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Heroes and Trash Bags

Heroes and Trash Bags
Those nurses who had to wear trash bags, work double shifts and isolate from their own families should make each of us want to do whatever we can to support and thank them. They inspired me to be a better person and find a way to use my own gifts to help others. 

The Together While Apart Project's Thank You To Our Nurses Campaign

The Together While Apart Project's Thank You To Our Nurses Campaign
Having a daughter who is a nurse, a son who is in PA School and two nieces who are also nurses,  I am more acutely aware of how many healthcare professionals are struggling right now. Some are being neglected and poorly treated and the system they uphold has failed some of them. There are many groups of amazing people, such as teachers, frontline workers, working mothers and more who have also become heroes since 2020, as well as stretched too thin. I wish I could help them all. But where I can put my focus is on bringing greater appreciation to our national nurses through The Together While Apart Art Project.       

Opening The Front Door To A New Year

Opening The Front Door To A New Year

Think about the symbolic doors we can be right now. Fresh stARTs and second chances happen when we open a door to something new. Doors provide comfort, security and protection when needed. Yet they can also promote hospitality when thrown wide open. Are there any new doors we might open in 2022?

 

Reflecting on 2021

Reflecting on 2021

As this year comes to a close, we need to celebrate. We can never forget the persistence, resilience and tenacity that got us to where we are today. We can never ever give up on ourselves or our dreams and nor should we ever ignore our inner voices. Make a resolution to be more present each day and to always delight in the daily gifts at hand. With a hopeful eye towards the future, find the balance not to rush through the gift of today. 

 

The Gift of Balance

The Gift of Balance

Balance is essential to everything and everyone. Nature provides many beautiful example of balance; sunrises and sunsets, the ebbs and flows of tides, the waxing and waning moon. Consider how balance plays a role in your life. Are there parts of your life that are out of alignment? Often, when we desire a fresh start, it is because something doesn't feel right or might be off. The awareness that an adjustment is needed can be a catalyst for new beginnings. There may be a transition period where tiny changes lead to big shifts. However, you can't move forward without taking stock of where you are right now. 

Saying Yes

Saying Yes
As an artist, I am always looking for ways to use my artwork to make the world a better place. Now more than ever, it is important to find a way to make a difference, no matter how small it might be.

the fresh stART art project

the fresh stART art project

As Covid continues to spread throughout our communities, some days it is hard to feel hopeful and energized. The past 20 months have left us exhausted and the pandemic has impacted everyone and everything. Healing is necessary and a fresh start is needed. 

In response to this somber period, I am organizing a new collaborative group project called the fresh stART project. Creativity will play an important role; however you do not need to be an artist to participate. You just need to be willing to try it all. There will be opportunities to write poetry, make music, arrange flowers, bake, write letters, journal, paint, draw and find inspiration in nature. These activities will happen on your own timeframe and will be a part of your own fresh start as well as be material for our group project. I hope you will join us. 

 

The Together While Apart Art Project

The Together While Apart Art Project

 

On a whim, I imagined a large art project to foster community and encourage hope and healing and I made it happen! I was able to recruit 18 diverse artists from 8 different states thanks to social media. These men and women represented both coasts and were extremely excited to use their creative gifts to help. My hope was that through working on the project, each artist would find joy and our collective joys would provide comfort to a broader audience. 

Creatively Celebrating Hope

Creatively Celebrating Hope

To me, Spring is the season of Hope.  As the days grow longer, I find myself relishing the daylight. Hope feels warm and bright like sunshine and reminds me to stand taller, climb higher, reach wider and always be kinder. Hope tiptoes in every morning, gently whispering that it will be ok. Hope never whines or sulks like anxiety. Hope turns me in the direction of love, courage, and optimism. Hope is a hallelujah as well as an amen! Hope, as well as Love are essential and are the simplest and most true gifts of all. Even in times of doubt, fear and uncertainty, they are present.

 

Reflections on Love

Reflections on Love

 For me, 

I hold all of these definitions of love dear, yet I believe the most important form of love is self-love. From self-love sprouts all of the beautiful gifts of life. Love is the answer, but it holds all the questions. It is a dream, a goal, and a concept all in one. 

Love is vulnerable and allows your vulnerabilities to show. It is looking inward to recognize your purpose and ignite your own passion. Love affirms, saying you are enough, just as you are – yet nudging you towards all you can be. 

Love is evolving, growing, welcoming, accepting and most of all keeping your heart open. 

While most people think that Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate romantic love, for me, it’s a day of reflection. I take the time to witness the gifts in life. I honor the peace, hope, joy and contentment that love brings into my life. I am grateful for the people I love and for those same people who love me right back. 

Romantic love is just one slice of the true love that abounds in the world. Even when evil and darkness exist, love wins. 

So, this Valentine's Day as well as each and every day, it is my wish for you to experience love with fresh eyes. Celebrate its beautiful forms you have swirling around you today and feel yourself wrapped in immeasurable love from those around you. And spread love, whenever and wherever you can. ❤️

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Standing in the Doorway of 2021

Standing in the Doorway of 2021
How did you enter into 2021? Did you rush in with excitement and enthusiasm anticipating a better year ahead? Or did you gently start the year with care and a bit of apprehension? Any other year I would have celebrated January 1st with a spirit of adventure, wide eyed and ready for many new challenges. However, this year, that sense of wonder just didn't seem to fit me. I was more contemplative and reflective in bidding 2020 goodbye, promising myself never to take my health, my family and my friends for granted. Just like many things in 2020, seeing it end was complicated, bittersweet and marked by loss.

The Gift of a Good Cry

The Gift of a Good Cry
This year I got something for my birthday that I didn't expect or know I needed. I got the gift of a good cry. A good, long, ugly cry is a gift. It is a release and a reset. What my ugly cry gave me was a chance to sit fully in the darkness and feel all the feels. There is a rawness and an authentic beauty in our tears. The restorative and calming qualities of a long cry will allow you to unburden your mind and your soul a little bit. These are extremely difficult and trying times and we need all the gifts we can get, even if it's the simple gift of an ugly cry.