Sunday, April 03, 2016

Fear

“You can’t get rid of fear, but do remember that fear is boring.

   This is my fundamental opposition to the mythological dream of fearlessness, and the frustration I feel whenever fearlessness is held up as a virtue. I just feel like that it’s the wrong battle. Because for one thing, you don’t want to get rid of your fear; you need it to keep you alive. We’re all here because we had fear that preserved us. So there’s a little bit of a lack of appreciation for fear when we say that we want to be fearless. But then, fear is the oldest, deepest and least subtle part of our emotional life, and so therefore it’s boring. It’s dull. It doesn’t have any nuance. So have a little conversation with your fear when it starts to get riled up when you’re trying to do something creative. Let it know, “I’m just trying to write a poem, no one’s going to die.” But don’t try to go to war against it, that’s such a waste of energy. Just converse with it and then move on.”         - Elizabeth Gilbert

Fear is boring, and other tips for living a creative life

Butterfly

Photo by Laurie Rubin

Summertime Reading Glasses

Costco now has shaded reading glasses for your summer beach/book bag. They're dual vision so you can glance up at that hottie walking by.

Wheat Field

Photo by Jan Poloni

Friday, April 01, 2016

Alpenglow

Beautiful Alpenglow on Mt.Rainier.

Photo credit - Inner Eye Photography By Gowtham Pannala

Alpenglow (from German: Alpenglühen) is an optical phenomenon in which a horizontal red glowing band is observed on the horizon opposite to the sun. This effect occurs when the Sun is just below the horizon. Alpenglow is easiest to observe when mountains are illuminated but can also be observed when the sky is illuminated through backscattering. - Wikipedia

Butterfly

Photo by my friend Michelle Corlew taken at the Rockford Conservatory.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Frustration

Frustration is not an interruption of the process, frustration is the process.

“I have watched so many talented, creative, and inventive people rage against their work, or even worse, stop doing their work because of the frustration that they encountered along the path of whatever it was they were trying to create. And they speak of this frustration as though it is this obstacle from outer space that is ruining everything. All they wanted to do is be creative, and here comes frustration again, just taking all the fun out of it, making it impossible to do this work, and destroying the entire game. And my feeling is, “You guys, you’re mistaking the whole process, because the thing that you’re in love with, and that you’ve gotten infatuated with, is that moment in your creative process when everything is working — all the cylinders are firing at full speed, and the inspiration is flowing, and it feels really easy, and it’s fun, and it’s delightful.” And that’s the aberration. That moment of smooth, easy grace where everything is going great — that is not the normal. That is the miracle that happens every once in a while if you’re very lucky. The frustration, the hard part, the obstacle, the insecurities, the difficulty, the “I don’t know what to do with this thing now,” that’s the creative process. And if you want to do it without encountering frustration and difficulty, then you’re not made for that line of work.” - Elizabeth Gilbert

Fear is boring, and other tips for living a creative life

Tulips


Photo credit - Carol Hughes Wells

As the Light of the Sun Sustains...

As the light of the sun sustains all creatures existing in the material world, in like manner the light of the soul sustains and ripens man's inward being. Yet, the solar light advances the growth of weeds as well as useful plants, and the future of the garden depends upon the skill and patience of the gardener. Thoughts and emotions must be properly trained if they are to protect the harvest. - Manly P. Hall

Long Walk to Freedom

Monday, March 28, 2016

Punnet

Noun: a small box for the gathering and sale of fruit and vegetables, typically small berries. The word is largely confined to Commonwealth countries and is of uncertain origin, but is thought to be a diminutive of "pun", a British dialect word for pound, from the days in which such containers were used as a unit of measurement or from the name of Reginald Crundall Punnett (1875–1967), a geneticist and grower of strawberries who used to sell them in the London market in a small chip basket.

" A seemingly plain green leaf may burst with vivid red shades, while a punnet of tomatoes is a multi-coloured palette of tones..."

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160316-i-can-see-colours-you-cannot-perceive-or-imagine?ocid=gnl.ppc.sponsored-post.facebook..KeyWee_March_US&kwp_0=122632&kwp_4=568360&kwp_1=298926