That’s exactly it, Esther! That kind of jar, and I love hearing you did that and that you had a ritual for reading and reflecting on those things… what a beautiful NYE tradition that sounds like! Thank you for reading and commenting. I saw your note about the group you held, and I think that’s wonderful.
"Perspective is about how close or how far we are to or from something, as well as our angle, our vantage, and our lens." This is right on, Amy. Your post reminded me of reading this bit in Jurassic Park in 1990: the smallest shape of something (ex: maple leaf) is a miniature of that something's shape in its biggest form (a maple tree). I translate that as everything matters, big and small, and my perspective and gratitude source are related to my faith. What I like about your post is the reminder that perspective of reality or perceived reality, is bound by a multitude of things. Staying aware of the thought/perspective of "why can't you be/think/live/act like me?" is something that matters a great deal. Thanks for this Sunday morning read.
Thank you for your comment, Mary. I love that image of the maple leaf and the maple tree and the sense of the shape scaling in some way from small to large. That’s a lovely connection and way to think about the big and the small and how it all matters and all contributes to a whole. Thank you.
I am really intrigued by the idea of the origami heart jar. There are so many times when it feels life is overwhelming and seeing the jar fill each day might be a nice way to ground oneself.
I’m glad that called out to you, Rebecca. The image I saw that day was so cool, and I think adding to a jar each day (even just folded slips of paper) can be grounding. I think things we do that give concrete edges help us in that way. If you’ve ever folded a paper football, the heart is very much like that (just small).
Blue. Is that always blue or blue is the addition to black?
It seems there are all kinds of approaches to a small origami puff star. Ultimately, the share the fact that you blow into a small hole to puff them in the end. I’m not sure this is the direction set that I tried, but this is at least one version. (These look a bit bigger than what I saw.) Have fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrjIDfeDGz8
And I love knowing that you have an alarm for this. LOVE! That's exactly it. Alarms like that can see unusual, but sometimes, they really make a lot of sense. Thanks for reading and sharing your optimism (and gratitude practice).
“Many of us fear that as we move farther away from something, we will lose clarity. We will forget.” Yes!
And yes: “On the flip side, there are times when moving farther away brings clarity. Perspective is about distance.”
The latter has been my experience this year: as the days darken, rage fades, understanding grows, and I see not that I was mistaken, but that I had somehow lost my voice.
I thought I was blindly running, fleeing the horror. But I was just buying distance, so I could look back and understand. Sometimes when people tell you to get some perspective, they mean you need to be more balanced, less confrontational, less adamant about principle, less focused on what you know to be right. It’s a Gaslighter’s term. But in the art metaphors – and the practice – I understand a different perspective, the critical swivel of my mind’s eye. Perspective is everything. But I still believe in certain absolutes.
(Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of perspective — in its nonviolent form — and all the nuanced things you have to say about it.)
I have always been about the macro, the big picture, the strategy and the connections. But this past decade, all I could feel was my cheek rough against the bark. Couldn’t see past a single trunk.
My neighbor is dying. My heart hurts. He’s not taking visitors anymore. So this morning I sent him a text, thanking him for our years over the fence. Told him how grateful I was for his friendship.
I’m grateful to have finally learned to say the things aloud that I always wished I’d said before someone left.
Early stars. Late stars. All the cusps, and twilights and blue hours.
Murky green-gold with a hint of dirty mauve shimmer (Wearingeul Autumn Forest) in a big fat stub nib that I can wave around with my left fist.
As with so many things, the tone that this bell strikes is (I think) really situational. Because we already know that sometimes far and sometimes near have benefits, it is very hard to say one (absolute) is better than the other. Sometimes, moving far will make us forget (I fear) or make us feel guilty (I fear) or this or that. Sometimes, that same movement can help us see that larger picture and that there were lots of things OTHER than what we could see (or obsessed about or worried about or feared) up close. And sometimes, the close view helps us be more present. Or, the close view can make us oblivious to too many other things, heads in the sand, so to speak. This is one of those (for me) that really goes back and forth -- all about context. Your personal examples are powerful -- and that image of face to tree and unable to even know, probably, it was a tree (and one of many) is vivid and heartbreaking. I might tend to think the trees we know, the familiar, are more comfortable -- and the forest, large and dark, is scary. Your personal experience, your _perspective_ (your words here about the last year), completely turns that around. Situational. As with so many things, it is really hard to deal in absolutes.
I am sorry to hear about your neighbor, though I'm really glad that you sent the text and said what you wanted to say.
Such a poet.
Your ink sounds nice.... although I just can't do shimmer. I'm intrigued by some of the wearingeul colors I see people show/swatch, not that I buy ink. Green-gold makes me think of your "golds" in the swatch project you shared. Cheers for filling that pen and working with your other hand. You've got this.
