Posts Tagged ‘awareness’

What They Say …

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

Glasses with pink handmade paper

Lately, I find myself thinking about “they says.” You know, those statements that we encounter in life that are spoken as truisms. Perhaps meant to be helpful guides like …

Once a cheater always a cheater.

Hmmm. How helpful is that?

The date of my last post – June 24th – hits me right between the eyes with another “they say.” They say that a blogger should never leave their blog unattended for a long period of time without making an official “I am on a blogging hiatus” statement. They say it’s bad business. (They also say “right between the eyes” is a cliché and writers shouldn’t use clichés.)

Well, I say:
What if
I didn’t know I was going to take a hiatus?
What if
life happened – as it so often does – and I just got caught up in living it and wasn’t in the space to write about it?
What if
I just wanted to BE in the experiences? (Some of which were very cool, by the way, and will be shared here.)
What if I’m not a writer and just a gal with a messy room?

BESIDES, who are THEY anyway? And where do THEY get their information? I mean, they must really get around because they have a lot to (more…)

Juliette’s Street Ephemera

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Pabst Blue Street Ephemera by Juliette Mansour

Photo by Juliette Mansour of Casa Dresden

Inspiration is unpredictable. That’s what makes it so magical. When it strikes it has that first time freshness – like falling in love – that defies the dull, deadening impulses of the mundane.

We might yearn for inspiration. Even create an environment that encourages it. But, in the end, inspiration will not be bought nor controlled. That we might take delight.

As a street photographer, Juliette finds her inspiration is often right around the corner. We seem to share a muse because what inspires her frequently inspires me. Her comment and blog link on Shoeboxes and Found Objects inspired an ephemeral muse-fusion that we are collaborating to capture. That we might share delight!

“Bernadette, you can find interesting ephemera on the streets! Check out this collection of odd, artistic, far out street stuff on my blog … okay, well some are ephemera anyway!”

Street Stories: Many Angry Eggs

Many Angry Eggs

“From carved out, psychedelic-colored, old refrigerators to creepy skulls hanging from a tree, here are some bizarre things found on the street that makes one stop and think, “how did that get there?”

Street Stories Winter Seating

Winter Seating

BIG ephemera that certainly fits my definition. With photo captions like: Skull in the Yard • Lost Bed • An Old Make Out Place • Psycho Fridge • Welcome No One (more…)

Awareness: Shoe Boxes & Found-Objects

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Ephemera with Cross

I’m pulling this one out of the archive closet. It really speaks to this newly purposed blog format for the Messy Room. And it also speaks to journaling the journey!

•  •  •  •  •  •

Original Entry: April 5, 2007

Those of you who signed up for our manifestation series will know what I mean when I say I am working on the first part of the formula. Got to walk the talk, right? So, I want to share a fun awareness that very quietly slipped into view last week – between the waxing moon and full moon.

Something interesting – or should I say someone interesting – has reappeared. My artist self. It took two layovers in Atlanta, a week apart, in one particular bookstore – wandering the aisles and killing time between Feng Shui appointments – to finally notice her presence. (I live a good ways from Atlanta so I consider these kind of layovers a real treat.)

Anyway, back to wandering the aisles, sipping coffee, and scanning the usual shelves. (Self help. Interior design. Philosophy. Metaphysical.) On my second visit, I found an angel card deck by Doreen Virtue that was not sealed and treated myself to a mini-reading. That must have been where my artist self saw her opportunity to sneak in because immediately afterward I landed in the art section, specifically the craft section, pouring through pages and pages of how to’s. Papermaking, hand-bound journals, altered books, collages, artist trading cards. Art decorated with found objects given a new purpose. Bits and pieces of God knows what from God knows where. The funkier the better.

Guess I got a little tipsy because the next thing I knew I was in the checkout (more…)

My Life as Ephemera

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Ephemera Bits & Pieces

e•phem•er•a 1. something that is transitory and without lasting significance  2. a range of collectable items that were originally designated to be short-lived

I have a secret, long-time love affair with ephemera.

If you traveled back in time with me and rummaged through one of the bedroom closets from my childhood, we would find shoe boxes (neatly stacked, of course) filled with cast-offs and found objects.

Plastic flower pieces. (Yes, I grew up in the plastic flower era.) Broken bits of jewelry. Belt buckles. Assorted rocks and seashells. Coins from mysterious foreign lands. (Okay, Canadian coins from across the river.) Bits of lace and embroidery thread. Odd buttons. Aluminum foil scraps and colored tissue paper. And a clothespin or two.

If we fast-forward to one of my bedroom closets, say around the age of sixteen, we would find bigger boxes with cast off clothing.

