MEDITATION

Last January 1, I began doing yoga and it was life changing, when I thought it would just make me more flexible! At the end of my morning yoga, I would usually meditate and pray. With my recent travels, yoga is sometimes not easy due to cramped space or other reasons. But I still try to make the time to pray & meditate. This morning I woke with lots of thoughts swirling in my mind. Things aren't always easy on a travel adventure! I sat down to meditate & my mind couldn't go still....  So I began a series of letting a thought come, but not following it down the road and start to spin with it. I realized that you can have the thoughts & not fight them, to not attach to them, just let them go. That alone cleared my mind. It seems that when we "fight" against things, they grab hold. But if we let it just be, then we flow. I'm having a bit of a struggle right now as my computer has died. I want to edit my photography, and get my art where it needs to be online. But I finally realized during meditation that perhaps I'm supposed to be doing something else right now and that my art shops are actually taking care of themselves.

Often I'll get asked how this travel adventure has changed me. It's still ongoing, but I guess the easy answer is that you look at life, yourself, everything differently - with new eyes. When you do something that scares you, or that you think you cannot do - well, it stretches you,  shows a strength you didn't know you had - especially when doing a solo travel adventure. 

When I'm out hiking and photographing, I always turn around - many times - because where I just was looks so different when I turn around and look back. That is what it is like on this adventure... 

STARS

Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major (the Big Dog), will rise above the southeast horizon this week. If you have a moment, and a clear evening, take a look south...

My grandpa was an avid amateur astronomer. As an organic farmer, (and before computers) he paid close attention to the signs in nature and would take me up the mountain to point out the stars and talk about their meaning and lore. He passed his love of stars and nature on to me. I wish he was still around to see the results of his taking time out of his day and sharing that love and knowledge. But when I walk outside at night, in places where I can see all those millions of stars in the sky, I like to think he knows...

That gift he gave of himself and his heart is priceless & has lasted my lifetime.... and those are the very best kind of gifts to give, and receive. 

If you like this fine art print, you can find it in my art shop here:

https://society6.com/product/look-how-they-shine-for-you-wf3_print#s6-3466630p4a1v45

BALANCE

Half of me is filled with bursting words and half of me is painfully shy. I crave solitude yet also crave people. I want to pour life and love into everything yet also nurture my self-care and go gently. I want to live within the rush of primal, intuitive decision, yet also wish to sit and contemplate. This is the messiness of life - that we all carry multitudes, so must sit with the shifts. We are complicated creatures, and ultimately, the balance comes from this understanding. Be water. Flowing, flexible and soft. Subtly powerful and open. Wild and serene. Able to accept all changes, yet still led by the pull of steady tides. It is enough. ~ Victoria Erickson
~ All of these words... yes. . .

Don't Think Too Much

I can overthink. Probably most of us have gotten into that pattern or habit where we're thinking and thinking.... trying to decide something & thinking and thinking. Some big life decisions that I made based on thinking/analyzing versus my heart, or intuition (gut), weren't always the best decisions. (My X comes to mind, but that is a whole other blog post!) I think most of us can think ourselves in or out of  any decision, course of action or idea.

This adventure has been a learning experience and lesson on many fronts. I have been focusing on following my heart & following my gut & actually kind of turning my brain off. It's become an exercise in faith many times also. And in making this change, I've had really amazing experiences and met some really incredible people because I just shut the over thinking off and went on faith and intuition. I still sometimes catch myself wanting to make a list of pros & cons, but then I get quiet & listen to what my heart says.

Yoga and mediation have helped me become grounded and present in the moment. Which helps to hear what the heart and intuition are saying. And I've noticed a happy influence on my art in the process! So, don't think too much!

Begin Anywhere. Just Begin.

Seventy three days ago I sat at a table at the title company, across from the people who had just purchased my beloved condo. It was as I had hoped - giving them the key to their new home, I felt I was passing the torch to people who were going to love the wildlife, windows & light as much as I had. My heart was happy as I walked out the door to my car packed with belongings to start an adventure I had planned. Little did I know then, that things don't always go as planned... but often end up as they are supposed to (if we are open& allow it). I set out with an open heart & mind to start my adventure. And now, instead of sitting in a cottage in snowy Michigan, I am sitting next to a wood stove in a cottage in snowy Nova Scotia. And my heart has never been happier or felt more at home. I'm a thinker, so at times I wonder if this feels so good because it's truly to be my new home, or if it's because I'm so content & happy in my heart that anywhere would feel like home..... Then I tell myself - Be still, and know.  So I stay in the moment with a thankful heart to be in such a beautiful place with friendly kind people, & I just feel blessed.

I have been wanting to blog about this adventure many times during these days, but felt overwhelmed. There are so many adventures & stories & places to talk about. Where & how to begin. So I decided to begin anywhere, but just begin. It didn't have to be chronological, the story just needed to start to be told. 

Today I'm in a wee cottage in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia Canada. It's chilly with a few snowflakes swirling outside in the air. And I'm enjoying the ritual of bringing in wood to light the wood stove to warm the cottage. It is a wonderful way to start the day - making your warmth & appreciating it so much while making fire. After the fire is started, I meditate or do yoga. And then sit by the warm wood stove with hot coffee and oatmeal.  The other day I heard a favorite Rolling Stones song & the words felt so right & true. "You can't always get what you want, but if your try sometimes you just might find you get what you need. "