‘Cause you’re a sky full of stars ✨ came to mind! I saw a little gratitude challenge on Instagram for November and I started writing little tidbits in my journal. I love the variety of ideas that will spark places to find gratitude. Purple ink!
Also I must mention that I’ve started affirmations almost every morning with my young students. The ones in song form from Snoop Dog on YouTube! I like that they’re singing these positive words and they’re little anchors for self improvement—including me! I wasn’t a big believer in affirmations, but now I’m more open.😊
I bet it is heartwarming to see your students singing affirmations! What a gift you are giving them to encourage their confidence and growth mindset. Purple ink is always a yes.
Good for you doing your affirmations project, too. It really can bring a softer mindset.
i have had a bit of anxiety for the past week, and have not commented until now.
i read this and the widower piece on sunday, but anxiety turned to stunned muteness on tuesday. my voice still catches.
stars, early or late. i was an early morning person well into my 30s, loving the early stillness and quiet, the soft morning light painting a pastel sky, watching the night creatures tuck away for the day whilst others moved into the sun.
a few years of cocktail waitressing well into the wee hours of the night made me a night person, though. living in the high desert promoted this even more with an infinite sky full of stars, the milky way hovering above the driveway, orion keeping watch at the end of deerbrush st. i swoon at the beauty of night skies.
the idea of a gratitude jar, filled with string lights, appeals to me. i need it now, the reminders/reasons/remembrances.
The nice think about posts, Kathi, is they are always here—no worries about timing. Post are to be read and enjoyed when they are convenient or helpful. Thank you for reading, and I hope you are feeling okay. I think we all understand how difficult the days leading up to and now after have been. I hope you are all right. I miss night sky, I think. I don’t think about that often, but the simple reality is it is rarely clear at night in a way to see what you’ve described. I love that you have those memories and views. Yes to the gratitude jar. Do it!
It can be very hard to know what we're looking at when we are too close, likewise if we are too far away or looking from an angle that alters reality. I appreciate the idea of needing to check-in on all of these things when assessing a personal or relational situation.
The puffy origami hearts and stars are available for purchase on Etsy, but were we to make our own, we'd have more invested in what we've written down. Years ago, I selected 52 quotes which I typed onto slips of paper and rolled into little scrolls, then gave to friends for a 1x/week bit if inspiration. It was a fun, low-cost gift. I can see that technique working for gratitude, rolling them up and setting them in a jar to unfurl once a day or week the following year. :)
You are a good teacher, Amy, and a teacher of good.
Elizabeth - I love knowing you did that with the 52 quotes. (I love the quote you sent me, by the way, too.) (Even though I am more digital than analog these days…) There is something about not only the time and intention of writing things down, but the mindfulness of the folding or rolling…. the time we spend thinking while we do such things can be so important (and different, yes, than buying something readymade). This is the same kind of thinking that goes into many handmade projects. I’m thinking of knitting projects, but definitely anything we do with our hands. It’s all connected. There is something about the jar…. It’s intriguing as a mental image at the very least! Perspective is a difficult one right now …a much harder thing to contemplate. But it is always good for us to remember that things look different from varying angles and distances…. And that we need both the near and the far, the forest and the trees. We can talk ourselves into circles with this one.
That’s exactly it, Esther! That kind of jar, and I love hearing you did that and that you had a ritual for reading and reflecting on those things… what a beautiful NYE tradition that sounds like! Thank you for reading and commenting. I saw your note about the group you held, and I think that’s wonderful.
"Perspective is about how close or how far we are to or from something, as well as our angle, our vantage, and our lens." This is right on, Amy. Your post reminded me of reading this bit in Jurassic Park in 1990: the smallest shape of something (ex: maple leaf) is a miniature of that something's shape in its biggest form (a maple tree). I translate that as everything matters, big and small, and my perspective and gratitude source are related to my faith. What I like about your post is the reminder that perspective of reality or perceived reality, is bound by a multitude of things. Staying aware of the thought/perspective of "why can't you be/think/live/act like me?" is something that matters a great deal. Thanks for this Sunday morning read.
Thank you for your comment, Mary. I love that image of the maple leaf and the maple tree and the sense of the shape scaling in some way from small to large. That’s a lovely connection and way to think about the big and the small and how it all matters and all contributes to a whole. Thank you.
❤️ You're welcome.
I am really intrigued by the idea of the origami heart jar. There are so many times when it feels life is overwhelming and seeing the jar fill each day might be a nice way to ground oneself.
I’m glad that called out to you, Rebecca. The image I saw that day was so cool, and I think adding to a jar each day (even just folded slips of paper) can be grounding. I think things we do that give concrete edges help us in that way. If you’ve ever folded a paper football, the heart is very much like that (just small).
I did look up the tutorial. Switching gears into gratitude time. ❤️
Beautiful, as always.
