Visioning Collages

This was our retreat group that worked on the visioning process this past weekend. A couple of people weren't able to come, unfortunately, but the four of us had a good time.

In the porch swing are Danielle on the left and Jade on the right. In the back are me on the left and Teresa on the right. Teresa and I have done this process before, but it was new to Danielle and Jade.



We met in Ramona, which is a great place for a retreat. It's a quiet town of fewer than 100 people.



The concept is to start with a focus phrase and create a collage that illustrates the phrase. Everyone was generous enough to allow me to share their finished products here on the blog, as well as their statements.

Jade started Saturday with yoga, as she does every day.



We were pretty relaxed, and took some time to enjoy the front porch before getting down to business.





But we went inside to ourstacks of magazines, scissors and glue. I am sharing some photos of every one working away.









Teresa made a delicious lunch of salad for us.



It was nice to take the time to eat together. The other time I did this process with a group we never had time to do that, or sit on the porch, or do anything except work on the projcet at hand.

















Jade was making fast process so I had to take a look.



I was having some difficulty with the process this time. You can see my pile of pictures and words here, many of which didn't make the cut to the final product.



There's a point where everything is chaos. We all had that feeling at one time or another.









Jade was the first one finished, and was pleased with her collage.







Danielle was the next one finished.



She even had time to do both sides, as you'll see below.



Teresa and I were still working, although I finished later that afternoon. Teresa was still finishing details for awhile.



Jade's focus statement was "Connecting with Joy."





Danielle's was "Living Free." She did both sides of her posterboard.





My statement was "My Ideal Life."





Teresa's was "It's Cleaned Up."





All in all it was a very productive weekend. I have my collage on the wall in my home office where I can see it every day. I'm so appreciative of the women who undertook this journey with me.

Messenger

This morning before we talked about our vision collages, Danille and I went out for a walk. We were greeted with this sight. Some believe these birds to be messengers. I'm not sure if that's why we were graced with his presence or not, but it was a beautiful sight.

Collage process

We are working on our vision collages. The process is fun but daunting at times.

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Lighting candles

Whenever I find myself in a Catholic church I light candles. I'm not catholic but try to respect all faith traditions and this is a ritual I love. Its quite beautiful. Yesterday and today I lit candles for each of us in this process, another for my best friend, another for those I love and one last one for those I've not loved as well as I should have. I do love the ideas behind lighting candles.

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Faith

I try to respect different faith traditions and although I'm not Catholic I really appreciate the amazing buildings dotted across the landscape that house the worshippers.

Whatever your faith path I think its positive to see what others do. Wisdom comes in many forms. Something that continues to be made real to me.

Friends are on their way now to join me in a visioning process which we will undertake tomorrow. I'm certain it will be enlightening.

Visioning

The retreat is going well so far. Reading and writing a lot. Tomorrow I will engage with friends who are doing the same.

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Prairie Skies

The prairie skies are cooperating today with my wish to be in retreat. A cold rain makes contemplation the order of the day and night.

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Retreat

The next few days I will not be online very much, so I expect blogging will be sparse. I genuinely appreciate that people are concerned about me on the rare occasions I'm away from the blog for a day or so. Beginning Wednesday after work, I am in retreat through the weekend, and I will not be inviting the world wide web along as this will require quiet, focused attention.

I feel it necessary to have these times when we step back and take stock of our lives, and decide where we want to go next. I find it inspiring to gather with friends and engage in activities that lead to contemplation. This is the time I've set aside for that this spring.

People often comment to me that I do so many different things and I never seem to be tired or overwhelmed. In reality I experience both of those things. And there are dozens of things I can think of that I could and maybe "should" be doing the next few days. But, instead, I set aside this time some weeks ago and it is sacrosanct.

I will be in retreat, visioning a new approach to life, bonding with people in a meaningful way, and participating in a group that will have its ups and downs but will create a moment, a space, an experience, that has never before existed. And that is extraordinary. I will bear witness to the journeys of others, and they will do the same for me.

Six of us have devoted ourselves to this process and we will be changed on the other side of it. I'm fortunate to know people who are willing to accept such a challenge without hesitation, who will say "yes" to taking the road less travelled. I am blessed.

Quote of the day

"Children almost broken by the world are the adults most likely to change it." Frank Warren

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Facebook and Privacy

There's much discussion these days about Facebook and privacy.

News Flash: If you're reading this, you're online, and you've already given up your privacy.

Okay... lets move on to a more interesting topic.

Not ready yet? Of course not. Because people love to discuss their privacy concerns in completely non-private forums. If you're concerned about privacy why would you ever, in a million bazillion gazillion years, interact with something called the WORLD WIDE web? Why would you ever have made that decision?

Look, here's the deal, you gave up privacy when you got an email. Wait, when you got a cell phone. Wait, it was when you got a landline. Wait, it was when you bought a house. Wait, it was when you got a driver's license. Wait, it was when you got a birth certificate. Regardless of when it was, that ship has sailed. Let it go. Stop worrying about it. What are you doing that you need so much privacy for, anyway?