Grandma Doll’s crocheted aprons. (Waiting to be converted to vests and halter-tops.) Mom’s 50’s pearl-buttoned sweaters and jackets. (Waiting to be worn with my favorite hip-hugger bell bottom jeans – the pair with the chessboard appliqué on the butt stitched by yours truly.) Grandma Smith’s Greta Garbo-esque satin wedding dress. (Too precious to cut up but a definite inspiration.) An older  cousin’s 40’s taffeta and organdy party dress. Gloves in assorted shades of white to ivory. A black Cossack-style coat. And a velvet hand-beaded by somebody in the family purse.

If we fast-forward just a little more, we’d find a freshly married Bernadette merging with life in the fast lane – a life that left her no time for the magical meanderings ephemera encouraged.

•  •  •  •  •

Ephemera Bits 1

 

“The creation story portrays the love of a creative God lifting beauty and order out of the chaos.” – Sr. Macrina Weiderkehr O.S.B.

 

Now, lets visit one more Bernadette. The one who, when swept to the curb, scrambled to salvage bits of her broken dreams before they (more…)

Shades of Picasso

Monday, January 31st, 2011

Shades of Picasso

 

So, today was supposed to be a writing day for the Messy Room blog and I realized, about an hour ago after the “rescue-kitty” dominos fell, that my ideal for the day wasn’t going to happen. As I maneuvered through the maze of closed doors to make the cat introductions – again – and set the pecking order ground rules – again – I thought, “Why do I have this mess in my house?”

No, Ray hasn’t moved out. WE still own this house. I say “my house” because the drama between these cats in this house is mine. And their infringement into my writing consciousness is mine. (Ray is happily painting in the studio of his house  – with Reesie, our somewhat feral kitty.)

I’m sure there is a classroom in here but not so sure about getting a passing grade on this one. I don’t know that I will ever overcome my predisposition to be “distractedly” overprotective when it comes to cats. (All right, people too.)

After a few frustrated tears and lassoing Ray on his way to refill his coffee cup, it hit me; this is exactly why I re-purposed this blog. Exactly why it is now “Musings from the Messy Room.” I don’t have to wow you with insights and such. I just have to show up with my mess. So here I am.

If you have a moral to the story – or a mess of your own to share – PLEASE jump in! And don’t trip over the cats.

When Enough Is Enough

Saturday, November 27th, 2010

enough is enough

“Can You Say No To Too Many Choices?” Great question posed in this article written by Barry Schwartz who eases us into the idea that more choices do not necessarily give us a greater sense of freedom with his visit to a local market where he encounters

“… 285 varieties and brands of cookies, 75 iced tea drinks, 40 toothpastes, 230 soups, 175 salad dressings, and 275 cereals.”

What’s the big deal, you say? Studies are showing that more choices have not made us more happy. More stressed? Yes. More depressed? Yes. More anxious? Yes.

Humbling? Yes. This is not where we thought we were heading a generation ago.

Fine. Lets go back to food choices then. They’re easy. Right? That is, until your partner asks you where you want (more…)

Sunday Scribblings #238: what do you make of curious?

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

Chloe the Muse Sculpted by Karla Zdroik of Kamansa Korner

Chloe the Muse sculpted by Karla Zdroik

Sunday Scribblings #238 Writing Prompt: what do you make of curious?

What do I make of curious?

I am curious how, in attempting to coax out my visual artist, I wound up on a writing prompt site.

Was it the word “Sunday” or “Scribblings” that lured me in?

I am more curious at the thought that I am apparently going to post this and link it back to Sunday Scribblings as the prompt suggests.

I am wondering – oops curious – if this is just another stall tactic, if my writer is threatened by all the hoopla of late made by my artist.

What do I make of a curiously quiet house on a Sunday afternoon? A decision to treat myself while Theo helps Daddy sleep off his pneumonia. An intentional artist’s date, curled up on the sofa with Kelly Rae Roberts and her book, Taking Flight: to give your creative spirit wings. A “curious” flip to the back pages under “Resources: Places to Fly.” (That’s how I found you, Laini and Megg. In case you are wondering. It just happened to be Sunday.)

What do I make of curious? I am curious if I can use my writer to launch my artist. If they will ever make peace and learn how to share this middle-aged woman’s energy. (She has a plan – albeit loose – but a plan none the less.)

I am curious. Will I click “Publish”?

Hmmm. Do I put this under the category “Muses Among Us” – or “Growing Pains”?

For those wondering what Sunday Scribblings is – in their words: ”Sunday Scribblings was set up to provide inspiration and motivation for anyone who enjoys writing and would like a weekly challenge.” Click here to check them out!

Entered through the Art Gallery? Click here to go back.

Do I Dare?

