Eye of the Heart - Week Five - Images of Self

This week's theme was self-portraits and receiving images of ourselves. Not an easy assignment for someone who dislikes their photos!

I'm still working up to the "face" self-portraits, but for now I offer this self-blessing - connecting to heart....

From Random

* o

Eye of the Heart - Week Five - Images of Self

The Next Chatper - Happy Friday - the Saturday night edition

It's been a busy week, and I'm a day late in posting this. The happiest thing about Friday was that it WAS Friday and at least a long work week was over!

A happiness highlight for me this week was having time to create today. I spent the better part of the afternoon working with my watercolor crayons and creating this:

From Random

It was great to have some creative time.

Stop by The Next Chapter and check out the happy's from around the world this week. * o

The Next Chatper - Happy Friday - the Saturday night edition

Eyes of the Heart - Week Four - Reflections

From Random

Mirror, mirror on the wall.....

I'm not a fan of mirrors, or pictures of myself. When you look in the mirror are you happy with what you see there or is there all kinds of negative self-talk going on in your head? What is it you choose not to see?

You can't see my soul
reflected there in the mirror.
For that,
you would have to close your eyes
and wait in the darkness
until you could see the light
reflected in my heart.

* o

Eyes of the Heart - Week Four - Reflections

The Next Chapter - Happy Friday!

If you're wondering exactly what The Happy Book is all about, check out this great video on the blog.

For me, I'm just happy that it's Friday and I'm relaxing and watching a movie with TeenBoy. Last weekend I had a splurge of cleaning energy and rearranged the livingroom. Now it feels larger, cleaner and more spacious in here and I'm enjoying that energy. I'm looking forward this weekend to having some "creative time" to myself!

What made you happy this week? * o

The Next Chapter - Happy Friday!

Eyes of the Heart - Week Three - Framing

From Random

This weeks theme for the Eyes of the Heart course has been "framing".

I love in the picture above how the bird is framed by the branches of the tree - almost in a star shape.

How do you frame things? When looking out into the world, what do you zoom in on? What do you leave out? * o

Eyes of the Heart - Week Three - Framing

The Next Chapter - Happy Friday?

While Bliss Group's copy of the Happy Book journeys from Australia to Alaska, tonight I'm struggling with finding the happy in my week. It's been a blah week here and a difficult day today. The hot water heater went on the fritz last night, work is insanely busy and stressful and my best friend's uncle passed away.

So tonight I try to gather up some pieces of happy, since they are kind of spread out and I need to collect them. The hot water heater is fixed now, and while it was frustrating to go without for awhile I am reminded of how lucky I am to have hot and cold running water, when many go without that basic luxury. Work is crazy, yes, but tonight I remind myself that I have a good job, with good pay and how lucky I am to have that when many go without work and money to pay for basic necessities. Tonight I will sit with a family in grief, and I am reminded of how precious life is and how important families and friends are.

This morning there were two purple finches in the bird feeder and I spent a few moments just watching and listening to them "trill" to each other in beautiful bird song.

What is making up the "pieces of happy" for you tonight? * o

The Next Chapter - Happy Friday?

Eyes of the Heart - Week Two - Shadows

From Random

This week in the "Eyes of the Heart" course we have been working with and talking about shadows. Often we think of shadows as dark and dangerous places. We talk of the "shadow side" of our personalities - those traits we have that are less than pleasant. Scary things hide in the shadows. Shadows are the opposite of light. Jen Louden, the Comfort Queen, often talks about "shadow comforts", those things that we do to avoid being creative or following our passions - like surfing the net, endlessly checking email or watching TV. Not essentially bad things on their own, but when used for avoidance, well then not so good.

Today when I was out on my walk, I turned the corner from the very bright sunshine and onto a shadier section of the sidewalk. The coolness of the shade hit my face, and I realized that sometimes shadows are necessary. They provide a place to rest and restore, a chance to lick our wounds and heal if we need to do.

The key, I think, is knowing when we are using the shadow to heal and when we are using it to just hide and not deal with things. And the next step is knowing when it is time to come out of the shadow and back into the sunshine.

From Random

(top photo: "Chalice in Sunlight", bottom photo: "Me and My Shadow") * o

Eyes of the Heart - Week Two - Shadows

The Next Chapter - Happy Friday!

Check out The Next Chapter - The Happy Book for some great happy pictures this week!

For me this week, my happy is this:

From Random

Birdies! I love watching them at the feeder, and this week this guy has been a frequent visitor. The sun has been shining, and the air is full of bird songs - ones returning and ones that are stopping by on their way back to somewhere. It's what I miss in winter - the symphony of song.

What made you happy this week? * o

The Next Chapter - Happy Friday!

Eyes of the Heart - Week One

I am currently taking part in Christine Valters-Paintner's online class "Eyes of the Heart - Photography as a Contemplative Practice" so for the next six weeks I'll be sharing some of my images from this course and some thoughts on the process.

Last week was "Week One" and the assignment was to take a contemplative walk around your neighborhood, allowing yourself to be led in whatever direction you feel you should go with no definite purpose or place to get to. Along the way, I was to notice what my eye was drawn to, to receive the image with my camera, and then to pick some of the photos to share and reflect on.

One image that really caught my attention was this one:

From Random

Leave One Lane Open. Leave yourself open, don't fill up on too many things. Don't keep yourself so busy you can't breathe. After all you can't breathe if you are not open. * o

Eyes of the Heart - Week One