Swirly Girl

One Word: Inspired

It's this weekend.

And while I've only been privy to a small sneak preview of the creations, I can tell you the entire experience of watching the amazing Anne Carmack gather this incredible group of artists to work on such a unique, troublesome, frustrating, beautiful, confounding, exquisite surface has been a sight to behold.

Make your way to downtown Los Angeles this Saturday and behold the wonder.

Mark your calendar for a unique and inspiring show organized by the astounding creative force behind Folk & Fable and The Lovers, Dreamers and Me - Anne Carmack.  Here are the deets:

Saturday, November 7, 2009
6:00 - 10:00pm
822 Wall Street, 2nd Floor, Downtown Los Angeles
KCRW's Anne Litt will also be on hand to keep the music flowing.

CORE:  The Art & Design of the Torso will be a beautiful gallery space filled with the creations of more than a dozen artists.  The medium:  A mannequin.  The meaning:  The piece of the body that holds so many of the most important places: the heart, the gut (home of our instincts), the spine.  It's us - at our core. 

The artists who will be exhibiting their variation on the theme of CORE:

Marisa Haedike
Liz Kalloch
Kelly Barton
Mati McDonough
Pixie Campbell
Sarah Ahearn
Outi Harma
Linda Esterley
Karin Collins
Carla Terwilleger
Jessica Seaton
Alyssa Nicol
Chanin McClurkin
Anne Carmack
Yours Truly!

Five Things

1.  Beautiful Indian textiles can be had at Tilonia.

2.  I'm not just posting about this because I'm referenced, I really love Carolyn Rubenstein's list of 10 Sources of Inspiration.

3.  Paper Moon Gallery is kooky!

4.  Jefferson Hayman's Photography makes me feel like I've traveled back in time.

5.  The Creative Entrepreneur:  Hello Gorgeous Genius!

Kindred Spirits

[Marianne & me :: Taken in Paekakariki, New Zealand last March]

"Despite current ads and slogans, the world doesn't change one person at a time.  It changes when networks of relationships form among people who share a common cause and vision of what's possible.  This is good news for those of us intent on creating a positive future.  Rather than worry about critical mass, our work is to foster critical connections.  We don't need to convince large numbers of people to change; instead, we need to connect with kindred spirits. Through these relationships, we will develop the new knowledge, practices, courage and commitment that lead to broad-based change."

~Margaret Wheatley

Filtering

[Taken in Tokyo earlier this year.]

This is a typical Tokyo view, where each of the signs stacked vertically is for a different shop or business.  Views like this are everywhere throughout the city; they go on for miles, as far as the eye can see.  As sprawling as Tokyo is, I always get the feeling that their main goal as a society is to utilize every inch of space available.  Tokyo feels endless, whether looking down a single street like the one pictured above or seeing it from the top of one of its many skyscrapers.  It goes on and on.  But it feels orderly, and there is beauty all around, from the manhole covers to the department store windows.

I think it says a lot about a city, community and a person to see how they utilize their space - whether physical, emotional or temporal.  Are there empty spaces that invite quiet reflection?  Does it feel organized or haphazard?  Energetic and lively or tense and abrasive? 

Life, finally, feels like it has slowed down to a more manageable pace.  Our house is cleared out of guests and roommates, all my major projects for the year are complete, and even though I know the holidays will bring their own brand of busy-ness, I can look at my time between now and the end of the year and see...emptiness.  A wide open expanse.  Nothingness. 

Just as I've purged piles of material objects out of my house and studio since September, it is now time to pay attention to the nagging questions, the thorns, the irritations, the issues I haven't dealt with and the reflections on what felt right this year, what felt comfortable, and what no longer fits.  My studio has been pared down to just the essentials - and I even sold my car, a daring maneuver in Los Angeles - and it is time to go through the same exercise within my heart and mind.

