22 Wednesday Aug 2012
Posted in nature, wordlessness
I love how frogs are the color of the water. Need some wordless time? Come join me this Sunday at 8 a.m. just a bit south of New Orleans, at Jean Lafitte National Park- Barataria, for a wordless walk. We’ll meet at the Pecan Grove parking lot. Details here.
And if you live far away, send me your wordless photos and stories!
09 Thursday Aug 2012
Posted in nature, wordlessness
I haven’t gone to bed, so it’s still Wednesday to me! I think this may be one of my favorite one minute wordless videos so far. Can you hear the cicadas? Enjoy!
And if you have wordless photos or videos to share, please email them to me and I’ll share them on Wordless Wednesdays! carla at livingwildandprecious dot com.
02 Thursday Aug 2012
Posted in 30 Day Challenge, making change, nature
How is it that I never had room before for 30 minutes of drawing? Have I really created a habit? Can I keep this up when my schedule becomes fuller during the school year? Can I become braver about not over-scheduling? Can I keep prioritizing what really matters to me?
These are the kinds of questions my clients begin to ask themselves when they start making changes, and the answers are, of course, up to them. And for my challenge, the answers are totally up to me.
I’m getting excited about taking one more deliberate step toward having a life I love. Things have been fantastic overall for years and years, but the time piece and the over-scheduling piece and the paper clutter piece have been tougher nuts to crack for me, unless I do something completely different from the regular routine, like go hike on the Appalachian Trail for 6 months.
I can really feel the space opening. I can see that there is room for everything I love, if I’m more thoughtful about what decisions I make.
Have you started your own 30 Day Challenge? If not, is it time to begin? What might shift for you in 30 days?
And speaking of shifting, did you know that I loved my Clarity and Connection retreat so much that I’m offering it again in September? The early bird special ends August 7, so click here to see if it’s right for you. I just checked in with a retreat participant today and she’s still feeling the positive effects four days later – she’s incorporating what she gained from the retreat into her daily life, and that makes me SOOO excited!
Today I came close to finishing up my turtle drawing- just a little bit more detail and cleaning up to do -here’s the current drawing:
and here’s the photo that inspired it:
And best of all, I spent the morning in the swamp with a couple visiting from Italy – we host international visitors through an organization called SERVAS – so cool! Here’s one of four alligators we saw this morning:
Yeah – wow – there’s room for everything!
What are you doing differently to make room for what you love?
29 Sunday Jul 2012
Posted in 30 Day Challenge, gratitude, hiking, nature, oneness
I just spent two days and nights away on retreat. Even though I was the host and facilitator, I had plenty of time to soak in the rejuvenating power of nature and really hear my soul speak. She said something like this – it was telepathic so not exactly these words, but this was the feeling: “There’s abundance. There’s always enough. The world is full of riches and pure delight, laying them at your feet. Love is all around you.” She was so calm, so shining, so bright. And I don’t think she was talking about material riches, like gold or diamonds. It was much more about the abundance of beauty and life and love all around me. So much to appreciate.
Would you like to hear your soul? All you have to do is close your eyes and imagine your soul coming out of your body and manifesting itself in a way you can visualize – maybe a person, maybe a glowing light, maybe an animal – it could be anything. Then feel its wisdom, its pure love, its complete acceptance of you. Feel it wash over you. Then hear what it has to tell you, as it sits or stands or floats before you. Listen to its message, then let it come back into your body in whatever way it does – maybe straight to your heart, maybe through the top of your head, or some other way. Then feel yourself fill up with the love and wisdom of your soul, and open your eyes and see the world from the point of view of your soul. This is a beautiful visualization to practice over and over. It’s one of my favorites, both for when I’m feeling stressed and when I’m feeling peaceful.
What I love about retreats like this is that it was a weekend dedicated to pure rest and play. We had lots of time alone to rest and reflect, and time together to process, share and hike and explore in nature. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow, but here’s one of my favorite photos from the weekend:
I’ve been drawing too – I missed my drawing time on Friday, but that’s ok – I picked up again Saturday and today. I sat inside the small gazebo on the gorgeous grounds of the B&B where we stayed and drew the view through the lattice.
And today I played with the message from my soul, and with a somewhat green version of my wild and precious tree. Quick play sketches.
How are you? What has your soul had to tell you lately? What feels like rest and play to you right now?
Message me or let me know in the comments!
22 Sunday Jul 2012
Posted in 30 Day Challenge, nature, rest
Tags
I’m still cruising along with my challenge. This is the quiet time in the middle – I’m almost to the half-way point! All is well. I’m in a contemplative state today – a quiet Sunday. I don’t have wisdom to offer today, just quiet. And a photo from the swamp to match my calm yet subdued mood. Time to rest.
