it's the 30 days of (something)! oh, yay. i'm so glad for your company in this. you all are inspiring me.

i have to say, my morning pages are going well. i am not exactly rolling out of bed and writing, but i have written (i mean typed) every morning. there really is something about clearing the mind in the morning that lets more good stuff in. the thing i have noticed, however, is that i need to write more than three pages in order for my more unconscious thoughts to start bubbling up. around page four or so, if i write that much, something comes out that i didn't expect.

by the way, for those of you who are also doing morning pages, jamie ridler is hosting a regular check-in this month for people doing morning pages. serendipitous timing, i say!

i did finally decide on my intention (or theme) for the month. it's flow. i spent some time with flow earlier this year, but clearly it needs more time and focus. (actually, the sense i am getting right now is that flow needs to be my word for 2012.) right now, i am just trying to notice when i am not in it. this seems to be often.

if you are joining in and want to check in on this post, i would love love love to hear from you. regardless, know that i am happy that we're all in this together, and am cheering you on.

{my attempt to capture 52 photos that represent trust – my word for 2011}.

there was just something about the raindrops on the delicate tendrils that said trust to me.

{an extremely irregular series inspired by kelly, in which atlas dispenses pearls of wisdom}

"sometimes you just have to let your people do what they want to do, in order to get some peace. besides, better a buried paw than a silly outfit."

"It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between."

– Diane Ackerman

my 30 days of (shiva nata) practice back in june was made even better because of everyone who joined in with their own particular practice. since september has 30 days, i’ve decided to do another 30 day practice. you are all invited to join me.

this time, i want to do morning pages. if you’ve read the artist’s way, by julia cameron, you’re probably familiar with the idea. in case you’re not – it’s three pages of writing, every morning, anything that comes to your mind. i am forgoing the written word, however, in order to use 750words.com. i am much more likely to type than i am to write. plus, i am a speedy typer.

in june, i also set an intention (or theme) for the month: permission. i think i want to set an intention for september as well, but i just cannot decide on one. the current top contenders are permission (yes, again), pleasure, flow, and joy. good thing i still have some time.

anyway, that’s the plan – 30 days of morning pages, starting september 1.

if you want to join me, i would love to have the company. maybe you have something you want to focus on for 30 days and could use the support? maybe it’s a practice? maybe it’s a theme? maybe it’s something you want to eliminate from your life? the options are endless.

i’ll plan to check in on mondays again in case you decide to join me and want to share how it’s going.

here’s to the joy of practice!

{my attempt to capture 52 photos that represent trust – my word for 2011}.

today, in search of a thread to share in my musings on trust, i pull from my journal.

what if i were worthy?

huh. that would be a game-changer. the trouble is that it's hard to just think yourself worthy after years of hearing, learning, thinking, believing that you are not.

if i believed in miracles, i would believe that i could just flip a switch and transform this pattern. except even that is scary because it seems to make all the years of suffering unnecessary.

and yet, maybe everything happens the way it does in order to bring us to this moment.

everything certainly does happen the way it does in order to bring us to this moment. that is the truth of it. (the question is whether there is a plan or a point or a method to the madness. maybe it doesn't really matter – unless it brings me comfort.)

and so, this is where i am – still sitting with the question.

what if i am worthy?

i draw in my breath. the answer, it seems, could change everything.

{i suspect this may become another extremely irregular series because i do so love mark rothko’s paintings.}

“Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in.”

– Amy Lowell

we all need days where we (plus a good book) move from the beach to a hammock to a comfy chair to the dinner table to a comfy chair to a homemade ice cream stand. summers on cape cod are indeed delightful.

of course, this was not that day. this day was rainy.

minus the hammock, and the beach, this weekend looked rather like my vacation. both saturday and sunday were in the 90s, so atlas and i turned into slugs and ate excessive amounts of watermelon. plus, it was the weekend of the hillsboro airshow and i can see bits of the main acts from the park behind my house. there is nothing quite like the roar and rumble of fighter jets flying overhead.

i hope your weekend was just as good.

{my attempt to capture 52 photos that represent trust – my word for 2011}.

trusting in

the light
and the dark,

the up
and the down,

the hard
and the soft.

the lines,
and all the spaces in between.

off and on over the past many months, i noticed a huge feeling of resistance to the idea of selling prints. it just didn’t feel like me, and i kept wanting to remove prints from my etsy shop altogether.

this seemed rather puzzling. i thought i wanted to offer prints, but clearly something about it felt wrong.

one day, i realized the problem. i’m not offering prints in a way that is fun for me. it feels rather like i have turned my prints into a widget and i am the assembly line. of course that’s not exactly what is happening, but somehow it’s missing the same light and playful spirit that is present with my cards and postcards.

my resulting epiphany: it’s not enough to love the thing i’m offering. i have to love the process of offering it as well.

i want to bring that light and playful spirit back. i want my print offering to be full of surprise and delight and joyful anticipation. for me and for you.

so, here’s what’s going to happen.

at the end of august, all of the prints currently in the shop will disappear.

at the beginning of each month – starting in september – i’ll add a set of prints to the shop. my sense is that it will be between one and five. there may be a theme. (oh, who am i kidding; of course there will be a theme!) the sizes and prices will depend entirely on the prints.

at the beginning of the next month, those prints will disappear, and a new set will take their place. it’s entirely possible that a particular image may show up again someday; then again, it may not.

it’s a wandering collection of prints!

oh, the fun. i am so excited to play with this, and i hope you enjoy it too.