Lianna - thank you for commenting and letting me know how you wound your way here. I really appreciate that. I am happy to have been company during the fireplace painting!
Thank you for the book mentions and the discussion of hope and fear. Very thought-provoking comments. I have made a note of these books. I appreciate your genuine response.
And thank you for sharing your sky. It is, indeed, a great word :)
I like the idea of writing a sentence a day. It seems so do-able. Affirmations are good idea, but I’m now trying to take the idea of the simplicity of it to decide what else I could write.
I like the verb “connect”. That is loud for me today.
I have decided to hand letter song lyrics over watercolor washes & drawings for 100 days. The oddball songs taking up real estate in my brain daily have been nudging me in that direction.
I’m reading “Fraud” by Zadie Smith. I love how she writes.
I follow an account on IG called @dissapointingaffirmations and it makes me giggle on occasion. But also, I find myself leaning into certain phrases & slogans & affirmations when feeling overwhelmed or sad. I think curating the words that matter to YOU is important and that is a journey. And also way better than a fork in the foot.
A lyric project will be wonderful and lots of fun to see unfold as you do it! I looked up the disappointing affirmations account and followed. I can see the appeal! lol about the fork in the foot ;)
Hello to you Amy. When I see your post in my inbox I usually think “Do I want to take the time to read it now?”, then I take a peak. Then I skim. Then I read it all- of course. I enjoyed Matt’s video. Then I watched the one about remembering what you read.
I don’t typically meditate as a separate practice but I believe that my alone time, quiet morning time or pulling weeds time - as thoughts come to me and I either stay with it or let it pass, is my own form of time spent meditating. This can also be the self-talk/affirmation time. Just plugging in those beneficial thoughts during our quiet time (not necessarily standing in front of the mirror). Thanks for sharing and your inspiration.
Thank you, Carol. I am glad you sometimes are tempted to read. I always appreciate it. I’m glad you liked the video - and the other one, too. I will have to rewatch that one because I don’t remember his tips on remembering what you read. I think you have a wonderful and intentional practice of meditating while moving through your day!
The verb that stood out to me is release. I think I'm getting an extensive lesson on releasing things lately, whether it be material things, perceptions, expectations, or negative feelings. I feel I'm on a path of learning to release myself from things that have held me back and kept me from truly living authentically and freely. It's scary and exciting. It feels I'm approaching a time where I might finally get to meet myself instead of the self that has been created by so many external factors.
The sky here, is solid white/overcast. A bit dreary, but at least it's daylight a little longer and spring is coming. 🥰 I saw Easter lily stalks yesterday poking up through the mud and it made me smile.
Wow… that’s powerful, Susan. I bet you could write 100 lines that all start with I release…I’m glad you are in this season of change and allowing and embracing it. I agree the light is already noticeably longer. It’s shocking how quickly that happens. I’m glad you saw signs of spring.
Haha Siri’s affirmations are the strangest things! They sound like one liners from an open mic night for wannabe stand up comics. I get what you are saying about affirmations, whether they are pointing inward or outward, it can feel like the implication is that something isn’t performing up to snuff. This idea was the basis of a book I just read, after listening to an interesting interview with the author. In a nutshell she is saying that the whole wellness shtick directed at women can be a capitalist bandaid for the systemic pressures on women to be caregivers, breadwinners, mothers, domestic goddesses etc without any true safety/social nets regarding health, employment, caregiver leave, etc. It had some very heady ideas and statements. Definitely a lot of anger. I’m not sure if I can whole heartedly recommend it but I will say a lot of what she discusses has crossed my mind before. “Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included) Book by Pooja Lakshmin, MD”
They are odd.... really. And oddly enough, two of the ones I listed here repeated for me since posting this. They are early ones, I know, and I'm wondering if I've hit the end of the pool, and it's started over. Strange. You would think that would be a very big list! Thank you for sharing the book you read. Sounds pretty intense!
