Category Archives: Thoughtful Thursdays

Reflections

Jun13

Thoughtful Thursdays #20

Posted on by
Standard

There are many kinds of Creativity. Here are just a few. Give your own Creativity a try today.

1. Creativity heals broken minds. Read up on Creative Arts Therapy.
2. Tell a story you need to hear.
3. Paint a picture in your own style.
4. Boil a tasty soup to warm your insides.
5. Sew up some brand new pretty clothes.
6. Crochet a cozy blanket.
7. Take lots of pictures with your camera or cell phone.
8. Write your life story.
9. Learn a musical instrument, even if it’s a recorder. (Remember those?)
10. Some sturdy string and beads will make a simple bracelet or ring.
11. Try a new recipe.

There are countless ways to be creative. Find one thing that makes you happy and do it. You will gain confidence and be proud of yourself. Any creative activity will strengthen your brain and help you improve your problem solving ability. Go ahead, give it a try.

Happy creating.

Jun6

Thoughtful Thursdays #19

Posted on by
Standard

20 Reasons to smile about life:

1. Dogs, cats, birds, animals.
2. Breathing, you wouldn’t get very far without it.
3. You woke up, start something new.
4. Sun, moon, stars are free for us to enjoy.
5. Other people, even the good, bad and ugly.
6. Children, all of them even if they are not yours.
7. Walking in any form calms the mind.
8. Trees because they purify the air
9. Internet, the world at your fingertips.
10. Books, stories new worlds to explore.
11. Your mind, it can solve all problems.
12. Money makes life comfortable.
13. Food, chocolate, coffee, tea make the world go around.
14. Inventions are the result of progress.
15. Science unfolds previous mysteries.
16. Art is the expression of the universe.
17. Bodies, exercise, enjoy the physical world.
18. Flowers smell sweet and look breathtaking.
19. Clocks are tick tock-ing time away.
20. Colors are infinite.

OK there are a few more than 20 here because there are many more reasons to smile about life.

Like sewing, amusement parks, cars, sleeping, laughing, honey.

Leave a comment and add to the list.

Happy Smiling.

May30

Thoughtful Thursdays #18

Posted on by
Standard

Decisions

Sometimes it’s easy to make decisions. Like what to wear or cook or movie to see. Sometimes it’s really difficult to decide especially when there is no guarantee in the outcome. For example, getting a new job or opening a business. Getting a new job is easier because it’s predictable, structured and basically secure. Opening a business is risky, unpredictable and not a sure thing.

Some decisions are unavoidable. Like going to the dentist because you have a toothache. You will go to to the dentist to get rid of the pain. Ah ha, Pain, maybe that’s why decisions become difficult because they cause pain/uncertainty. Decisions are easy to avoid when they are uncertain so we ignore decision making until there is so much pain that a decision has to be made.

What is the cure for easier decision making?

Make a decision in any direction because the process of going into a new direction will bring you to your desired destination.

And that’s a good thing.

May23

Thoughful Thursdays #17

Posted on by
Standard

I like 12 Step programs. They are healthy and a place to begin examining many damaging behaviors.

I bet you never heard of A.R.T.S. Anonymous. It is a 12 step program for artists. The word “artist” is used in the broadest sense to include anyone who is struggling with expressing your creativity. It could mean painter, writer, baker, seamstress and anyone who finds their creativity intertwined in their expression. As a creative person the craving for an outlet is always there and never goes away. But many artists avoid doing their work for many reasons. Mostly because of a trauma or fear. When you are not creating you are using something else to kill the aspiration to create.

A.R.T.S Anonymous is actually dealing with something positive. Our own creativity. In their literature I came across “Facing Avoidance: An Inventory of Attitudes and Beliefs About Doing Art”. There are over 70 questions that examine how we feel about doing art. For example: Am I willing to tolerate awkwardness, false starts, dry spells, and mistakes as part of the process? Do I hate myself when I avoid doing my art? Do I realize that inspiration is likely to come after I start working? That what I need will come to me when I need it if I make the effort?

On their website section: “Being Blocked” the very first sentence says “To be blocked is not truly an adult choice but the choice of a traumatized child who is determined to live their adult life safe from all harms. A child’s fears have imprisoned the adult”. These words really struck me as true because of my own experience in struggling with writing and painting. These fears are crippling at times. And quite incognito. Fear, many times, is invisible.

I get irritated when I read statements like: Just Do It, It’s mind over matter, Here’s the only method you will ever need to succeed. Because there is a river of deepness that is in our subconscious that needs a safe place to explore our expression of art.

