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Poetry

Inspired Art ~ not just fun
LifeLoveParentsPoetry

Inspired Art ~ not just fun

Inspired art is not just a fun way to spend some time, it’s full of clues. It provides the opening for our everyday busy minds to set aside the daily grind and access intuition. It opens the door. Bored with routine? Need some inspiration? Doing inspired art has helped me on several occasions reveal insightful and unexpected thoughts. Something I didn’t know I needed to know.

I’d like to show you an example of what’s possible when you sit down with a pencil and a blank piece of paper then engage your imagination. You’ll need to send your left brain and all the critics on vacation, and be prepared to allow your body’s subtle impulses to move the pencil across the page. Patience is required and you’ll know when to begin and when stop. It’s as simple as setting aside some time, finding a congenial space, and then waiting patiently for the impulse.

If I’m feeling stuck, bored, or am having a repeated issue, I hit my art corner with the intention of doing some excavation. Thankfully talent is not required. In fact if you have a realistic drawing style, letting go of rules is not automatic. You’re not setting out to draw anything in particular, and perfection is not the goal. All you need to bring to the table is an open mind and willingness to have a little fun. In fact trying defeats the purpose and shuts down the flow.

Little kids do it naturally. My 6 year old granddaughter recently drew a sweet picture of me, and what jumped out was the flying heart on my sweater. I’m sure she didn’t set out to create this whimsical design, but the love was there. She also drew me laughing! One of our favorite pastimes is making up jokes then cracking up, uproariously, and at length. She is a happy little girl and a dear heart and kindred spirit.

In a professional setting, Art Therapy is used to provide insight into a client’s state of mind for both adults and kids. If you’re curious and have six minutes here is a great video from Soul Pancake to illustrate an adult session.

I’d like to share with you my latest deep dive into inspired drawing. First, the setting was spectacular and conducive; clear skies, a wooden picnic table, an old growth forest, and a like-minded buddy. A tall umbrella of trees diffused the sun’s rays to create a misty effect, giving me a sense I was in Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood somewhere about.

She journaled, I drew and then wrote, in the silence, and to the beat of our own hearts.

My drawing started as a simple circle. Then my hand, with a mind of its own, continued until the drawing felt complete. Color was next, and without thinking, off I went. Yet it still seemed unfinished and I found myself reaching for a red felt. After adding several juicy drops of bright red blood falling from my right hand, I drew three links of rusty chain from my neck. These last two additions took me aback, but I didn’t second guess. Surely it would all make sense at some point.

I peered at the goofy being looking up at me from the page, and had a sense it was me. Was I a clown, an inmate? My red face had a somewhat maniacal grin. Was it embarrassment, high blood pressure, frustration? Was I crazy? What the heck!

Then in my head I heard,

“You’ve broken from the chains of the past and are free.”

Right behind I heard the title of the piece.

“Bleed, then be free.”

Dramatic, I know, and at first I was reluctant to write it down. But the truth is, sometimes I’ve needed a knock on the head to get the message, so it made me laugh, or more accurately, choke. Indeed life has been big, with quite a bit of metaphorical bleeding, but this told me it’s over now and time to move on. The perfect message for right here, right now, and not at all what I expected when I started out that day.

To my amazement the fun wasn’t over. Without thinking, my hand moved itself over to the adjacent page and I started to write. One full page.

It was intoxicating.

Here it is, unedited (except for punctuation).

To begin, out of my head popped,

“What do you mean you don’t know what to do?” Hah! Like I had asked a question.

Somewhat bewildered, I thought, of course I do. Then these words tumbled out.

OPEN

A vast canopy 
of muscular branches,
rustling leaves,
else silence.

Begin the release.
Open the space
and receive
who knows how
what or when,
playing all the time
with the past
wrapped around my 
heart strings.

An old package
with loving thoughts,
and thanks.
Complete, no regret.
Tired of clinging
but wanting new,
my own way.
The path of love,
myself and others.

Are you waiting for inspiration, an opening, a little gem, a whisper, a hint, something to ponder? Are you stuck? Maybe you love being creative and you’ve never heard of using inspired art as a personal tool. Go ahead and give it a try. You’ll have some fun in the process.

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I’d love to hear from you with any thoughts or experiences you’ve had with inspired art, or anything at all.

(Click comment just below the post, then scroll down to the bottom of the page to view all comments.)

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To Live – To Laugh – To Celebrate Love
FamilyLifeLovePoetry

To Live – To Laugh – To Celebrate Love

A good friend once told me never to forget to laugh, and I cannot tell you how many times her advice popped into my head, like a mantra, at just the right moment, to save the day. It`s good to remember this at work, with friends and colleagues, but especially in a marriage, where there is no time to spend in misunderstandings. Live, laugh, and love. Just do it. Of course it takes some finesse and timing is everything.

This weekend I celebrate two sacred ceremonies. My nephew Matthew is to wed his dear heart Caroline, and my son’s good friend Benjy will likewise join hearts with his Ashlee. They are wonderful human beings, deeply in love and earnest, ready to take their relationships to this most important next step, to wed in faith that their futures together will create an even greater love for each other.

A wedding declares the full opening of the heart, offered purely to the other, trusting whatever comes there is strength in union, and that each joy will be multiplied. And it offers friends and family the chance to reconnect and celebrate their own true loves and remember all the ways love is present in their lives.

On this day of sacred commitment, I share with you a poem I wrote more than 10 years ago, to celebrate the engagement of my daughter.  
THE LOVE DANCE

It embraces softly and is quiet.

It is constant and clear.

It whispers.

It must be offered freely

and received the same

with reverence and gratitude.

It is the soft glove

that guides and saves.

It is the rose that brings

fragrance and beauty.

It is the melody that

moves the soul.

It is the worth of our being.

It belongs to each of us

separately and together

here on earth,

and with the one Great Love beyond,

yet ever present.

It is up to each one of us

to remember

the door is always open

to the infinite love

that will keep us dancing.

Keep dancing dear ones. I wish you both joyous times as you begin the co-creation of your dreams.

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MEET SHEA

MEET SHEA

Author
If I was going to describe myself in one word, I would say creative. I love to write poetry and stories, garden, bead, draw, and study spiritual philosophy. If I keep these in my life, my inner artist and the seeker in me just hum. Only my kids and grandkids fill my heart more, and for that, there are really no words.

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