I’ve written elsewhere, on my own Substack and in the notes on Sidewalk Oracles, about what my 100 day project might be. But these affirmations are appealing, too. Partly because they go down so easily. I just batted out a list from your blanks in about 12 minutes.
About the sky here, it is astonishing. I look out over a roofline to a forest and above that clouds that change all day. Crows flap, hawks glide. I saw an owl flash by once. I will be giving up the sky when I move home in a few weeks. I’ll have a view of the backyard carport and the neighbor’s very lovely dogwood instead.
I know you’ve been considering several things, and whatever direction you take will be great! Your sky sounds lovely….I’m sure you’ve seen in in all kinds of guises. Dogwood will be beautiful, too. I hope you are looking forward to the move.
Our skies were cloudy with no chance of sunshine today. I was 3 hours north of my home, at my parents, and it was the same as I drove all the way back this afternoon. It’s great driving weather!
I’m currently reading 2 books—
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye, a book about a character who parallels Jane Eyre, but is also a serial murderer!!! I’m only 20 pages in, but I’m looking forward to it.
In my drive today I listened to the end of Argylle by Ella Conway—almost! I have about half an hour to go. Spy novel. This week my daughter and I might go see the movie that is sort of based on the book. Same character, but a different story.
I hope your visit was good and the drive easy. Cloudy skies make for easier driving sometimes. It’s good you had a book to keep you company. I don’t know either of the ones you mentioned! I hope you and your daughter enjoy the movie! Thank you for sharing the words you chose.
Yesterday I said yes to Liz Kettle's 100 days of stitch meditation which starts in a few days. That gives me time to find some material to use as a base for each 4 inch square, I also need more fabric to sew on the base. I plan to find the base for the squares today, along with a container for all the stuff and a 2nd container for the pieces created daily. I am also on day 4 of my afformations project.
I love stitching projects for the 100 days! Liz's challenge will be a lot of fun - and mindful, I'm sure. I hope you have fun gathering your resources this week. I always like to go ahead and do one or two days of whatever I'm considering to make sure I really love the process.
I sat down and read this earlier, but I had to go watch the video you linked. I stopped the video halfway because I had to figure out my enneagram number, so I could google affirmations. I took three tests before I could find one that would give me my results for free, then back to the video! So I am a 4, who knew?
I do plan to do the 100 day project. I have been considering a few options. Maybe a comic a day, inspired by you and @Dishkitty (analog or digital?). Also in consideration, following along with the exercises in Lynda Barry’s book on making comics. Another choice could be a series of abstracts….
I am listening to Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, and reading The Sentence by Louise Erdrich.
The sky now is a dark charcoal gray, dark with cloud cover.
I really thought it interesting how Matt went to the enneagram to look at specific affirmations. After seeing him do that, I followed suit and pulled lists for several enneagram types.... (I'm glad you enjoyed your own enneagram rabbit hole. The enneagram can help us understand ourselves, yes, but I found that it helped me understand others. There are some very good podcasts out there -- one of my favorite voices even. I guess I like a lot of voices, but there is an enneagram one I love to listen to.) Comics here, too, but I'm keeping things super simple - and going to pair with what was discussed here. I look forward to seeing what you do. I will ALWAYS recommend working through Lynda's Books, too..... I think reading in something like that each day and following prompts is a great idea. It might not stretch for 100 though as easily. But I would say start that anyway!
I enjoyed the quirky affirmations from Alexa. Gave me a chuckle, and I’m still picturing flowing in a chocolate fountain... I like “gather”. It feels nice right now. Gathering little wisps and bits of imaginary, real, random things together and weaving up something interesting to me. Wandering mentally and gathering? I don’t know but I like that verb right now. My favorite mug is earthy cream and brown with a few random flecks and a couple simple teddy bears on it. It was given to me when I was in fourth grade. It holds comforting moments in it that were sealed up into it many years ago. The tactile, soothing feel of a warm drink that wraps around you and holds you there for a little while. I took it out last week and put it on my desk with the some paintbrushes in it so I could look at it each day. (I’d drink my coffee in it, but it is way too small for that!)
