Category Archives: my studio notes

two words actually

i will miss my 2015 word of the year.
ESPRIT.

it was a good word, and it served me well.

i wanted to feel vibrant, animated, exhilarated.
i wanted to delight in being alive, spontaneously encounter joy.
i wanted to experience a sense of “joie de vivre” with every breath.

wildfire

wildfire.
so deep in my soul.
blazing out of control.
fiercely burning each bright goal.
 
 
       no one hears my plea.
       no attention paid to me.
       there’s no lasting guarantee.
 
 
wildfire.

cheers to twenty sixteen

welcoming in the new year!

hurrah! hurrah!

 

2 very big happenings for me in 2016:

 
 
ONE. i’m launching my very first e-course, with takeoff on january 25th . . .

weightless (ecourse marketing)
 
 
TWO. i’m moving to villa magnolia in tuscany, italy sometime in late summer .

holiday peace

the town hushed and white with snow,
the violet dusk tranquil.
the flocked trees regal and serene,
enveloped in the winter idyll.
 
 
sending warm wishes
for a HOLIDAY rich with peace.

Hope
Opportunity
Love
Inspiration
Delight
Awareness
Year-end-goodness
 
 
essence7 holiday card 2015
 
 
*******
 
 
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Full circle.

86 years ago. October 1929.
My brave Italian grandma, just 20 years old, marries a man she hardly knows and moves to the United States. She speaks no English. Yet. But she is home.
 
 
47 years ago. April 1968.

“cold cold cold fudge”

Winter is not my favorite season.

Summer is easy and sultry, carefree and lively. Troubles just seem to melt away in the blazing sunshine.

Winter brings harsh realities to the surface, outlined against the sky like the barren trees. Truths that cannot be escaped as courage is whipped away by arctic winds.

“I am one tough cookie!”

Do you often worry about what other people think? Does it make you second-guess yourself, causing you to freeze in the middle of your intentions?

Do you deeply embody slights from others (real or perceived)? Do you allow cruel (or even teasing) jabs to get under your skin, tearing your self-esteem down in the process?

true grit thanksgiving

personal qualities that inspire,
that i admire,
and to which one may aspire.

giving thanks today for the real meaning of true grit.
 
 

T =

tenacious, transformational, trailblazing

H =

happy, healthy, hopeful

A =

animated, alive, aligned

N =

nourished, novel, noble

K =

kindhearted, kaleidoscopic, kinetic

S =

spunky, soulful, self-directed

G =

gutsy, gritty, glorious

I =

insightful, independent, integrated

V =

vital, vibrant, vigorous

I =

imaginative, intuitive, inquisitive

N =

noncomforming, noteworthy, necessary

G =

grounded, genuine, groovy
 
 
hiking boots
 
 
over the river and through the woods .

i keep hoping for the light.

following a severe wind and rain storm tuesday evening,
my household lost its power.
all night and through the morning.
12-1/2 hours of darkness.

i don’t like the darkness.
it’s uncomfortable and frightening.
i keep hoping for the light.
 
 
it’s been a sad week,
thinking of the innocent victims
in paris and around the world.

it’s not that i’m not grateful.

okay, i’m just going to say it.
i’m tired of the word GRATITUDE.

although i have been keeping a formal gratitude journal this year,
writing down five things that i am thankful for each day,
this isn’t really anything new for me.