This Moment

Today was the final post for THIS Moment with Mindy Tsonas. Given the natural mania of the holiday season and add to that a dog that continues to have "problems" (he ate a slipper this week ... something is up with his stomach and I am praying my vet will morph into James Herriot and uncover the missing link to this puzzle) I have been grateful for the commitment I made to myself to complete a practice page/art postcard each day. It has been helpful to look through my growing collection - 30 cards so far - and see how varied my days have been. Or rather, my awareness and perception of each day. Joy, celebration, confusion, exhaustion mark some days. But more than anything, the act of taking time to check in with myself, to pause and notice, that practice has revealed a deep reserve of Hope and Faith in myself and in my life.

Before the course started, Mindy asked each of us this question: When you clear away all the judgments, the expectations, the desires and needs and have-to's, what do you see in this very moment?

This has been the central theme to the course and what I have asked myself every day. And now I come to the end and realize my practice, my training and study of yoga is about the same thing: stripping away all that is not who we are (but what we misidentify as ourselves - our emotions, our thoughts, our experiences, our perception of our imperfections) we come to discover our true essence, our true self strong, shining, clear and enduring as a diamond.

When I take away all my anxieties, fears, doubts, false perceptions (like lack of abundance or worthiness) what is left behind?

Love.

This was my answer for Mindy over a month ago and it is my answer today:

When I clear away all the judgments, the expectations, the desires and needs and have-to's, what I see in this very moment in my life is love wrapping its arms around me; joy filling every cell within me; and gratitude spilling out from me as the blessings of life shine brightly in front of me.

And laughter, lots of laughter at the sublime craziness and beauty of life.

This is the gift of being present. This is the gift of being alive.

Monday Inspiration Celebration: Polaroids

Another Monday! What has been inspiring you this past week?

I succumbed to the siren song of the Polaroid camera and treated myself to an early birthday present - a ivory and chocolate SX-70 Land Camera. Oh, she is a pretty little thing! I purchased film from The Impossible Project - their First Flush film which means their first attempt to duplicate the magic recipe of original Polaroid film. It is very quirky; you have to shield it immediately from the light when it pops out of the camera and it can take days for the image to fully materialize. It is both frustrating and magical. I first tried the film in a borrowed Polaroid One Step camera with poor results. I just had no control over focus or exposure. That said, these first few images were taken with that camera:











On the second shot, I had tried to create a shield which catches the film when it shoots out. Well, you can see its shadow in the image! I had better luck just lunging for the picture with my hand.

The second batch of film I had some problems and my first shot had two pictures popping out at once:






What you are seeing is my living room shot from the balcony above. You can just make out the coin patterned carpet and Moose sleeping on the rug. My third (or second?) attempt at the shot was just pure murkiness.

Indoors is proving challenging, although I like this image of the paper lanterns hanging from our dining room chandelier:







I am finding outdoor shots in slightly overcast conditions are offering better results:














And my all time favorite shot so far:









I am banking on the people over at Impossible improving the film. They have offered great customer service, including sending me a coupon when it appeared there was a slight problem with 2 of my boxes of film.







Meanwhile, if I want rich color, I can find that in my bin of paints! I am having fun creating Art Postcards for 21 Secrets and am organizing an art mail swap. Come over and join us!

And it is an extra special Monday as I just found out a piece I submitted to Wishstudio Blog is featured there today! Do pop over for a look. As so many of my favorite bloggers have had guest columns there, I feel like I am being allowed to eat at the grown up's table. I hope I showed good manners. Be sure to leave a comment there and maybe Mindy will let me join the big girls again some time.

Now's the time to share what has been inspiring you this past week. What gifts did Creativity sprinkle upon your page? Let's keep the fairy dust flying!



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