This sounds like a very special mug, indeed! I'm glad you brought it back out where you can see it and it is also useful in your day to day. Thank you for sharing the word that caught your eye.
The ones that resonate with me today are "I release" and "I welcome". I am toying with the idea of a 100 project but I will have to give myself permission to abandon it if it becomes a task to do rather than a treat. I am finally getting around to reading The Sacred and the profane by Mircea Eliade. The sky here today is wonderful - dark clouds moving around but no rain and some sunshine.
Permission to abandon is always something we need…. No guilt. We don’t “owe” our projects to anyone. I think it’s such a misconception that just because someone puts a label on something and we start, we have to finish. Projects should always be for us. Your words…. “If it becomes a task to do rather than a treat”….. important insight. Knowing what tips the scale for YOU is what matters. So, if you do one, I’ll enjoy seeing it at Instagram. Projects and series do have a way of helping keep us connected to our art and the community. I’m glad to hear from you :)
Oh! Thanks for the mention of my newsletter! I appreciate you!! And I totally agree with you: I write quotes, thoughts, affirmations etc in my sketchbooks because they help me in some way at the time or are something I want to remember or think further about.
As for 100 things: currently I'm on day number 472 of my Ray Bradbury Reading Program in which (for 1000 days, yes that's thousand) each day I read one essay, one poem and one short story. I got this creativity stimulus idea from Bradbury's book Zen and the Art of Writing but here's a link re https://kimberlyus.com/i-took-the-ray-bradbury-challenge-for-30-days/
Thank you again for your newsletter and for so kindly mentioning my work!
Oh, wow…. Sue! First, thank you for your comment. (It’s always awkward to tag other writers and artists into long posts — I never want people to feel they have to comment. But I always point readers to inspiring work, like yours.) Your Ray Bradbury project is fascinating. I haven’t heard of that, but I’m intrigued. I will check out the link. I love your journals — and I hope recovery has gone (or went) well. Last photo I saw was “with boot.” Have a great Sunday.
So kind of you! Thank you for your comments! Recovery is ongoing and feels more possible since I saw a specialist and got a cast on the foot. Thanks again!!
Goodness, Amy. I read most of this days ago, watched the Matt D'Avella video and smiled at his humility, thought about which of your long list of fill in the blanks felt most meaningful. I think I settled on "I embrace _____" and was leaning toward "...not knowing" to complete that sentence. But, "I trust ___" was also in the running, I just couldn't seem to synthesize what I wanted to finish that one with. I trust that I'm in the right place right now. I trust that what is meant to happen will happen. I trust that goodness awaits me. I feel a level of impatience these days, wanting the path to reveal itself more completely, rather than in dribs and drabs. I just keep doing what comes next, not making any big decisions nor big waves. Feels a little underwhelming, but I'm also not prepared for a life-altering bunch of changes just yet. So...
Thank you so much for linking to A Seasonal Affair. My eyes watered on my windy, cold walk today, but it was still better than overheating and swatting mosquitoes. LOL!
So nice to hear from you…. And to see how you thought through the words. I find it interesting when we stop to fill in the blanks ourselves …. We may come up with something similar to what we find on a canned list, but there is something in the “construction” in the moment and as we scan the infinite number of words that might belong. It’s much harder than it seems….and intriguingly abstract, I find. I appreciate you sharing your “I trust” ….. beautifully written…. There is such calm here in this trusting and waiting. Sometimes we really do need to simply breathe. Happy Sunday - and I am happy to share your work. (I don’t always tag authors directly and just link to posts…I decided last night to properly tag everyone on this one. Sorry if it felt like a nudge. Not intended that way!)
Lianna - thank you for commenting and letting me know how you wound your way here. I really appreciate that. I am happy to have been company during the fireplace painting!
Thank you for the book mentions and the discussion of hope and fear. Very thought-provoking comments. I have made a note of these books. I appreciate your genuine response.
