Unexpected Zen Master

In a previous blog post, I mentioned Wooti.  He is the 3 legged dog from Africa, that my good friend Chelsea was brave enough to rescue and bring him to America.  The week I wrote a bit about Wooti, was the week I met him in person.  Since our meeting, I've been a little obsessed with him.  This week I decided that it was love.  The more and more of his story that gets revealed to me, the more I love that dog.  It is not the fact that he is one of the most handsome dogs I've ever seen.  The really cool mix of what they think is Collie and Shepard. Or it is the fact that I should feel sorry for him because of his 3 legs.  That fact doesn't even enter my mind, except when making him sweaters and boots (one less, please).  I don't feel sorry for Wooti for a minute.  I love and admire him.  I'll tell you why.   He's one of the wisest beings I've ever met.(He is as wise and smart as Mickeygirl )  He's a Zen Master in a dog's body.  He's Yoda with beautiful fur and sweet almond brown eyes.  Wooti has a knowing in him that calms everyone who meets him.  Yes, he's a survivor.  Coming through an ordeal that would test any human, more than likely bring them to their knees and most would have quit half way through it. It is part of his story, but it's not all who he is in the here and now.
When I look at Wooti, I see a lesson in trust and knowing.  Trust in something bigger than what ever we are currently dealing with and knowing that all things fall into place at the right time.  I also see in Wooti the reminder that every being on this earth can create a good life for themselves with that trust and knowing.  This dog, now, lives a life that no other dog will ever live, some people wish they could live, and he knows it and relishes in it everyday.  Is he the original lucky dog?  I guess.  I think Wooti got him in a bad place and figured out how to turn it around.  He was challenged and in his challenge, he challenged the people that helped him. He challenges people to this day to look inside themselves and do and be something greater than they ever thought they could be.  At least for a moment.  At least being open to catching that glimpse of their best selves, while they pet him. (did I mention he's an extremely loving dog? Again...considering his background...amazing!)
Some of you reading might be thinking..."It's a dog.  They don't have that thought process and they certainly can't be a Zen Master."  I feel if you ever get a chance to meet Wooti...it will change you mind.
Lastly, Wooti is my personal reminder that we do learn for all beings.  We all have gifts to share in the world and it is simple as showing up. A thought I keep talking about and find more and more the truth in that simple act. Showing up, fully. Embracing life and a the moment and contributing to life and this moment with all of our being.  It doesn't matter what has happened to you in the past.  All we have is now.  Now can be amazing.
So, I love Wooti.  Wootman.  Woot Diggity Dog.  Woot Dawg.  Woot Dawgy Dawg.
And yes this week's project is something for Wooti.   Since he is a Tripawd (that is the official term for 3 legs), he sometimes has trouble walking on slick floors.  I decided to create him some boots with dance rubber for traction, thinking it might help with this issue.  They are silly looking and I'm currently in the process of designing a better fitting set of boots.   Again, Wooti is challenging me to express my best self.

Wooti in his boots.  Resting after a very long road trip

What have you learned from contact with animals?  Past or present?  Are you open to learning more from them each day?

Until next week...create to feel great!
34 projects complete.   18 to go!

Sing It Out!

"We all know success, when we all find our own dreams.  And our love is enough to knock down any wall.  The future's been seen by men who realize, the simple secret of the note in us all." - Pete Townshed

I have always loved this quote.  As a teenager, I spent hours listening to The Who, and the song this quote is from.  In the music Pete Townshed wrote, it made me less afraid to look inside myself and then to show myself to the world.  Townshed's approach to music was inspiring to me.   I thought (and in some ways still do) he was the most creative person I ever encountered.   He took risks with his creativity.  Creating things and pouring energy into creations that most people didn't get most of the time. Yet it was honest and true for him.
The "note" he is talking about in this quote, is about our own vibration.  Our unique set of notes that make up who we are.   Our life's song, as it were. It is our life force.  What drives us to create, to love, to make this world better, to live. It is our own unique set of talents.   We all have a wonderful song inside us that deserves to be heard.  Sing it loudly for all the world.  It all starts with one note.   That note is the essence of who we are and why we are in this world.   I feel that sometimes, for whatever reasons, we are way more comfortable singing other people's notes or songs.  We even deny we have a song in us that is worth singing or that anyone would want to hear.  The note that comes from us is also very pure and easy to allow it to be sung.   So, why not allow your note to be heard in the world?  It mixes well with all the other notes being played by others who are unafraid to let their notes be heard.  Together it  is a sweet piece of music that our souls need.  It's positive.  It's healing.  It's forward movement.
I do seem to write a lot about using the talents and gifts we are born with and showing up in life with those talents and gifts.   I've found it is key to a rich full life.  I understand it takes courage to look inside ourselves in order to discover what we have been given.  It takes a bit more of that courage show it to the world. All that "showing the world" and courage, in the long run is the road to a positive mind-set and dare I say it happiness.
Also in this wonderful song are lyrics that remind me-

