Another beautiful soul has dropped their Earth body. A friend remarked, “This is happening too often, this has to stop.” Really? It’s not going to stop, everyone drops their body, it’s part of life. Why is death deemed tragic and why would God allow it to happen? It’s not tragic, it’s just the cycle of Life, so why should God prevent any of it? We’re all going to die. We simply need to know it’s nothing to fear and that it’s not the end. What a caterpillar calls death, we call a butterfly. Would He intervene to prevent the caterpillar from becoming a butterfly? Would he keep a tadpole from becoming a frog? Would he stop an acorn from growing into an oak? Would he prevent hot water from becoming steam, or cold water from freezing? These are just natural changes and it is no different than our own transition from one state of being to another. It’s just a change. Would we keep a toddler in kindergarden or a 6th grader in elementary school? No, we let them graduate to the next phase in the process, so they can continue to learn and grow and become more of what they are meant to be.  That’s all death is: going from one form to another.

Grief is work but it doesn’t have to be grim. When you check out of your physical body, your work is able to take on a new dimension.  Continue reading →

The inspiration is flowing! I’ve set up my painting studio in what used to be the dining room, and it’s coming together better than I planned.  Don’t you love when that happens? Everything fits and, for the first time in years, my paints and sketchbooks are laid out where I can sit down and work on a moment’s notice.  I always have several projects going at the same time, some related to the magazine, some related to writing and editing, and always a few personal projects, sewing and handyman stuff.  Sometimes 15-30 minutes a day is all the time I can spend on something, so I am used to working in jumps and starts.  Today I set up the watercolor station.   I inherited my husband’s paint supplies in the 90’s. He painted in oils and watercolor.  I was always an acrylic painter, so that opened new doors to me.  He was a real neat freak, so his paint supplies were kept immaculate.  It was good training for me to keep them clean and well cared for.  As I set up the watercolor station today, I noticed I had a relatively new set of paints and a half dozen new, unopened brushes — score!  I taped a few sheets of watercolor paper to pieces of cardboard and set them on the easels, ready to go.  I laid out the brushes and paints, the mason jars I use for water, and several paint cloths to wipe brushes on.  I’m already inspired!

RELATED: My former dining room is now the art studio

I decided to turn my former dining room into the art studio so I can keep my reading room intact.   Yesterday I collected all my art supplies and put them in the center of the living room to see exactly what I had.  There were drafting tables, oil paints, acrylics, brushes, palettes, knives, watercolors, watercolor paper, sketchbooks, canvas and stretcher sticks, desk easels, standing easels, pochade boxes, pencils, erasers, pastels soft, hard and oil, solvents.  I thought if I had enough to take over a room, it made sense to have a dedicated paint studio. If I leave up paintings in progress, I’m more likely to take a few moments and work on them. Otherwise years can go by with them untouched because they’re packed neatly away in the closet.  As I meditated on the idea of room placement, I reasoned that the dining area is the best place in the house to be.  It’s near the sink and water, it’s got the best indoor and outdoor lighting, it’s in the middle of the action, so the chi is constantly flowing.

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I did –> a reading <– for a friend 2 months ago, where she asked about moving into a particular gated community.  She’d made an offer on the only available home and wanted to know if her loan would be approved.  A perfect example of asking a short-sighted question.  I told her while I saw her being turned down for this particular loan, there was another unit in the same community about to come on the market, and it was more suitable for her as well. That one would be approved. The question: “Will yesterday’s loan application be approved?” was shortsighted. The better question would have been “Will I live in this community? Will I buy my dream home in this community?”  She texted me this week, after I asked for an update on the new home: “Like you had said… one was about to go on the market but had not been listed yet. When I called the realtor who had listed one of the rentals in the community, she offered to show it to me and I said I would buy it.  It played out just like you had visioned.  I am living here in a pre-occupancy agreement until I close in August.”