And thank you for sharing your sky. It is, indeed, a great word :)
I like the idea of writing a sentence a day. It seems so do-able. Affirmations are good idea, but I’m now trying to take the idea of the simplicity of it to decide what else I could write.
I hope you come up with something that you will really enjoy!
I like the verb “connect”. That is loud for me today.
I have decided to hand letter song lyrics over watercolor washes & drawings for 100 days. The oddball songs taking up real estate in my brain daily have been nudging me in that direction.
I’m reading “Fraud” by Zadie Smith. I love how she writes.
I follow an account on IG called @dissapointingaffirmations and it makes me giggle on occasion. But also, I find myself leaning into certain phrases & slogans & affirmations when feeling overwhelmed or sad. I think curating the words that matter to YOU is important and that is a journey. And also way better than a fork in the foot.
A lyric project will be wonderful and lots of fun to see unfold as you do it! I looked up the disappointing affirmations account and followed. I can see the appeal! lol about the fork in the foot ;)
I love disappointing affirmations! It is like they are so accurate it makes me laugh?
Hello to you Amy. When I see your post in my inbox I usually think “Do I want to take the time to read it now?”, then I take a peak. Then I skim. Then I read it all- of course. I enjoyed Matt’s video. Then I watched the one about remembering what you read.
I don’t typically meditate as a separate practice but I believe that my alone time, quiet morning time or pulling weeds time - as thoughts come to me and I either stay with it or let it pass, is my own form of time spent meditating. This can also be the self-talk/affirmation time. Just plugging in those beneficial thoughts during our quiet time (not necessarily standing in front of the mirror). Thanks for sharing and your inspiration.
Thank you, Carol. I am glad you sometimes are tempted to read. I always appreciate it. I’m glad you liked the video - and the other one, too. I will have to rewatch that one because I don’t remember his tips on remembering what you read. I think you have a wonderful and intentional practice of meditating while moving through your day!
The verb that stood out to me is release. I think I'm getting an extensive lesson on releasing things lately, whether it be material things, perceptions, expectations, or negative feelings. I feel I'm on a path of learning to release myself from things that have held me back and kept me from truly living authentically and freely. It's scary and exciting. It feels I'm approaching a time where I might finally get to meet myself instead of the self that has been created by so many external factors.
The sky here, is solid white/overcast. A bit dreary, but at least it's daylight a little longer and spring is coming. 🥰 I saw Easter lily stalks yesterday poking up through the mud and it made me smile.
Wow… that’s powerful, Susan. I bet you could write 100 lines that all start with I release…I’m glad you are in this season of change and allowing and embracing it. I agree the light is already noticeably longer. It’s shocking how quickly that happens. I’m glad you saw signs of spring.
Haha Siri’s affirmations are the strangest things! They sound like one liners from an open mic night for wannabe stand up comics. I get what you are saying about affirmations, whether they are pointing inward or outward, it can feel like the implication is that something isn’t performing up to snuff. This idea was the basis of a book I just read, after listening to an interesting interview with the author. In a nutshell she is saying that the whole wellness shtick directed at women can be a capitalist bandaid for the systemic pressures on women to be caregivers, breadwinners, mothers, domestic goddesses etc without any true safety/social nets regarding health, employment, caregiver leave, etc. It had some very heady ideas and statements. Definitely a lot of anger. I’m not sure if I can whole heartedly recommend it but I will say a lot of what she discusses has crossed my mind before. “Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included) Book by Pooja Lakshmin, MD”
They are odd.... really. And oddly enough, two of the ones I listed here repeated for me since posting this. They are early ones, I know, and I'm wondering if I've hit the end of the pool, and it's started over. Strange. You would think that would be a very big list! Thank you for sharing the book you read. Sounds pretty intense!
I’ve written elsewhere, on my own Substack and in the notes on Sidewalk Oracles, about what my 100 day project might be. But these affirmations are appealing, too. Partly because they go down so easily. I just batted out a list from your blanks in about 12 minutes.