Explore the A.R.T.S Anonymous website and read Steven Pressfield’s ” The War Of Art”. (I wrote about Pressfield’s book in my original Thoughtful Thursday post). Each venue will be an explosion of information and lead you to heal and express that which is uniquely you.

Happy exploring.

May16

Thoughtful Thursdays #16

Posted on by
Standard

Once you decide, really, really decide on what you want synchronicity sets in. Doors will open, opportunities will appear and your decision to decide on what you really want will have become a reality.

Easy to say, easy to understand but so hard to decide. The culprit to deciding is distractions. It’s quite normal to have your attention on what you are doing at any given moment. For example, when driving. If you are not focused on your driving you may have an accident. But what about all those ideas in your head, the things you want to do and say and experience.

Here’s a very simple way of accomplishing those things you want to do and say and experience in three easy steps.

Step 1. Write a list of any and everything you want in any area of your interest. Nothing is off limits. Write everything down. Refer to it frequently.

Step 2. Pick one thing and do it. Just one thing. Do this one thing from start to finish. At this point it’s easy to get carried away categorizing. Resist the urge to do that. Just do one thing in the beginning. As you feel more able to do more then do it. The idea here is to not be overwhelmed by all the stuff you want to do.

Step 3. Give yourself credit for doing just one thing on your list. Check off what you have done and move to the next. At this point you can add more or delete what is not really that important.

Maybe there’s really big stuff you want to do. If it’s seems too much then break it down to steps.

Don’t give up. There will always be distractions and waves of winding paths. But that’s life and its constant changing occurrences. You are in this life to DO, to SAY, to EXPERIENCE.

So Just Do It.

Happy doing.

Apr12

Thoughtful Thursdays #15

Posted on by
Standard

Thoughtful Thursday #15

Among other bizarre things that are happening in my life my youngest pet cat Munchkin got sick. She was nine years old. She got sick suddenly. I noticed yesterday that she was lethargic and not eating and seemed to have lost so much weight. I thought she caught a stomach virus from drinking out of my dog’s water bowl. Then I worried she had something worse.

My daughters and I took her to the vet and the prognosis was grim. She apparently had heart disease and her body made clots, which traveled and clogged the blood flow to her legs. There we were in the exam room crying and watching her slowly pass away from lack of blood to her heart. The doctor said she was in pain and there were not too many options for her recovery. We opted to put her to sleep. She died peacefully.

How very sad to watch an animal you care so much about die. After she pass away we sat in the exam room for a long time crying, petting her, kissing her, carrying her and telling her how much we love her. We told her what a good girl she is. We held her and looked at her lifeless body. We told her we were sorry about her being so sick.

After a long while we had the nurse shave some hair from her neck. She put it in an opaque tan pill bottle. We chose the individual cremation so we can take her ashes home and still have her with us. Plus a paw print.

I just wanted to say to you Munchkin how much we all love you and will miss you tremendously. That loud meow. The running away from us when we tried to catch you. Watching you sit by the window in the sun. Sometimes you would sit for so long just looking at the activity outside. Or curl up on the cushion at the windowsill and sleep so contently. Catch flies and run after toys. Scratched the heck out of the windowsill sharpening your nails.

I hope we were a good family for you and hope you were happy with us. We certainly enjoyed every minute with you. In the spirit land of kitties we hope you are relieved of your pain and are sweetly happy. We will always love you Munchkin and remember you.

We are already preparing a place for Munchkins remains. We have pictures and candles ready for her return. With the raw emotions my daughters and I feel we need this ritual to help us through this mourning period. I look forward to her return even if its in a different form.

To our darling sweet Munchkin we love you forever.

Mar7

Thoughtful Thursdays #14

Posted on by
Standard

Expectations:

I’ve always disagreed with the expression ” Have no expectations of anyone and you won’t be disappointed” because it sounds so strange. It doesn’t make sense. How can you not have expectations of anyone? That expression would mean never expect the bank teller to get your deposit right. Or not expecting to trust a doctor with your health. But I have recently changed my mind because now I understand the expression a little more deeply. This expression means not to have any expectation of a person to be anything but themselves.

For example, let’s say you know someone who is a thief and a liar. You leave this person alone with your purse and your wallet disappears. You ask where your wallet is and this person lies saying that he/she doesn’t know where your wallet is. Here’s where the expectation comes in. You expected this person to be trustworthy when you knew, on some level, that this person is not trustworthy. This is where disappointment comes in. You forgot the true character of this person. This person is a thief and liar. Unless by some miracle this person changes his/her character all actions will remain that of a thief and liar.

Simply put, don’t expect others to be anything other than who they are and you won’t be disappointed.

