Lost in the Woods

Quote of the day: “To be human is to be lost in the woods. None of us arrives here with clear directions on how to get from point A to point B without stumbling into the forest of confusion or catastrophe or wrongdoing.  Although they are dark and dangerous, it is in the woods that we discover our strengths.”  – Elizabeth Lesser from Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow. About three and a half months ago I was laid off from my job of 16 years as a software engineer.  After the layoff, I decide to live Read more…

Life is Simple

  Quote of the day: “When I think about simplifying my life, I see it as a process, rather than a thing or a destination. There is no point in time when I will say to myself, ‘Ah, I have arrived. Isn’t this grand?’ It is not something that I have accomplished. It is not even anything I can really define.” – Linda Breen Pierce in Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World. So it is with all of life.  We never arrive. There is always room to learn and grow. Today has been full Read more…

Surrender to the moment

Quote of the day:  This place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you. Hafiz Another challenging week for me.  This time it wasn’t my mind that did me in. It was my body.  For some mysterious reason, my low back kicked up with huge pain last weekend and I’m still moving very carefully almost a week later.  At least I’m moving – a little (actually a very little).  And while I had planned to spend my week differently, I’ve discovered once more that I need to surrender into the moment. At first I was just Read more…

Finding Your Voice

Quote of the day: “An artist marks out time and space boundaries or forms through which she will reveal the infinite.” , “Zen – the infinite way of doing finite things.”  Laurence G. Boldt in “Zen and the Art of Making a Living” Last Saturday I took in the Powderhorn Park Art Fair in Minneapolis and visited with several photographers who were selling photographs at the art fair.  I found myself drawn to photographers whose work spoke in a “clear voice.”  They didn’t try to be all things to all people.  Rather, they developed their own unique voice and view Read more…

Dragonfly Gardening

Quote of the day: “Whoever heard of dragonfly gardening?” — Me A couple of years ago I was working on finding an image that expressed how I wanted to live my life.  I was tired of carrying around the image of having to work hard doing something I didn’t love and believing that it was only through struggle one could succeed. I knew that my current work life wasn’t working for me any more. And since I am a visual person, the first step in creating a change was to come up with an image that expressed the feeling I Read more…