Remabulous

A visual representation of me, thanks to Jennifer at the Word Cellar

I am so thankful to Jennifer, at the Word Cellar, who came up with this fun little exercise... Use Flickr to answer a series of questions, then put together this mosaic as a visual representation of yourself. Her post explains how to do it... I love the result as well as the fact that I now know that visually, she and I share a few traits...

Credit where credit is due:

1. la santa bacia tutti [e uno], 2. My creation for the handmade Tiara/Crown swap (for Holly), 3. A different kind of garden., 4. Persistence, 5. cate, 6. #02 in the gathering dusk, 7. Ullswater barn, 8. Adam And Eve On A Raft, And Wreck 'Em, 9. The Photographer, 10. Where's that passport gone?, 11. Bali Ha'i, 12. caro's card on candice's keyboard

Emptying out.

Lately, it feels like I am being squeezed. There is so much pressure in the world around me that I feel wrung out. Househunting in Los Angeles is a different animal than it was in San Francisco. There are fewer beauties to choose from, and therefore a greater sense of loss when a magical place is given away, especially when right now I am dying for nothing more than to feel at home.

I often feel lots of pressure as a coach to have it all together. To be in balance and have it all figured out. But I am so far from being at that point. I have moments when I am calm and clear, but there haven't been many of those moments lately. What I am realizing is that my work makes me open to take on huge loads: loss, illness in myself and others, stress, and fear about starting and running a business. If I didn't go through all of this, then I would not be able to relate very well to others in difficulty. I would only be able to give what a friend calls "cardboard answers." I am so grateful that the conversations I have for a living are real and deep and wide. Speaking with clients about their lives and hopes makes it all feel worth it. A client going through a breakup or one who is scared about making enough money- I know how this feels, and I can speak from inside the experience.

It's amazing the gratitude I can fit inside this one body. I have to keep emptying myself out with this squeezed by the world feeling. I need to make room for something more hopeful and grateful. It hit me hard today, while talking to a client. How lucky I feel to have this life, even if it isn't all sorted out yet, and even if I got drunk last night and told the same story several times over. Even if I am far from perfect and much more wobbly than balanced. And even if I still cry these days. A lot.

image: 'empty' by atconc via flickr.

Wabi-Sabi life transitions.

Am currently reading Leonard Koren's book: Wabi- Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. It had been sitting on the shelf in my inspiration bookcase for a few months, when a customer came into Book Soup yesterday and requested it. He was so enthusiastic to know that I had heard of it that I knew it was time to read it.

It is a simple quick read, and one that speaks directly to my life at the moment as well as the lives of those around me. So many people I know in Los Angeles and elsewhere seem to be at points of transition. And not easy transition, but painful and wrenching transition, either because of illness, sudden car accidents, break-ups, career changes, and many others. In the arena of there being three legs to the life stool (love and friendship, home, and work), it seems many of us are afraid our stools aren't standing up well enough to hold us.

This book is a beautiful example of how to trust these moments and just keep going... I'll share bits through the time I read it, because I think it is worth writing about more than once.

image: pictoscribe via flickr.

My animal familiar

This is pretty much the best animal equivalent I can offer of my emotional state recently. Amazing how you can run along and then suddenly life startles you into a faint. Ay carumba. Happy friday...

Remabulous profile: Tanya Madoff

Right before BlogHer 08, I spent a lovely evening and day with my friend Tanya, the magical knitter behind Tanya Madoff knits, now also offering the adorable buttons you see above as well as handmade jewelry. As I got ready to put up an interview on our conversation last month, I was pleased to remember that we were speaking out the same issues I wrote about yesterday, regarding assessing value as an artist.

Read on for inspiration to move forward with your creative projects in a positive and powerful way...

image: caroline donahue for Remabulous.

The value of an artist: how do we place value on something so personal as creative work?

One of the biggest challenges I have when working with creative people is to get them to set a real cash value on their products and services that is adequate. People who were formerly cutthroat corporate who would never come down on a price waver on even recouping costs and time spent. Why is this?

What is it about work that involves our creativity and is more personal and intuitive that makes it less valuable? Why do artists routinely waffle on whether or not they even deserve the title? It seems that culturally we are in a bit of a black hole, where as art education funding is cut, so is our respect for the arts as a legitimate field of work.

Another voice on this topic is Gwen Bell, writing about women versus men on this topic, in a similar vein.

What do we need to do to claim ourselves as both creative AND professional?

image: loving earth via flickr

Happy friday: just be glad that Pearl isn't your boss!

Reconstruction: 10 ways to survive post-breakup.

Over the past few days, I have been mired in trying to understand what happened that caused a relationship that I felt had more promise and hope in it than most that I had previously been in to spiral down into a crash-and-burn ending. I have been so lucky to receive comments, thoughts, phone calls, and e-mails from so many wonderful people I am lucky to have in my life. I have gotten to go through the past week with a co-pilot, something I have never been lucky enough to have before. Knowing that there is so much support and opportunity to connect and reach out makes me feel so grateful.

But even with all of that present, it is still painful and sad. Here's how I am trying to make sense of things and move forward:

image: face it. via flickr.

Trying to inspire authenticity.

Since I am Carrie and Danielle's featured profile of the week, and their work is all about inspiring authenticity, I have decided to go for that example this week. I am in a place where my life and my work and my whole world feel like they are being shaken up and down and all over the place. I seem to have lost all the bearings I had even just a week or two ago.

I used to have this idea that we keep thinking we reach points where life is just a straight shot forward along a planned trajectory and that we can count on that. But then it jerks to the side and back and when we turn around and look back, nothing has happened in a straight line. That is how it feels at the moment.

Onward and Upward: I'm an example of authenticity on Carrie and Danielle!

Everyone, please check me out as an example of authenticity on www.carrieanddanielle.com. I am really excited to be featured because I so admire their work, which has helped me focus and refine my vision for both my business and my life. I had a Statement Session with them last year and it has been a huge source of support since. I highly recommend both their philosophy and their work. Check out their beautiful new book as well as their inspiring website.