Monday Inspiration Celebration: blizzard of sorts

We actually did have a blizzard warning this past weekend. The actual snowfall was slight, but the steady, high winds pretty much shut everything down. It was actually a blessing given the abundance of started projects cluttering up the house - and my brain. For what I am noticing is the more I do and the busier I get, the greater the flow of new ideas that bubble up in my consciousness. Does anyone else have this happen? One idea leads to another which would be wonderful except the new idea appears while I am in the middle of another project! The challenge it seems, is to know when to seize hold of the inspiration and run with it even if that means disrupting other work; and when to hold tight, trusting my resources and enthusiasm will not wane and the project will happen in due time.






I think it's called "The Da Vinci Effect." (you know, Leonardo began a lot of projects and never really completed anything - at least to his satisfaction.)






So right now I am scrambling to complete many projects while jotting down the ideas that seem to be bubbling up like clouds in an unstable air mass. (DId I just insult myself?) I am finding creativity is equal parts inspiration, discipline, and stick-to-it-ness. I find myself lounging in the recliner about to watch an episode of "Lost" (yes, we never watched the series when it was on and now are up to season 4; "Spooks" a.k.a "MI5" is another favorite series of the moment) and realizing I can run upstairs to get my knitting. I lounge a minute longer and then recall how pleasurable it will be when I can see my progress after an hour and that gets me out of my chair and grabbing the needles and yarn. And so I finished Cowgirl's sweater which she loves:









Here she is eating her morning egg. She would eat a hard boiled egg every morning if I let her. She does not eat the yolks but she does cover them in copious amounts of black pepper. I have never known a child to love pepper the way she does! I will look over and see her food blackened by a layer of pepper and even though I always think she couldn't possibly eat that - she gobbles it up.

I managed to get a few cards out in the mail and the law of karma held true as I received this lovely card from Anne at Songbird Sisters:

art post card by Anne Johnson French -
i am so excited to be developing a Buddha-themed collection of art images!

And even more mail goodness came my way as I this arrived today from the U.K. from a Squam cabinmate Nicola:

art calendar by Nicola Taylor of The Drama Queen's Guide to
Changing the World

I am officially a calendar girl - and I got to keep my clothes on! (That's me in the middle the last morning at Squam taking in the sunrise - the morning after my skinny dip!) Nicola is a fantastic photographer and wickedly witty blogger and I am honored to receive a calendar full of her glorious images.

Speaking of images ... it has been challenging taking pictures these days. The constant cloud cover means less than inspiring light but I am nothing if not disciplined (thank you Yoga for years of mat practice) and I've tried my best to participate in december views:

december 8 - pajama day at school

december 9

december 12

This later image was inspired by a poem that seemingly popped into my head as I was driving home from yoga class (see what I mean about inspiration manifesting everywhere?)


You fold into my arms
nesting your warm, animal body
against mine

feeling the heat of you
all anxieties, worries and concerns
puddle away

leaving behind
the flame of Love:
the glow of being loved
and the radiance of holding, knowing and loving
you.


Is inspiration finding me? Or is it by regularly exercising my creative muscles, I am moving through the world with sharper senses and a wider perspective? Even this drawing by Cowgirl gets my juices flowing:




How do you tend to your creative muscles need for regular exercise? Now is the season to begin anew!