News Flash Deux: You do not have to be on Facebook. If you really believe it's the devil just deactivate your account, have it deleted, and move on down the digital highway. Actually, you'll need to shut off your computer and never connect to the internet again. Absolutely no wireless signal. You also need to get rid of your cell phone. No more ordering from Amazon and no more using GPS.

If you need this much privacy, I'd suggest you stake out a small cabin in the wilderness somewhere and work on your manifesto. You'll need to do that off the grid, of course, because you can't have privacy and have electricity, gas service, cable television, a credit card, health insurance, social security, a phone, or a few thousand other things most of us think are pretty nifty. Of course, if privacy is this much of a concern, you certainly won't want any medical care, anyway, so I guess health insurance is not an issue. Please, no magazine subscriptions or checking accounts.

But one of the fabulous things about living in the United States is that you have the free will to have all the privacy you want. But lets not pretend you're that concerned about it when you're zapping emails hither and yon every day, chatting on your cell phone and - heaven forbid - using a garage door opener that has a radio signal in it that could be picked up by... well... by... gosh... who knows... maybe the guy down the street. But, not to worry, he's probably absorbed in Facebook and won't notice. See how Facebook just protected your privacy?

Participating in Life

A friend and I were talking this weekend and she was saying that she admired the way I was "participating" in life and she felt like she was a "spectator." Her perception, which I've heard from others, is that I do "cool stuff" and go to "interesting lectures" and have "neat events" at my home. She mentioned, as others have, that I have "a gift" for gathering people together.

She has asked if I would give some presentations about how to be a participant in life instead of letting life just happen. While I love to do speeches, I'm unclear what information I need to share in this case.

All of these things are natural to me. Because new thoughts inspire me I seek them out, and make things like lectures a priority. When I have an idea for an event I just pick a date and ask some friends to join me.

Because it all seems very straightforward to me, I cannot identify what would be beneficial to others. I asked her, "what do I know that others don't know?" She's thinking that over. Obviously, if I'm going to give a presentation on the topic I need to know what to cover. If you have any thoughts on the subject I'd be delighted to hear them.

Old Friends, New Friends, Christmas Cactus and Tracing Paper

Tonight my friend, Kristine, took me to El Dorado Lake to meet her friend, Vicki, who has a fabulous house with amazing vistas. This Christmas cactus was blooming and I couldn't resist a photo as dusk fell and the brilliant blue out the window was framing the red blooms. Of course, a couple of kitty cats asleep in a window seat only adds to almost any scene.

Vicki took us on a tour of her home, including her creative space where she sews and works on other projects.



These neatly organized buttons and notions caught my eye.



Vicki and Kristine have birthdays that are close to each other on the calendar, and this was their birthday gathering. It was so nice of them to include me. Vicki had gotten Kristine's favorite - angel food cake and strawberries. It was delicious.

It was a nice end to a full Saturday that started at the Farmer's Market.



Today was the opening day and it was hopping. I didn't go until after 11 and it was still busy. It occurred to me it might be a good place to set up an art booth on occasion. Don't know that I'll ever do it or if it even fits their criteria, but it could be cool.



After the Farmer's Market I met Greg at Roy's. I can't go as often these days now that I work in an office with other folks who might not always enjoy the smell of barbecue all afternoon. So, it was good to correct my Roy's deficiency today.



After Roy's I made a stop at the Et Cetera shop where I got some treasures. I was more than a little excited to find the tracing paper on the right here. It has been used, so has little indentations from the tracing wheel on it. I know it will be a great addition to an art project. A little paint on it to accentuate the indentations will do wonders.

While I was still excited about that find, I noticed another package, which is an even older one. Grand total for both purchases was 30 cents. That wasn't all I bought there today, of course.

It has been a very nice Saturday. Nothing on my "have to do" list got done, but I had a great time.

Beauty in the Day

Last week (or was it the week before) when I was driving through the Flint Hills I noticed these beautiful clouds. The photo doesn't do them justice. They were different shades of blue - perfect, clear, beautiful blue.

The prairie has a beauty that is unlike any other kind of beauty. It's more subtle, some might say more stark. I'm from a part of the country where beauty is very evident. Everywhere you look there are green trees, rolling hills and a lush landscape. The prairie does not give up its secrets so easily.

For the past few years the message has come to me multiple times in different ways that I need more beauty in my life. I'm never sure what to do with that. I try to pay attention to beauty around me. But it seems the universe is telling me there's more to appreciate than I've noted.

The days can slip by so quickly, with little time for noticing the beauty around us. Now I spend my work days in a windowless office, so the beauty of the outside world is not available to me during much of the day. But of course there's beauty beyond the natural world.

Earlier this week I spent a day outdoors with campers from one of the summer camps at work. These were eighth graders from El Paso, and they gave me a good feeling about the future. They were kind and helpful to each other, self-assured, intelligent and delightful company. I took photos and video of them doing their various activities.



Today I made a quick trip to Wichita to be on one of the midday news shows, talking about the Coffee next week, which I'm sorry to say I'll miss because I'll be out of the office.

I'm going away for a retreat. I need it. There is much going on in my life and I need to do some sorting and prioritizing.