Flowering Fridays: Water Lily

This summer we put a pond in our fenced-in vegetable and flower garden. It is a simple pond (we "planted" a cast-iron tub into the ground), but it has been my favorite feature of the garden this year.

 To stock the pond with plants, we visited Windy Oak Aquatics in Eagle. (If you live in southeastern Wisconsin, it's worth the trip in warmer months just to see their lotus and water lilies in bloom; I could have gawked at them all day, they were so stunning). 

We bought a hardy water lily — I can't remember the variety — but it has these beautiful variegated leaves and blooms in this ethereal pale yellow-lavender. (It's called a hardy lily because you can bring it inside, give it some water and put in a dark spot (like your basement) and it will overwinter.)

The blooms last for only three days, but they are breathtaking. 

I think about the kind of effort writers, artists and anyone who is looking to birth a dream puts in. There is a lot of work underneath the surface that has to happen for our vision to become a reality.

All creative endeavors involve efforts and explorations that many do not see. There are the false starts. The chapters that end up in the recycling bin. The near-finished painting that must be put aside for the new theme to emerge. There are the lonely moments when self-doubt creeps in and taps us on the shoulder and whispers: "Who are you to think you can be a writer…an artist…a person who achieves their dreams?"

Sometimes birthing a creative project means many months in a dark winter, as we wait for our spring sun to shine again. Sometimes it means being patient through a fallow period, trusting new growth will soon sprout. And sometimes our long and diligent efforts result in a bloom that is brief, but so worth the effort for the experience of sharing our fullest expression with the world.

In the past, I would get caught up in the product — and forget about the richness that comes from being in the process. (I've mentioned how being with the process is a growing edge for me.) 

But I am finally getting that the process — and the striving and the learning and growing that comes of it — is as important as what I create. 

And there's a wonderful side benefit to our striving:

We become a stand and a support for others to strive toward honoring their dreams. In our striving, we inspire others to strive toward their dreams, too.

And I see this in my water lily, too. As the lily has kept growing and expanding, it has become a place of support for our resident frog. 

Tell me, what is the value in striving for you?

Daily Inspiration

Part of how I keep myself focused and inspired each day is to ensure my day starts with some uplifting messages in my email inbox. Such daily inspiration keeps me focused on what I want to create in my life and how I want to be. It reminds me to go into my day with an eye on some key questions:

What do I want to create today? What story do I want to tell about my life today? Where is the happiness in this moment?

I'm someone who thrives on information and possibilities so my daily dose of inspiration might feel like an overdose to you. But here are the emails that provide me with an orientation that keeps me motivated, energized and in awe of life:

Daily Law of Attraction Quotation from Abraham-Hicks

The Inner Vortex

TUT's Notes from the Universe

Neale Donald Walsh (author of the Conversations with God books)

The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor

Daily OM

James Ray's Daily Thought of Power

Tell me, what are your favorite daily doses of inspiration?

Inner Wisdom

 

 two of my SoulCollage® cards

Last Saturday, I attended a SoulCollage® playshop with Chris LeGrand and Kathy Morgan at the Joyful Living Center. It was a wonderful gathering of women, so much creative flow and energy and such fun.

Of course, I loved choosing images, and then cutting them out and gluing them down. That's true play for me, and I was completely immersed in that joy of creating.

But what was unexpected was the new opening it created for me around accessing my inner wisdom.

According to the official website, SoulCollage® is "a creative and satisfying collage process. You make your own deck of cards — each collage card representing one aspect of your personality or Soul. Use the collage cards intuitively to answer life's questions and participate in self-discovery. Joyfully deepen your understanding of the relationships between your personality parts, you and your family/community/world, and you and your dreams, symbols, and Spirit."

Part of my journey of late is learning to trust and listen to my inner wisdom. And after many years of ignoring, stuffing or receiving guidance and then doing the opposite, I am learning to honor my inner truth. 

I really wasn't sure what these SoulCollage® cards were. I hadn't realized that these cards can be compiled into a deck, complete with suits, and then used to do readings, much like tarot cards. Cards are typically read by beginning with the prompt "I am the One who…" and then reading into the card images through that statement.

For the card on the left above, I haven't completely settled on the title yet, but one possibility I'm playing with is, "I am the one who finds the key by going inward (through my keyhole)  to reach the world beyond."

With the six cards I did create on Saturday, I can see some themes that are emerging: trusting in the support of the universe, opening up myself and shining light into what's hidden, the duality of life and myself, and being connected to both nature and my true nature.

If you are in the Milwaukee area, I highly recommend taking a workshop with Chris and Kathy, both art therapists. You can also check out to see if there is a SoulCollage® facilitator in your region or buy the book and try it on your own.

It's also fun to visit the SoulCollage® homepage, where it randomly generates a personal reading for you from its database of cards. You can click on each card to see what the card represented to its creator. Cool stuff.

Tell me, what do you do to access your inner wisdom?