Renamed Blog Post

Hey, I know . . . some might say I'm a little late with my New Year greeting, but what the heck: today is the 11th, and my clock reads 11:01 am . . . that's a lot of ones, isn't it???

Here's one of my little green friends that smiled at me this morning. Can't you almost HEAR the unfurling growth? the persistence?

I think the leaf above looks like a little tornado, ready to unleash itself . . . and down below, I see a dancer, full of grace . . .

So, why has it taken me until the 11th to greet the New Year? The gentle truth is that [long pause here while I sit in front of the keyboard and wonder how to say it] . . . the GENTLE truth is that I've been aching, from the inside out, this past week or two. It's not been the same depression from the past, which has felt like an unrelenting sadness. Honestly, it has puzzled me, because I have known, with great certainty, that God has been working in me since November, doing something at a very deep level. I wonder if I'm currently mourning stuff that I am being divinely urged to let go of.

My Big Plan for 2010 was to blog nearly every day, updating on the plan of action God has led me to, which I've called The Reveal. This involves clearing away all that does not "belong" in my house or my body. I planned to, methodically, move through my house and purge all the Stuff, to the bone. I also planned to start again to walk and go to Curves, and hopefully thus "reveal" more of the real me in my body.

Well, in my life, Big Plans often sort of go the way of Good Intentions, i.e. they pave the road to youknowwhere. But my dear daughter has been encouraging me to take baby steps. [If you want guaranteed uplift, visit her blog at http://persistentgreen.blogspot.com/].

Last night was one of my lowest times, extremely raw and heart-painful. But something in me, the seed of the real me, kept turning to God, from darkness to His light. At one point, Amanda urged me to paint. She wasn't being at all dismissive of the despair she heard in me. Rather, she was reminding me that especially when feelings seem too deep for words, I can allow myself to put color on paper, with no particular purpose, just letting the wordless in me find expression.

Well, here's what I did.

And again, at Amanda's suggestion (doesn't she have wonder-full ideas?), this morning I added words. They are from a poem I wrote during the November Poem-a-Day challenge, entitled "Radiant."

To love is to live. /I insist on my right /to love without restraint. /No mortal act possesses power /to dispossess me of my birthright. /Outward, from the very heart of me, /love flows.

As far as my Big Plan for this year: no, I have not, at all, made daily progress, except to commit to being very gentle with myself. I HAVE made it to the Recreation Center 4 times, to walk for 30 minutes. And here are Before and After pictures of two areas in my house:

How are all of you doing? Do you want to share any ways you are experiencing growth? or finding more joy? Do you want to share anything you are struggling with?

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for listening. And for loving.

Keep on Keeping On

Sunshine and warm outside. I'm grateful for that. I experienced a glitch in my routine of creative output. Got four days behind in my Poem-a-Day challenge but just caught up. Still have four days of my writing challenge to catch up on. Here's a little picture I painted recently, a sign of my hope.

The days right now seem to be a mix: a little sick, a little sad, some lovely artistic moments, some deeply sweet connections with family and friends. I continue to pray to seek a continuity of happiness within my relationship with God . . .with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, to paraphrase a favorite Bible reference to God's dependability.

In the midst of times of supremely fulfilling creativity, I still labor to get my Stuff in order. Here's one image of my oh-so-orderly business workspace. Now doesn't that just inspire confidence? One glance at that and you'd readily trust me to manage your finances and affairs, right?

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. I know.

I understand that life is a work in progress, but I am still holding onto the hope that I can find a smidge more serenity in how I manage the Details of my life. If any of you have found solutions, I'd sure love to hear.

I send my love and appreciation to all who read what I have to say, and I thank those of you, boundlessly, who take the time and effort to leave comments.