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Alone

“Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries.” – Theodore Roethke

I might be breaking some blogger’s code by pulling this post out of the archives but it tied so beautifully to the quote that I just found by Mr. Roethke and last week’s theme  (Writing Under Fire on our Facebook page) that I couldn’t resist furthering my point about how writing helps us map our way through whatever we need a map for.

The time this post was written is irrelevant. But the growth since that post is not. Growth TIED TO VULNERABILITY that appeared because I kept writing – in this case, out of my comfort zone.

Two years later, this post acts as evidence – a point illustrated.  For you, it may represent something entirely different – unique to your own map and journey. I would love to hear what that is for you. Pull up a chair and join me at the table?


Here’s the Original. Posted July 20, 2008

I am struggling with this blog. I am frustrated and disappointed because I have not been able to experience the depth of voice with it that I imagined I would have when I started to explore this medium of expression just over a year ago.

I am not a writer. Never wanted to be one. I journal.

I write freely in the pages of my journals. I have no cares. No worries about grammar or structure. My goal is simply to express whatever thoughts and feelings come to surface. To capture them on the page where I can see them. Contemplate them. Process them. And witness my growth when I read them.

It doesn’t matter if my thoughts are choppy or incomplete. If I trail from one topic to another. If family and friends don’t understand them after I am gone.

Journaling centers and grounds me. Fuels and focuses me. It is authentic to the moment. Within its process, my only responsibility is to myself.

But when I approach writing in this blog I am immediately confronted with (more…)

A Fortune in Dough

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Footprints in Sand

Forgive it Forward: Follow Those Footprints

Sometimes it helps to follow in someone’s footsteps – even if only for a short while. For that reason, Ray and I have started this series; a virtual footprint forum for muses with stories, ideas and tips that we think worth sharing. We hope your ‘walk’ with them makes your day a little lighter and brighter –and that you leave with something that inspires you to forgive it forward, backward, upward and downward!

This story is being shared under the category of forgiveness as a reminder. In the flurry of day-to-day living, it is moments like these, shared between a young boy and his mother, that capture the heart and are worthy of our capacity for memory – not the ones that disappoint. And when someone we love loses their ability to remember, these are the ones that we hold for them as well as ourselves. Which is why we found “A Fortune in Dough” by Ray Harwell priceless. So, sit back and pour yourself a cup of coffee, or tea if you prefer, and travel back in time with us as we share a precious memory in the making.


GUEST MUSINGS BY: Ray Harwell, Agricultural Research Assistant

 “Tell me the story, Momma.” It had been a while since the last time I had asked and I knew that if I asked too often she would say no. She acted as though she hadn’t heard a word I had said. I stood behind her, over near the fireplace, watching as she prepared her work on the breakfast meal. I stuck a thumb in my mouth and contemplated whether or not she had, in fact, heard me. This was somewhat dangerous ground. One false move here and there would be no story this morning. Why, it may even be days if I pushed too hard. In a flurry of action she had turned on the stove eyes and the oven, gotten stuff out of the fridgedair and had made several trips to and from the sink. I had to act soon. Making my way around the table (it was an extremely large table where all members of the family had a designated seat) I saddled up close to her right side. She looked down at me and in those big beautiful brown eyes I could actually see the love pour out and down on me.

“Oh, not this morning!” she said turning once again to her work. “Your daddy will be in from the barn soon and I need to have things ready.” It was time for a bold move. Removing the thumb from my mouth and wiping it on my shirt, I started tugging on one of the many straight-backed chairs that surrounded that (more…)

Metaphysical Malpractice (a.k.a. what did you do to deserve this?)

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Footprints in Sand

Forgive it Forward: Follow Those Footprints

Sometimes it helps to follow in someone’s footsteps – even if only for a short while. For that reason, Ray and I have started this series; a virtual footprint forum for muses with stories, ideas and tips that we think worth sharing. We hope your ‘walk’ with them makes your day a little lighter and brighter – and that you leave with something that inspires you to forgive it forward, backward, upward and downward!

In this post, we invite you to follow Michele’s footprints. (And we encourage you to pay close attention because, though she has a big heart, she has little feet that like to break out in dance.)

 

GUEST MUSINGS BY: Michele Sevacko, New Thought Minister

Note: If you always get what you desire … if you only attract “good” … then you might want to skip this post. (Or better still, contribute to this post!) 

If, like me, you’ve been involved in New Thought or Metaphysics for a while (even just a little while) or if you’ve explored the Law of Attraction, you may have heard the expression “what did you (or I) do to attract this?” 

I call this “Metaphysical Malpractice.” Often, all this question results in is feelings of guilt – ’cause if you’re attracting it, then you must’ve done something “wrong” or “bad.”  Right? 

Well, not really. There may be something that you could possibly do differently; but it’s not about making a judgment of bad, good, better, etc. That just takes you one (more…)