"There once was a note pure and easy. Playing so free like a breath rippling by."
What does your "note" sound like?  What stops you from allowing it to play in you life and help you create the song that is your life?

This week's project is in praise of shiney objects.  It's a new clutch I've been designing and working on for a bit.  I'm very pleased with the results.          

Until next week...create to feel great!
33 projects complete!  19 to go!

Helping Out

I think sometimes I'm an easy mark.  I love helping people.  I really do.  I feel was given a ton of talent and skill and this is my way of "paying back" for these blessings.   I don't mind when people ask me for support or help, and yet I don't like being taken advantage of (I think no one does).   I often ask myself, "where is the line here?"  I find it challenging to say no when asked.  Feelings of I'm not a good person are the first to arrive. Followed by I'm selfish. Topped off by tons of guilt, because I feel I'm the only person who can help them.   Recently, I've discovered that all these feeling have nothing to do with helping the person who asked me.  It's all about me and my ego, what I'm feeling and elevating me.  Sometimes I have to say no.  If I'm giving and helping out of this general sense of obligation and elevated ego, that isn't very giving or real.  It helps for the moment, but not the long run.  There is no substainal grow on anyone's part.  It's a quick fix- that's all.
When I'm asked to help out, I really consider, if I can.  It's not a snap deicision.  It is very careful consideration.  Very careful consideration.   Can I help this person, without expectation of return?  Am I really okay with that?
Do all the negative feelings well up when I want to say no?  Yes they do.  Then I have to check in with myself and ask why would I want to help?   Will my help really do them good in the long run?  Is helping this person going to drain me and my energy, thus creating anger and frustration in me.  So, the help I provide is full of anger, frustration and "here's my help. Now go away!" energy.   Not a clean or giving place to come from.
So, bottom line, it really is okay to say no.  And really that's all I ever feel I need to say is just a simple no.  The words that follow the simple no, muddy the waters and allows the negative feelings to come into play.
Simply no.  It's okay.

All this said- I still love to help folks.   This week's project is a helping project...
One of my fellow swap-botters put out a wish for special baby bibs for her daycare.  It was a sewing project that I had time to do, I had the supplies, and I got to research and create a new pattern.  I saw it as a win/win.  I said yes.   I completed and sent the project off with joy and accomplishment.  A few days later, I got a lovely lovely thank you. It truely was a win/win.  In my mind the best sort of helping.

How do you respond to offers of help?  Do you help to the point where you have nothing left to give and start to feel resentful?  Or do you carefully consider offers of help and are okay saying no?

Until next week...create to feel great!

31 projects complete 21 to go!  

Staring At The Blank Page

I'm love the idea of always learning something new.  It is the best way I know of to bust the blues.  I especially love being able to take an art class.  Last week, I took a silk painting class.  I love painting and dying fabrics, but I really never know what I'm doing and so the outcome, sometimes isn't all that I love. I figured the class would give information and in this case with painting silk, knowledge is powerful.
As part of the class, we were working on this hoops with silk stretched on them.  Once the instructor said, "the best way to do this is to just start playing and painting."  The white hoops took control of me.  I sat staring at these cheap little blank hoops.  My mind flooded with my own words that I challenge the people I coach.  Words like, "what's getting in your way of creating what you want here?"  Or "What would you like to do here?"  I mean it was a blank space to play in.  I was blocked.  I looked around at my class mates, they were busy painting.  They weren't blocked.  They were having fun.  They looked like they knew what they wanted to create here.  I didn't.  I felt blocked and stupid.  I felt blocked and embarrassed. I felt like I wanted to just go home.  I closed my eyes, as I didn't want to see the white fabric laughing at me.  I heard the instructor again. "The best way to get use to how amazing paint on silk is, is to just jump in."  I opened my eyes.  He was smiling at me.  He was right.  It was time to jump in. I asked myself again. "What would you like to do here?"  Well, paint on silk or better yet learn to paint on silk.   Play.   No where in those words was paint the greatest silk painted hoop the world has ever seen.  I jumped in.  Not know what I was painting.  Just allowing the paint and the silk to talk to me (the silk did start to talk, once it stopped laughing).  I was amazed at what I learned that night and what I created.  I didn't want the class to end.   I came home charged up and wanting to cover everything I own in hand painted silk.  My 3 hoops are great reminders to me.  To trust I know how to paint or write on the blank space that is given to all of us everyday. Also, it is okay not to know what I'm going to create.  Lastly, it is really okay to play.   There is so much learning in playing.