"Look within!... The secret is inside you."  ~Hui-neng

Haven

[Taken in Bournemouth, UK :: February 2008]

Conversation between my husband and I, this morning in our kitchen:

Him:  "We can make as much noise as we want!"

Me:  "And I can run around naked!"

It was tempting to share just that and let everyone wonder what we were talking about.  I even contemplated opening it up to interpretation, asking readers to take a stab at what event, interest or circumstance they thought might have inspired such an exchange.  But instead, I'll share this story...

During the year of my divorce I was slightly homeless.  I lived in five different places in one year - my house, my Swirly studio, a room in a friend's house, an apartment on a Montecito estate, and then finally, in my own cozy cottage behind the Santa Barbara Mission.  In the midst of all this relocating, I also spent many nights with friends and experienced a period of time that taught me the art of receiving.  Despite the fact that much of my world was crumbling, I felt supported, cared for and loved.  After the worst of the storm, I told myself that if and when I had the opportunity to give back to those I loved - particularly in terms of providing a safe haven - I would do so.

Fast forward to today, when the conversation above took place.  Because today is the first day our home is officially empty, and that is a statement I have not been able to make in five months.  And I don't mean we've had a lot of house guests over the past five months, I mean we've had a lot of house guests as well as dear friends living with us.  And a wedding reception!  From the beginning of June until today, this house has been a haven for friends and family from all over the world, reaching such a fever pitch that I have actually had to tell a number of my dearest friends that we could not accommodate them. 

Don't misunderstand me - my intention behind this story is not to complain.  I am just sharing one specific facet of our life that has been an exercise in compassion, generosity, patience, mindfulness, setting boundaries, knowing my limits, and savoring joyous abundance.  And recognizing that while I made a commitment to myself many years ago to create a home that would hold those I love with comfort and quiet, I need to find more pathways that will enable me to do this without inspiring my husband and I to move into a one-bedroom condo in Greenland where no one will want to visit. 

It is that saying:  Be careful what you wish for.  The good news is that I have learned all too well the truth of that phrase, and I have developed a greater awareness of what wishes, intentions and personal commitments can create.  Quite simply, they can create exactly what is envisioned.  They can come true; they can become real.

So my vision today is to be in this home with my husband.  Period.  To run around naked with music blaring because I can.  The time will come soon enough when we will feel ready to open our doors again, but for now, we're wrapping our arms around each other and curling up in the silence, letting this be a safe haven for our need for solitude, for space, for being.

Here & There

[Abandoned building :: Taken in Madison, Wisconsin in 2007]

I'm out & about in Blogland today:

* A new entry is up at This Ordinary Day.

* I'm Catalyst #86 over at Creative Therapy!

* A tiny interview is up in The Wish Studio.

Happy Monday!

Five Things

Today's Five Things are being brought to you by guest curator Elizabeth MacCrellish.  Because she's had more coffee, and is functioning better than I am at the moment.

1.   My Parents Were Awesome - the photo above is Swirly's favorite.

2.  Brandi Carlile with the Indigo Girls singing Don't Think Twice - the song T sang to Elizabeth the night they met.

3.  New Fairy Tales - Dedicated to publishing new fairy tales that are suitable for all ages.

4.  The Labyrinth at Blue Heron House - Note to T:  Elizabeth plans to build one of these in your front yard.

5.  La Bastide de Marie - Elizabeth has promised Swirly take her there.

And because she is, quite frankly, a giver, we offer you Bonus #6:

6.  Blue Poppy Clogs - Do I really need to explain this to you?

Our Choices Are Our Opportunities

[Taken in Bournemouth, UK :: February 2008]

Beliefs about the best way to walk through life are a funny thing.  I find that no matter how grand or mundane mine are, they share a similar trajectory.  They first find their way into my consciousness - maybe I see an example of how I want to live my life (or how I don't) or perhaps I read something that sings to me in a book.  From there I make the choice to embrace the belief, and a mantra of sorts begins to guide me through any number of situations.  Sometimes a belief clicks into place immediately, but most of the time it takes a while for it to become truly embedded in my day to day life.  And it isn't terribly uncommon for me to slip into negative patterns, reactions and mindsets along the road of trying to turn a belief into something much more fundamental:  Who I am, and how I live my life. 