It’s good to be hopeful that people are basically good and well intentioned because you can expect the the bank teller and doctor will do their best for you. However, some people are not. It takes time to really get to know who you are dealing with. It’s safer to be detached and slowly get to know the other person.

There is no magic formula to protect yourself from those who are untrustworthy. It is risky to trust others. Sometimes we are desperate to trust someone. But using the skills of detachment, objectivity and trusting your gut will help in deciding if someone is trustworthy. And don’t let fear of being taken advantage of stop you from trusting. Most interactions with others are just fine. But the minute you see or feel something is not right, get out of the situation quickly. Trust yourself first and you will ultimately find the truth of anything.

Peace.

Aug11

Thoughtful Thursdays # 11

Posted on by
Standard

Here’s an art activity I had fun with.

Find a Stone and Change It In Some Way

I might have mentioned I have a very big dog. His name is Rocky and he is half Labrador and half Rottweiler. He is also 123 pounds and three years old. Needless to say he’s a handful.
So, everyday, about two times per day if I can make it we go to the dog park in Long Island City. That’s the rich part of town and just about everyone has a dog. This park is right on the Hudson River. This area has about 12,000 square feet of dirt and gravel and has been a dog park for about five years. It’s beautiful there but the NYC development has taken it over to make affordable housing. In the meantime we still go there.
There are tons of rocks in all sizes and colors. I chose a fairly big one. Its about six pounds and shaped something like a triangle. However, when I washed it I saw that it was stippled and streaked with green, gray, beige and black colors. Perhaps this rock is from ancient times hidden in the ground until a bulldozer brought it up. I wonder where and how long this rock had been there. I could feel how it was in the earth. This stone has majesty and life. I was stunned to feel nature. It is so rare I get to be in nature that I am reminded of how much I miss in nature by living in the city. I looked really hard at the stone and thought how I would change it. That’s when I saw a face. I took my black magic marker and made a face. This had to have been the simplest art I have ever done. Much to my amazement it looks like a Roman Emperor. I think its Marcus Aurelius. He ruled Rome from 161 to 180 AD. I have read the book “Meditations” that was put together from his diary. It reminds me of the now ancient ruins in Rome. It reminds me of when I was about 8 and in the building were we lived there was a gigantic pink beige rock in my backyard. I would wonder if it came from dinosaur time and wonder how it got there. No one knew where it came from. It was a real mystery. This lead me to remember how I would look up in the summer sky with my friend Billy and we would ask serious questions as to where the stars came from. We were so young and so wondrous ourselves. We never did answer those questions but it was so much fun to ask. It never occurred to us to ask an adult these questions. Because both of us knew our families would just be annoyed. His father was an alcoholic and his mother co dependent and Billie ended up marrying an alcoholic woman and had four kids last I heard many years ago. His mother could cook. She was Spanish and her husband was German. She would follow her husband all over creation picking him up at every bar in town. But her food was fantastic. Sometimes my mother would make lasagna and Billie’s mom would make chicken and rice and they would exchange dishes. We would visit each other by going over the roof. We lived in side-by-side 6 families; three story buildings and each of us lived on the third floor. We lost touch many years ago. These faded memories are some of the good ones.
The stone is strong, stoic and sees time moving by. The stone will live on for a very long time. I’m not sure if I’ll return the stone to the park. It makes a really good paperweight.

Aug4

Thoughtful Thursdays #10

Posted on by
Standard

I am reading “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. This is the perfect book about Resistance. Which I suffer from always. Actually I was in the same position as Mr. Pressfield, I couldn’t figure out why my creative life was not manifesting itself. I am always involved with routine and mundane tasks. But when the student is ready the teacher appears, hence Mr. Pressfields book.

Resistance is the enemy to any and every creative endeavor attempted. Resistance will assume any form to stop you from being creative and you won’t even know what hit you.
Resistance goes for the jugular and is out for a kill. However, if you fear it then its belly is fed, if you don’t fear it, it dies.

Resistance can be overcome by investing in you. Ignoring distractions and concentrating on you and your work or direction or any creative endeavor. This of course is easier said than done because, as Mr. Pressfield points out and I have experienced, as soon as you start something comes along to thwart your efforts.

But Resistance can be overcome. Don’t be afraid, do the work that needs to be done, and fight resistance to the death. Eventually resistance moves aside. It doesn’t go away but moves aside temporarily waiting for you to weaken in some way. However by this time you know Resistance’s style and it gets easier and easier to step aside Resistance’s games.

So get ready for battle. As noted in the book, have contempt for failure. And claim your life and creativity. I certainly will.

Jul7

Thoughtful Thursdays #9

Posted on by
Standard

It takes more courage to create peace,

Than it takes to make war.

Buddhist saying.