My theater projects are coming to an end for the season.  For me, it is one less time consuming thing on my schedule.  As I look towards having some unscheduled time, I sort of panic, a bit.  What to do with this time?  I'm never a loss for projects and things that need tending to, and yet, I'm longing to do something with some meaning.  I'm not so sure what this looks like, I'm in the discovery phase.  I'm staring at this blank space.
I'm excited.  I'm open to what I can create for myself.  When painting silk it takes only a drop of color to fill the space.  A small drop and wow!  I'm going to see how putting out a small drop of color in other areas of my life will fill in the space.  I'm thinking drop by drop something fantastic will be created.

How do you approach the blank page?  Does it scare you or block you?  Or do you just jump in?

Until next week...create to feel great!
32 projects complete 20 to go.

Avoiding "The Crankies"

There are times in life when we are just plain cranky.  There are just some days, I wake up and I'm feeling cranky.  Some babies have days like this.  It usually means that something is "off" in our world.   We are getting ill or our body hurts or there is just too much stress and junk in our lives and we are weighed down by it.   I usually can snap myself out of being cranky by acknowledging it and looking for the source of the cranky mood.   It's like weeding a garden.   When the little young weeds begin to appear, it is much easier to pull them out than the older better established weeds.  The roots are deeper and they are really down want to go away.  As Voltaire so nice put it in his work, Candide- "This is the best of all possible worlds.  But we all must tend our gardens."   And has RuPaul's Drag U professor Morgan McMichaels as put it..."Check yourself before you wreck yourself."  Outside forces, events and people can effect our moods but we are the only ones responsible for the shifting of our moods.  It is being aware of what triggers your mood.  I recently discovered that there are certain businesses I simply can not deal with. Or if I do, I have really steady my mindset.  Most big box stores have this effect on me.  I don't shop at them, and when I do, I have to be very well rested and fed and watered.   (I haven't been to a Costco in years or Ikea.)  I admire the folks who love and live to shop at those places, I just can't.   It ruins my mood and it's not worth it.   There are some people I have to interact with in my life that do the same thing for me.  I have to be hyper aware of my mindset and hold it in my mind as I interact with them.  It takes energy and awareness to avoid "The Crankies".  It's worth it.  Here's some good news, on the other side of this coin is a relaxed state of mind,and a flowing state of being.   I don't know what to call it, as it means something different to everyone.  I do know it is not being cranky.   Person can't "do" cranky.  It's "being" cranky.  For me the state of being is always in the moment.
Being cranky.  Being happy.  Being positive.  Being joyful. 
I started this post by saying some days I wake up being cranky.  On that day that is my truth.  And yet it doesn't have to stay that way, unless I want it to.  When this happens I start pulling weeds, in order to see all the beauty that is growing in my garden.

How do you avoid "The Crankies"?   What shape is your "garden" in these days?  Is it in need of some weeding?

Until next week...create to feel great.    31 projects complete 21 to go.
This weeks project is another Swap-bot craft project.   My partner's profile said she likes coffee and teas, so I created a fabric coffee sleeve and a envelope style tea bag carrier.  I hope she likes them.

The Cool Down Victory Lap

As busy as I have been in the last six weeks, this past week been a lot less filled with busy.  A good friend reminded me that I've been running a marathon and marathon runners don't just stop, they cool down. She reminded me that I can't just go from running a 100 miles a minute with my hair on fire, to a complete stop.  She's right.  Time for what I'm calling- a cool down victory lap.  With this mind set, I've found my self, stepping easily into the moment and staying there.   It's a sweet spot.  No struggle, lots and lots of great insights, lots and lots of great conversations with great people I love so much.  Meeting new friends.  In the "lots and lots of great conversations with great people" category, a flood of amazing thoughts came to my mind this week.   Here are my highlights-



Wooti- doesn't like getting
his picture made. 

