What's on Your Canvas?

This is how my day started - I try to find "an inspirational quote for the day" and today's was:

 

...and so la-dee-da I continued going about my day.

...then <<BAM!>> here comes the Universe with a lesson!

I received a phone call and all was well ...expect for this 'tiny' little comment made.  Now I can start blaming a multitude of things; point the finger; blame my hormones; blah-blah-blah...

But all in all - everything pointed me back to "my" today's message:

My experience is to "let go" of what others think.
I AM painting a life of "Love" and "No-Judgement" - for me.
My canvas is the result of my here-and-now.
My thoughts are my brush strokes and
My choices are what gets put on (in) to my "experience".

*IF* I choose to mess-up my canvas; I'll then need to "think" of ways to make it better.
*IF* I choose to add stuff to it; I also need to realize that it'll impact all future outcomes.
...my painting (my canvas) is indeed *MY* life.

Ultimately in the end, the results are... just that - *MY* results, any no one elses.
I am the one that has to live with what's been put on the canvas!


The Universe's message to me today was presented to me today for a reason.
...and since there is a REASON for everything - this particular message today;
just had me realize (be reminded) that I need to "let go" and allow things to happen freely.

Again, *For Me* it's always about trying to control situations / outcomes; this is what *my* "letting go" and "allow things to happen" pieces is all about.

Message to myself: Stop it. You can't have the Universe work through you if you are trying to control everything. Take a breather, relax and reconnect - without this self-actualization you're just becoming part of the problem. Disconnect from this 'negativity' and reconnect with Source.

Again,

This is what I love about ART!
Art allows the 'inside' to be expressed 'outside'.
No matter if it's though Painting; Sketching; Photography; Singing; Writing; Collecting; ...doing whatever it is that allows you to get 'lost' in your world, your passion - this is ART!

The Invitation - by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Beautiful Poetry provided by Oriah Mountain Dreamer:

The Invitation  

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.


By Oriah © Mountain Dreaming,
from the book The Invitation
published by HarperONE, San Francisco,
1999 All rights reserved

http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/index.php

Sometimes Your Job is to Just Keep Playing!

Washington Post story posted back on April 8, 2007 - Pearls Before Breakfast

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

A friend of mine shared this story with me this morning, she shared the "summarized" version which was shared/posted by Roni Sloman of Bella Prana Yoga and Meditation:
Blogpost: http://www.bellaprana.com/blog/view/29-itsnotallaboutme

The Violinist

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. A couple people stopped for a moment then seemingly unimpressed hurried off clearly late for work.
One lady threw in a dollar tip on her way by but didn't stop. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the top musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station. One of the world most accomplished musicians, playing one of the most difficult pieces of music ever written, on a violin worth millions and thousands of people passed by without a single turn of the head.

Story experts from www.MrPositive.com

I told that story in the context of not taking things personally because that story helps illustrate the fact that people will react to things and behave based on their current reality, their expectations of a certain environment, and their own definition of what is good and bad. There will be many moments in our lives where we will be Joshua Bell in the subway. Where you will be a priceless gem and no one will notice. Where you will produce incredible things, and no one will seem to care. Where you will be holding something of indescribable value and no one will even look. But like that experiment in the subway, just because no one cared didn't mean it wasn't priceless, incredible, and indescribably valuable. Joshua Bell knew as he played that he was being undervalued, and you will know it too. So in those moments what do you do? You keep playing. We cannot love ourselves only if others love us, and we cannot hate ourselves because others say they hate us. Don't take others reactions to you too personally. Don't make every situation about you. They are often reacting to themselves and their environment more than they are reacting to you. Remember that sometimes your job is just to play.
- Roni Sloman

After reading this story - all that came to mind, was wow!
What a beautiful story, a beautiful lesson.

Learn to Stop to Smell the Roses gains a whole new meaning.
And I love Roni's quote: "Remember that sometimes your job is just to play."

Thank you all for this beautiful learning.  When I spot, hear, taste, smell, whatever... it is that is beautiful  to me, I hope to capture that moment in appreciation and consume it's value in my soul.

The Value of Time (Poem)

I received this poem from a friend of mine today and thought it was so beautiful - so I added some pizzazz to it by super-imposing it on to one of my photography pictures.

Hope you enjoy and ...grasp an aha! moment of how precious Time actually is...

The Rules For Being Human

1. You will receive a body.
You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period of this time around.

2. You will learn lessons.
You are enrolled in full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.
Growth is a process of trial and error: Experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works".