About the sky here, it is astonishing. I look out over a roofline to a forest and above that clouds that change all day. Crows flap, hawks glide. I saw an owl flash by once. I will be giving up the sky when I move home in a few weeks. I’ll have a view of the backyard carport and the neighbor’s very lovely dogwood instead.
I know you’ve been considering several things, and whatever direction you take will be great! Your sky sounds lovely….I’m sure you’ve seen in in all kinds of guises. Dogwood will be beautiful, too. I hope you are looking forward to the move.
I release . . .
I create . . .
I harmonize . . .
Our skies were cloudy with no chance of sunshine today. I was 3 hours north of my home, at my parents, and it was the same as I drove all the way back this afternoon. It’s great driving weather!
I’m currently reading 2 books—
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye, a book about a character who parallels Jane Eyre, but is also a serial murderer!!! I’m only 20 pages in, but I’m looking forward to it.
In my drive today I listened to the end of Argylle by Ella Conway—almost! I have about half an hour to go. Spy novel. This week my daughter and I might go see the movie that is sort of based on the book. Same character, but a different story.
I hope your visit was good and the drive easy. Cloudy skies make for easier driving sometimes. It’s good you had a book to keep you company. I don’t know either of the ones you mentioned! I hope you and your daughter enjoy the movie! Thank you for sharing the words you chose.
Yesterday I said yes to Liz Kettle's 100 days of stitch meditation which starts in a few days. That gives me time to find some material to use as a base for each 4 inch square, I also need more fabric to sew on the base. I plan to find the base for the squares today, along with a container for all the stuff and a 2nd container for the pieces created daily. I am also on day 4 of my afformations project.
I love stitching projects for the 100 days! Liz's challenge will be a lot of fun - and mindful, I'm sure. I hope you have fun gathering your resources this week. I always like to go ahead and do one or two days of whatever I'm considering to make sure I really love the process.
“I choose….” Is what jumped out at me first.
I sat down and read this earlier, but I had to go watch the video you linked. I stopped the video halfway because I had to figure out my enneagram number, so I could google affirmations. I took three tests before I could find one that would give me my results for free, then back to the video! So I am a 4, who knew?
I do plan to do the 100 day project. I have been considering a few options. Maybe a comic a day, inspired by you and @Dishkitty (analog or digital?). Also in consideration, following along with the exercises in Lynda Barry’s book on making comics. Another choice could be a series of abstracts….
I am listening to Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, and reading The Sentence by Louise Erdrich.
The sky now is a dark charcoal gray, dark with cloud cover.
I really thought it interesting how Matt went to the enneagram to look at specific affirmations. After seeing him do that, I followed suit and pulled lists for several enneagram types.... (I'm glad you enjoyed your own enneagram rabbit hole. The enneagram can help us understand ourselves, yes, but I found that it helped me understand others. There are some very good podcasts out there -- one of my favorite voices even. I guess I like a lot of voices, but there is an enneagram one I love to listen to.) Comics here, too, but I'm keeping things super simple - and going to pair with what was discussed here. I look forward to seeing what you do. I will ALWAYS recommend working through Lynda's Books, too..... I think reading in something like that each day and following prompts is a great idea. It might not stretch for 100 though as easily. But I would say start that anyway!
Thanks for commenting and sharing the sky.
My collage this week was a cairn inspired by these: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/papercairns/
Oh very cool! Thanks for sharing, Kortney.
I enjoyed the quirky affirmations from Alexa. Gave me a chuckle, and I’m still picturing flowing in a chocolate fountain... I like “gather”. It feels nice right now. Gathering little wisps and bits of imaginary, real, random things together and weaving up something interesting to me. Wandering mentally and gathering? I don’t know but I like that verb right now. My favorite mug is earthy cream and brown with a few random flecks and a couple simple teddy bears on it. It was given to me when I was in fourth grade. It holds comforting moments in it that were sealed up into it many years ago. The tactile, soothing feel of a warm drink that wraps around you and holds you there for a little while. I took it out last week and put it on my desk with the some paintbrushes in it so I could look at it each day. (I’d drink my coffee in it, but it is way too small for that!)