 In a conversation around negativity, a friend commented that our culture loves the victim. We do. Our entertainment industry is so focused on victim hood.  Once we are no long a victim the attention shifts to the next victim.   Later in my week, I meet the most amazing dog I've ever met.   His name is Wooti.  His momma rescued him when she was in Ethiopia.   He lost a leg from an injury and now runs on 3.  While we were having coffee outside on a fantastic sunny day, people were coming up to meet Wooti.  He is beautiful, wise and loving. A person can not be drawn to him.  Not one person, said, "Oh, poor Wooti.  You lost your leg."  They celebrated his story of survival and finding true love.  They all walked away, after meeting him, with a lighter energy and a smile.  I'm still feeling Wooti's magic.  I think of him or look at his photo and get chills and smile bigger than I've ever smiled.  I feel sorry that Wooti had to go through what he went through to get to where he is now, as I don't think any creature, animal or human, should have to suffer in any way.  And yet, we do.  And yet, here's Wooti.  Not a victim, but a celebration of life and how to turn it around for the positive.  Woot tells me that we don't have to celebrate the victim.   We  get them and us to a place of healing, in order to celebrate the good in life.   If Wooti were a human, people might be tempted to call him a hero.  I think that word gets used to much.   They would call him a survivor.   I call him magical.  Or Wootman the Amazing.  I feel everyone has that magic, once we shift from focusing on victim to focusing on the magic of transformation.

Honesty check...do you celebrate the victim?- Maybe just a little?  Do you like being celebrated as a victim?  We all have times we sit on the pity pot.  I'm not taking about that.   I'm talking about placing our focus on victim.  The idea of victims.  How can you get them or you to a place of healing, in order to celebrate all the good in life and run your victory lap?

Until next week....create to feel great!
30 projects completed!  22 to go!

Another hard to photograph project

My project this week was an easy one and honors...animals.  It came from this packaged craft.  So, cool. Engraving art.  Inexpensive and any one can do this.  It's sort of a paint by numbers kind of craft.  Perfect for me this week.  'Cause aferall, I'm running my cool down victory lap!

Shakespeare Kickin' My Rear

I've been working on a huge costume project.  It a production of FORTINBRAS by Lee Blessing.  I've been looking forward to creating this show since September.   I cut my creative costume "teeth" on designing and building big shows. This is Lee Blessing's take on what happens after HAMLET.  It's a comedy, and a good one at that.
For whatever reason, this show has been a huge challenge for me.  It challenged my attitude, my creativity and my resolve.   My attitude and love of costuming dropped and left me about 10:30 pm last night. This morning the stress broke me.   It was photo shoot day. To be followed by first dress.
In my broken state I checked with myself.   I had let pain and fear of the costumes not being good enough or the right thing get to me.  My dear husband, Broadside, listen to me patiently as we walked to get some coffee and I cried.  He put his arm around me and said, "You've been saying it's a little tense at the theater and people have fallen down on their jobs. You've let their energy get to you."  Later that day, one of my kids (who is working the show), said to me, "If you want things to go badly and you focus on it, it will go badly."  I got fed my own medicine, in a large dose.  This afternoon, the actors got into costume.  The energy shifted to one of happiness, joy and relaxed excitment.  One actor said. "now we have a show!"
When stressed it's so easy to slip into negative and fearful thoughts.  Negativity loves tried, overworked, over extented and not taking care of ones self.  We sometimes get in that state of mind.  It is when we are in that state of mind, we need to call on our support system.  I'm lucky to be married to a man who understands theater.  On this show, I'm lucky to have one of my kids (grow up and making me proud), and a group of fun loving actors.  I'm greeted with love and good energy from them, even under the most tense situations.
The show is going to be good.  The actors are some of the best my city has to offer.  I'm finally relaxed enough to be proud of my work, my creations.  Out of the 30 plus costumes, I have two the need a little alterations.  Not bad.

I usually don't use my costume work as a project of the week, but I built this wonderful hat, and folks have been asking to see a bit of my design work.

How does the energy around you effect you?  When you get stressed where does your attitude go?

Until next week...create to feel great!
29 projects complete! 23 to go!