4. A lesson is repeated until learned.
A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end.
There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

6. "There" is no better than "here".
When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here".

7. Others are merely mirrors of you.
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of your life is up to you.
You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

9. Your answers lie inside you.
The answers to Life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.

10 You will forget all this.

Chérie Carter-Scott

from Chicken Soup for the Soul

THE COLD WITHIN

The following poem by an unknown source tells the sad take of what happens when people pre-judge one another.

Six humans trapped by happenstance, in bleak and bitter cold,
Each one possessed a stick of wood, or so the story's told.

Their dying fire in need of logs, the first man held his back,
For of the faces 'round the fire, he noticed one was black.

The next man looking 'cross the way saw one not of his chirch,
And couldn't bring himself to give the fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes, he gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put to use to warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned from the lazy, shiftless poor.

The black man's face bespoke revenge as the fire passed from sight,
For all he saw in his stick of wood was a chance to spite the white.

The last man of this forlorn group did naught except for gain,
Giving only to those who gave was how he played the game.

Their logs held tight in death's still hand was proof of human sin, 
They didn't die from the cold without - they died from the cold within.

AUTHOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS

FROM There's a Hole in My Sidewalk

by Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost ...I am helpless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

II 

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in the same place.

But, it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III 

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in. It's a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It  is my fault. I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

Freedom - Acrostic Poem

In the Fall of 2010, I attended a conference where we built together, as a team, an acrostic poem with the word "Freedom"; and we had to use "Freedom" associated words for each of the letters.

Here is my representation, from what I can remember, of the Freedom-Acrostic Poem.

Click to view bigger version.

What does Freedom mean to you, and do you have other words and/or meaning for the letters presented?

The Anger Game (Poem)

Woke up one morning and had these words come out on to paper. They were like dream words that I just needed to put down. ...not saying that it all makes sense - but whatever sometimes, things just come out the way they do for one-reason-or-another? Either way, here they are...

The Anger Game

by Tammy Mathieu

Walking robots

Stalking one another

Trying to out-beat each other

Aiming for the same piece of pie

When one wins

Cause that's how it is

The other just crawls away 

And deep down inside dies

Why - Why must we shallow

To run the same race

The same face, same pace

Are we not - no

No - is a complete sentence

That no one chooses to acknowledge

For fear that well just for fear

Fear is our power

Everything is based on fear

Instead of love

We say we're doing it out of love

But really, truly, look inside and fear is what you'll find

Unleash and let go

Of all that you control

For as long as you keep holding

Your pain will continue and theirs will too

You know who / what I'm talking about 

The fear of loosing the fear of choosing

The fear of not knowing

The fear that consumes you

The fear that controls you

You live it

You feel it

You protect it

You are it... that's the fear

Yup, that's the one

So now what?

Now that you know it's there

That feeling of dispear

...now what, I'm scared

You embrace it

Acknowledge it

Breathe it and then... let it go!

...Release... and return to LOVE

Everyone is scared

That's what we've been taught

That's all we know

That's how we "roll"

Lock your doors

Lock your drawers

Lock your souls

For you life, your love, your happiness needs to hide

Forever behind those doors

Where it's safe, or in the safe...

If your happy there's something wrong

It's not fair

You're not allowed

Who gave your permission

To be so priviledged

The drama, the cries

The stories, the lies

Who, but who would 

Allow you to go there?

Who, but who can allow you

How dare you

Not be the same

How dare you 

You not play the "game"

 It's anger that's who

It's anger at you

Aren't you not just a person

A person of earth

Aren't you not just a person

A person of hurt

How dare you forgive

And go beyond

How can you live

And love this world...

This world that gives you

Water to drink and air to breath

Soil to walk on and things to eat

How dare you be grateful

And learn to let go and allow things

How dare you, How dare you... to flow

How dare you, be without me.

SUCCESS

SEE your goal,

UNDERSTAND the obstacles

CLEAR your mind of doubt,

CREATE a positive mental picture,

EMBRACE the challenge,

STAY on track,

SHOW the world you can do it!

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. - Beverly Sills
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.

Fear - by Fran Watson

FEAR



Of what am I afraid, you ask.
Of myself, I answer,
the self I have hidden
deep down inside.
The one I'm afraid you won't like,
the one I sometimes don't like either.
the scared self.