This sounds like a very special mug, indeed! I'm glad you brought it back out where you can see it and it is also useful in your day to day. Thank you for sharing the word that caught your eye.
The ones that resonate with me today are "I release" and "I welcome". I am toying with the idea of a 100 project but I will have to give myself permission to abandon it if it becomes a task to do rather than a treat. I am finally getting around to reading The Sacred and the profane by Mircea Eliade. The sky here today is wonderful - dark clouds moving around but no rain and some sunshine.
Permission to abandon is always something we need…. No guilt. We don’t “owe” our projects to anyone. I think it’s such a misconception that just because someone puts a label on something and we start, we have to finish. Projects should always be for us. Your words…. “If it becomes a task to do rather than a treat”….. important insight. Knowing what tips the scale for YOU is what matters. So, if you do one, I’ll enjoy seeing it at Instagram. Projects and series do have a way of helping keep us connected to our art and the community. I’m glad to hear from you :)
Oh! Thanks for the mention of my newsletter! I appreciate you!! And I totally agree with you: I write quotes, thoughts, affirmations etc in my sketchbooks because they help me in some way at the time or are something I want to remember or think further about.
As for 100 things: currently I'm on day number 472 of my Ray Bradbury Reading Program in which (for 1000 days, yes that's thousand) each day I read one essay, one poem and one short story. I got this creativity stimulus idea from Bradbury's book Zen and the Art of Writing but here's a link re https://kimberlyus.com/i-took-the-ray-bradbury-challenge-for-30-days/
Thank you again for your newsletter and for so kindly mentioning my work!
Oh, wow…. Sue! First, thank you for your comment. (It’s always awkward to tag other writers and artists into long posts — I never want people to feel they have to comment. But I always point readers to inspiring work, like yours.) Your Ray Bradbury project is fascinating. I haven’t heard of that, but I’m intrigued. I will check out the link. I love your journals — and I hope recovery has gone (or went) well. Last photo I saw was “with boot.” Have a great Sunday.
So kind of you! Thank you for your comments! Recovery is ongoing and feels more possible since I saw a specialist and got a cast on the foot. Thanks again!!
Goodness, Amy. I read most of this days ago, watched the Matt D'Avella video and smiled at his humility, thought about which of your long list of fill in the blanks felt most meaningful. I think I settled on "I embrace _____" and was leaning toward "...not knowing" to complete that sentence. But, "I trust ___" was also in the running, I just couldn't seem to synthesize what I wanted to finish that one with. I trust that I'm in the right place right now. I trust that what is meant to happen will happen. I trust that goodness awaits me. I feel a level of impatience these days, wanting the path to reveal itself more completely, rather than in dribs and drabs. I just keep doing what comes next, not making any big decisions nor big waves. Feels a little underwhelming, but I'm also not prepared for a life-altering bunch of changes just yet. So...
Thank you so much for linking to A Seasonal Affair. My eyes watered on my windy, cold walk today, but it was still better than overheating and swatting mosquitoes. LOL!
So nice to hear from you…. And to see how you thought through the words. I find it interesting when we stop to fill in the blanks ourselves …. We may come up with something similar to what we find on a canned list, but there is something in the “construction” in the moment and as we scan the infinite number of words that might belong. It’s much harder than it seems….and intriguingly abstract, I find. I appreciate you sharing your “I trust” ….. beautifully written…. There is such calm here in this trusting and waiting. Sometimes we really do need to simply breathe. Happy Sunday - and I am happy to share your work. (I don’t always tag authors directly and just link to posts…I decided last night to properly tag everyone on this one. Sorry if it felt like a nudge. Not intended that way!)
(And I’m glad you enjoyed Matt’s video!)
I didn't take it as a nudge. But, even if it was, it was the kind I truly appreciate. :)