry some more. I am as guilty as anyone...

....except when the world is transformed by the falling snow – snow that stops one driving but demands a sled, a snowman and the warmest of sweaters.

....except for hours strewn with paper and ribbon and tape and cards and gifts for those that I love.

....except for an evening of carols sung outdoors, in the cold, heard as if for the first time with my daughter beside me.

...except for a tree, laden with decorations old and new, and shining with lights in a darkened room.

Then I lie on the floor and stare up through the branches as I did when I was small. Then I feel my gratitude grow large inside me. And the tears come to my eyes.

Whispers of Truth...

while reflecting on my past year it brings forth one word...

truth...

i've embarked on a journey this year...

a journey of the creative spirit...

before i began i needed to know the truth...

to discover the raw being of myself...

the silence and surety of my heart gives the small whispers of truth, voice...

i've grown roots of strength and stability in order to unfurl my wings and soar...

what are your truths, do they involve courage for a journey?

do they reveal a whisper of self doubt and constant criticism?

even our truths we may try to silence can be freeing, they can allow us to gain courage and act on our dreams...

~Reflecting on What I'm Learning~

~Reflecting on things I've learned in December~

Kim Klassen's textures and editing photos 

and reflecting on all I've learned thus far 

and all I am yet to learn

in the days and years ahead.....

Reflecting on...

the ideas for Reusing,

Repurposing,

Recreating,

and

Restoring

that I

recently learned through

a seminar I attended.

Reflecting on...

how i can continually be

more responsible

with green choices

in my life now

and

in the future.

 

Reflecting this Holiday Season on...

how blessed I truly am

to have family and friends

that mean the world to me.

Thank you iStudio family for allowing me to be a part of this great community.

You can read more and find links on my site if interested.  Thank you to Kim for the opportunity to buy and use these fabulous textures and layers she's created. I just love to do this now, and feel it adds so much inspiration to my life.