I'm afraid that parts of this self
will rise to the surface
and I won't be able
to push them back down.
I will no longer be able to hide them
and maybe I'll lose some of what I have…
my friends, my loves,
my present lifestyle.

I feel like so many parts of me
are fighting for control of my being.
I feel torn apart, confused,
wondering what I can safely let out
and what will escape.
I wonder how I'll put myself back together,
which pieces will stay
and which will be gone.

I don't know what will happen
and I'm afraid of the unknown.
It's so much safer
just existing as I am.
but I know I must face myself
if I'm to have any peace.
And I want peace.


Fear
Copyright 2002
Fran Watson

www.franwatson.ca
Renfrew, Ontario




A little about Fran Watson

Fran is an author and a Distinguished Toastmaster who enjoys learning and self-development. Fran earned her BA Social Development Studies through Waterloo University. She has also completed training in Myers Briggs, GATB and Personality Dimensions (True Colors). Fran is currently doing Career Coaching and has over 20 years experience in the field of career and employment counselling. She has developed and facilitated numerous workshops, written articles, and done one-on-one coaching.


To access some of her blogs - click here.

Faith - by David Whyte

I want to write about faith,
about the way the moon rises
over cold snow, night after night,

faithful even as it fades from fullness,
slowly becoming that last curving and impossible
sliver of light before the final darkness.

But I have no faith myself
I refuse it even the smallest entry.

Let this then, my small poem,
like a new moon, slender and barely open,
be the first prayer that opens me to faith.

-- David Whyte

Meaning - by John W. Gardner

Meaning is not something you stumble across,
like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt.
Meaning is something you build into your life.
You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties,
out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you,
out of your own talent and understanding,
out of the things you believe in,
out of the things and people you love,
out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something.
The ingredients are there.
You are the only one who can put them together into that unique pattern that will be your life.
Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you.
If it does, then the particular balance of success or failure is of less account.

John W. Gardner

Who You Gonna BE?

Barbara McAfee (from the CD While You're Alive)

Who you gonna BE while you do what you do
How you gonna show up while you’re passing though
I’m living in this question… You can too
Who you gonna BE while you do what you do

You can do all of the right things and still be a jerk
And a really bad temper can wreck a lot of fine work
There’s no sense of direction when you’re going berserk

Who you gonna BE while you do what you do
How you gonna show up while you’re passing though
I’m living in this question… You can too
Who you gonna BE while you do what you do

You can sit up in a corner and criticize
And try to cut people down to manageable size
When an idea hits the table
You can roll your eyes

Who you gonna BE while you do what you do
How you gonna show up while you’re passing though
I’m living in this question… You can too
Who you gonna BE while you do what you do

Now you can argue all night ‘bout the ends and the means
But if you don’t like who you are don’t mean a hill of beans
And at the end of the day, when your conscience convenes
Could be an ugly scene

You may not remember what you do or say
But people will remember how they felt along the way
You can leave a trail of blessing starting today

People could be glad to see you comin’ through that door
And when you’re running out of patience
You might find a little more
And you could be the hero you’ve been waiting for

So who you gonna BE while you do what you do
How you gonna show up while you’re passing through
I’m living in this question… You can too
Who you gonna BE while you do what ya
Who you gonna BE while you do what ya
Who you gonna BE while you do what you do!!!!!!!

Achieve Your Dream, A to Z (author unknown)

A-void negative sources, people, things and habits.
B-elieve in yourself.
C-onsider things from every angle.
D-on't give up and don't give in.
E-njoy life today: yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come.
F-amily and Friends are hiddgen treasures. Seek them and enjoy their riches.
G-ive more than you planned to give.
H-ang on to your dreams.
I-gnore those who try to discourage you.
J-ust do it!
K-eep on trying, no matter how hard it seems. It will get better.
L-ove yourself first and foremost.
M-ake it happen.
N-ever lie, cheat, or steal. Always strike a fair deal.
O-pen your eyes and see things as they really are.
P-ractice makes perfect.
Q-uitters never win and winners never quit.
R-ead, study and learn about everything important in your life.
S-top procrastinating.
T-ake control of your own destiny.
U-nderstand yourself in order to better understand others.
V-isualize it.
W-ant it more than anything.
X-ccelerate your efforts.
Y-ou are unique of all of Nature's creations. Nothing can replace you.
Z-ero in on your target, and go for it!!

SMART - what does this mean?

S = Streamline

M = Manage

A = Access

R = Retain

T = Toss