Welcome to this month’s One Little Word bloghop. This month Ali asked us to connect our word with messages. She asked us to listen to voices around us (or our own) and notice when “sometimes it whispers and sometimes it shouts.”
In contrast to last month, when I couldn’t even remember my word, this month I had two huge revelations about stillness and how I incorporate it into my daily living. I diligently wrote down the messages I was noticing repeatedly this month and created my 9 cards, but only really GOT the lesson afterwards.
After playing with my daughter for awhile on our playroom floor, I got up and heard a crack in my knee. A few days of severe pain later, we were in an orthopedist’s office learning that I tore my medial collateral ligament. (I’ll be fine, don’t worry. It’ll heal on its own.) The injury has forced my usual peppy, upbeat dance soundtrack to slow way down to more of a calm ballad. There is no way I could rush around the house multitasking, no way I could even empty the dishwasher.
I struggled and panicked and fought it. And then I surrendered to it. It’s kind of nice to sit in one spot for awhile and have someone else do things for you! I had to accept the state of the house for whatever it was. I had to be in the present moment and take in the view. I fell into a place of calm and peace.
I am so thankful that I got the message that this situation taught me. Who knows what other unfortunate situation may have arisen had I not listened!
My second revelation: when I am “in the zone” creating something, anything, my mind is focused and still. It feels so good!!! Say I’m behind the camera lens focused on capturing a certain slant of light on a flower petal. In that moment, I am not thinking of my to-do list or of a memory or about anything other than that flower. When I am painting, I am so happy and light. I am only focused on colors and creating. My mind is still.
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I am so awed by these two discoveries, friends. It’s as if they were in plain sight but I couldn’t for the life of me tap into them and connect them to my word. I love it when that happens!
Here are my 9 cards, by the way. Thanks so much for stopping by! I love visitors and I love comments. 🙂 I am still enjoying my birthday (please do read yesterday’s post about that) weekend and I’ll be back here on Wednesday with a new Photo-Heart Connection post. Hop along to visit Margareta next.
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You can see other posts about my OLW project here. Enjoy hopping along!
Lee: thelinarstudio.typepad.com
Cheri: cheriandrews.blogspot.com
Naomi: poeticaperture.com <— you are here
Margareta: paperpilekitten.com <— go here next
Missus Wookie: mrswookieswanderings.blogspot.com
Lisa: Backtoallen.com
Michelle: table-for-five.com
Melanie: mellybirddesigns.wordpress.com
Veronica: http://www.veronicanorris.typepad.com/
Kelly: septemberblue.net
You have such pretty handwriting 🙂 I’m so sorry for the pain that prompted you to be still, but I can’t help but smile in how you embraced that message and let it wash over you! So sorry I’m late visiting this month and happy belated birthday. xo
You’ve reminded me to get my tush in gear for the next blog hop. Thank you for your lovely compliments!
Such wonderful and powerful lessons for you this month. That’s wonderful – though I’m sorry for the pain you had to endure which lead you to the lessons! Funny how some things can be in front of us all the time but it takes something outside ourselves to have us notice. Well done. LOVE the messages on your cards.
Lee recently posted…ONE little WORD | June Blog Hop
That is so true, Lee! I guess most of the wisdom we end up with has always been there for the taking. For some reason, we absorb some things and deflect others, at least for awhile.
Ouch! I dislocated my knee cap last summer and I’m still not 100 % healed. 🙁
I love your OLW page! Beautiful color!
Margareta Carlsson recently posted…One Little Word June Blog Hop!
Oh dear, that’s awful, Margareta. I didn’t realize how every single movement we do seems to involve our knees… until now. I appreciate them so much more.
I’m so sorry to hear about your knee. It’s so hard to be still when you are the one that makes things happen and gets things done! It can be difficult to let that control go. I hope it heals quickly!
I found a phrase in your post itself that is wonderful:
“…be in the present moment and take in the view…”
I’m going to write it down to remind myself to slow down a bit!
Love that! I especially love that I wrote it and didn’t even realize how lovely it sounds. Thank you for pointing it out. 🙂
got totally pulled into your blog and am so grateful that you wrote about the book “steal like an artist” which i have had sitting on my bookshelf for a long time and must now read!! loved all your 38 things you’ve learned thus far in life! always enjoy your blog and am so glad you’re part of the hop each month!! happy belated birthday!
Thank you, Veronica. I am actually in the process of making a book of the first year of posts here and it’s so amazing to me to see how I have changed. You know how you can look back and see that there was a path there all along? an evolution that makes sense? The growth is fascinating to rediscover.
First, I hope your knee feels back to normal quickly. I had something like that happen last year.
Second, those are great discoveries!
Third, I had trouble focusing on your words at first because I was so immersed in your grass photo.
Love the painting photo too!
Thank you!
First….Take care and let it heal thoroughly – cartilage takes a long time to do so. I got some PT exercises which help strengthen the muscles that support your knees.
Second… I nodded and smiled my way through your phrases. The arrows work wonderful with the ‘follow your ideas’ phrase too.
Missus Wookie recently posted…OLW June blog hop
Yikes, I’m having a knee problem that has slowed me down, too. After x-rays and an MRI they still don’t know exactly what’s going on, and wanted to do exploratory surgery, but I declined for now. It is VERY slowly healing.
LOVE your messages, wise one!
janet forrest recently posted…June 1st – My New Challenge
I love how everyone gets something different out of this class. And its just so much more then crafting.
michelle recently posted…One Little Word | May
Great lessons – and I find the same thing when I’m “in the zone” creating. The rest of the world just kind of falls away. And knowing it makes us feel that good… you’d think we would do it more often right???
Cheri recently posted…One Little Word Blog Hop – May