I'm part of an online group of eclectic folks who love art, writing, poetry, photography, and just plain thinking. During September, many of us took part in a challenge to "do something creative" every day. My endeavors spread the gamut - I wrote (check out http://www.750words.com), I cooked, I worked in my art journal, and I took pictures of my world.
Some of us decided to extend the challenge for the month of October. One of these people started a discussion "about what we aren't doing" which prompted this reply from me yesterday:
"When I read your "intro" to this discussion the word "chuffed" caught my eye. Had not ever heard that word before, until Abi's blog about Ramazan. Once she explained it to me, I wondered how I'd missed that word!
Do I feel "chuffed" about the last 50 days of creating? No. But I'm inspired because in everything that's been encountered, with this "accomplishment" in mind, things are seen differently. Things like the sound of my wind chimes on my porch. That's something that can't be shared, but it inspires me to look more closely and pay attention to just what's behind the sound. The wind may be too strong for my liking, but at the same time, it's creating music for my soul.
96+ hours of rain...makes me feel dreadful, but it reminds me to think about the earth and the dirt and the roots of the trees and the plants, and how much it means to them. That's another sound that can't be shared. But it's a feeling that we all know...like our souls being fed...with something that we'll crave once the season changes."
My outlook is changing, but so is my inlook, if you will. That's where I need to focus, personally, because some days are harder than others (duh!) but my goal is to make every day worth remembering."
Today, I went to the store to buy a big bottle of bubbles. Can you believe they call that a "seasonal" product? Much to my dismay! Tomorrow, I will try again. The thought of standing in front of my house during afternoon rush hour, blowing bubbles, and helping just one person gift him/herself with an extra smile makes me very excited. I'm thinking about getting other people who live on the street to join me - maybe one afternoon a week - and see how many extra smiles we can gift people with, just from blowing bubbles.
And, hopefully you are smiling unexpectedly after reading this, my friend!
Love this, Mary! What a gifted writer you are. I will be first in line to buy your book. And note: I saw "bubble stuff" (that is what we called it when I was a little girl) at the dollar store last week. Maybe it's at your dollar stores too!
ReplyDeleteI loved your blog post...and could identify with so much of what you said. Blowing bubbles really is a stress relieving activity. I decided to get some bubbles out a while back, and stand on my back porch and blow bubbles. I was having a great time. I didn't realize my neighbor was outside in his back yard. I finally saw him peek from above the fence and say, "I was wondering where those bubbles were coming from." :-) Yeah, blowing bubbles, while to some may be silly, makes me happy. Try photographing them too...not an easy thing, but fun :-)
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