What I have learned is that if I truly want to embrace a certain way of living and being in this world, I must always be cognizant of the impact of my choices, for they are the stepping stones to the wide open space of light I want to be in as much as possible.  And by light I mean a clear conscious that is free of all the strangely alluring, ego-centered, emotional strings that are capable of yanking me into a downward spiral if I'm not vigilant.  I have learned that when I make a commitment to be a certain way, shift a certain story or remove certain patterns and dynamics from my life, I am presented with countless opportunities to put those values into play.  And every time these opportunities fall into my lap, I am free to make whatever choice I want to make.  It isn't uncommon for my ego and emotions to try to pull me away from the light I seek - to keep telling the story of how I was hurt or wronged, to communicate from a place of fear - but when I stay focused on who I really want to be, the choices become very easy.  Do I want to talk a big talk about who I want to be or do I want to simply be who I want to be?

With each new tenet that I decide to enfold into my life, it feels like I start with a lot of loose threads, and all the opportunities I get to put these beliefs and values into action provide me with the means to weave them together and tie them securely along the edges.  What is so amazing and gratifying is to make the choice to step into the light - to take those opportunities to tie a little knot here and a little knot there - and then suddenly all that effort is rewarded with a profound sense of wholeness, clarity and light.  The splinter that was stuck in my finger for months suddenly slides out; the stain that kept appearing on my shirt finally washes away.  After telling myself 999 times "A + B = C", on that one thousandth repeat, that piece of knowledge finally rolls around in my brain one last time before it sinks right down into my gut, where it clicks firmly into place for good.  This doesn't mean I am infallible, that I won't still drift or wander or react, but it means I'll be able to find my way back to the light much quicker. 

I know I used a lot of metaphors in that last paragraph, but they all fit.  They all represent a process that has served me incredibly well.  But this process only works if I am willing to make the choices that will serve whatever ideals, standards and beliefs I aim to embody, knowing it might take a hundred tiny choices before I fully experience the effects of my efforts in the form of wholeness, clarity and light.  And:  Joy.

Our choices are our opportunities - to grow, to release, to evolve.  They are seeds that create a garden, threads that make a quilt, bricks that form a foundation, stars that sparkle on our darkest nights, showing us the way home. 

Every Step Counts

"Let the emphasis be on the now in everything.  What you do now is extremely important - the decisions you make in this instant, the way you act, the way you think.  As you do this, you find yourself changing and expanding.  You can become God-filled, God-minded, God-guided as you take this breath now.  This is the most wonderful and uplifting thought possible.  You literally feel yourself rising in the sheer joy of it.  This is where the complete change can come.  You need never be the same again.  Old habits, old thought forms and ties can be cut this instant and you can become a transformed person - a triumphant being.

You want to be different?  You can be, and you can be perfect now.  This is a breathtaking thought.  You need never, never be the old self again.  You are now in the process of building the light-body, raising the vibrations so that every cell in your body is changing.  You are becoming light."

~Eileen Caddy

Five Things

1.  I love the Fairy Tale Fawn necklace over at ShanaLogic.

2.  Design a T-shirt - You might be the One!

3.  Check out the Get Inspired! Project.

4.  Donate your old cell phones at The Wireless Foundation.

5.  Head over to the Magic Beans Auction for Esme, the goal of which is to raise $10,000 for the Esme Kenney Memorial Scholarship Fund.  The auction runs until November 15th.  Learn more about Esme and make a direct donation at Run4Esme.

Blog Give Away Winner:  For those of you who commented on the post by Guest Blogger Kelly Watson, Rachael is the big winner!  Rachael, please email Kelly at kelly@womenwisemarketing.com!  Congratulations!!