Thank you for reading, Debbie. I so appreciate it.
Blue ink
I would love a jar of puffed hearts. I will have to google directions
Blue. Is that always blue or blue is the addition to black?
It seems there are all kinds of approaches to a small origami puff star. Ultimately, the share the fact that you blow into a small hole to puff them in the end. I’m not sure this is the direction set that I tried, but this is at least one version. (These look a bit bigger than what I saw.) Have fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrjIDfeDGz8
I really love this post 😍😍😍
This noticing gratitude practice really reminds me of the poem Joy Chose You by Donna Ashworth ❤️❤️❤️ https://janicefalls.wordpress.com/2024/04/10/joy-chose-you-by-donna-ashworth/
For a while now, I have a daily scheduled noontime alarm to remind me to be grateful, life is magical, and to open my eyes and see it .
A great poem to share, Melissa. Thank you.
And I love knowing that you have an alarm for this. LOVE! That's exactly it. Alarms like that can see unusual, but sometimes, they really make a lot of sense. Thanks for reading and sharing your optimism (and gratitude practice).
“Many of us fear that as we move farther away from something, we will lose clarity. We will forget.” Yes!
And yes: “On the flip side, there are times when moving farther away brings clarity. Perspective is about distance.”
The latter has been my experience this year: as the days darken, rage fades, understanding grows, and I see not that I was mistaken, but that I had somehow lost my voice.
I thought I was blindly running, fleeing the horror. But I was just buying distance, so I could look back and understand. Sometimes when people tell you to get some perspective, they mean you need to be more balanced, less confrontational, less adamant about principle, less focused on what you know to be right. It’s a Gaslighter’s term. But in the art metaphors – and the practice – I understand a different perspective, the critical swivel of my mind’s eye. Perspective is everything. But I still believe in certain absolutes.
(Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of perspective — in its nonviolent form — and all the nuanced things you have to say about it.)
I have always been about the macro, the big picture, the strategy and the connections. But this past decade, all I could feel was my cheek rough against the bark. Couldn’t see past a single trunk.
My neighbor is dying. My heart hurts. He’s not taking visitors anymore. So this morning I sent him a text, thanking him for our years over the fence. Told him how grateful I was for his friendship.
I’m grateful to have finally learned to say the things aloud that I always wished I’d said before someone left.
Early stars. Late stars. All the cusps, and twilights and blue hours.
Murky green-gold with a hint of dirty mauve shimmer (Wearingeul Autumn Forest) in a big fat stub nib that I can wave around with my left fist.
As with so many things, the tone that this bell strikes is (I think) really situational. Because we already know that sometimes far and sometimes near have benefits, it is very hard to say one (absolute) is better than the other. Sometimes, moving far will make us forget (I fear) or make us feel guilty (I fear) or this or that. Sometimes, that same movement can help us see that larger picture and that there were lots of things OTHER than what we could see (or obsessed about or worried about or feared) up close. And sometimes, the close view helps us be more present. Or, the close view can make us oblivious to too many other things, heads in the sand, so to speak. This is one of those (for me) that really goes back and forth -- all about context. Your personal examples are powerful -- and that image of face to tree and unable to even know, probably, it was a tree (and one of many) is vivid and heartbreaking. I might tend to think the trees we know, the familiar, are more comfortable -- and the forest, large and dark, is scary. Your personal experience, your _perspective_ (your words here about the last year), completely turns that around. Situational. As with so many things, it is really hard to deal in absolutes.
I am sorry to hear about your neighbor, though I'm really glad that you sent the text and said what you wanted to say.
Such a poet.
Your ink sounds nice.... although I just can't do shimmer. I'm intrigued by some of the wearingeul colors I see people show/swatch, not that I buy ink. Green-gold makes me think of your "golds" in the swatch project you shared. Cheers for filling that pen and working with your other hand. You've got this.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
‘Cause you’re a sky full of stars ✨ came to mind! I saw a little gratitude challenge on Instagram for November and I started writing little tidbits in my journal. I love the variety of ideas that will spark places to find gratitude. Purple ink!
Also I must mention that I’ve started affirmations almost every morning with my young students. The ones in song form from Snoop Dog on YouTube! I like that they’re singing these positive words and they’re little anchors for self improvement—including me! I wasn’t a big believer in affirmations, but now I’m more open.😊
I can do hard things, you can do ‘em too! 🎶
I bet it is heartwarming to see your students singing affirmations! What a gift you are giving them to encourage their confidence and growth mindset. Purple ink is always a yes.
Good for you doing your affirmations project, too. It really can bring a softer mindset.
Great to hear from you.
i have had a bit of anxiety for the past week, and have not commented until now.
i read this and the widower piece on sunday, but anxiety turned to stunned muteness on tuesday. my voice still catches.
stars, early or late. i was an early morning person well into my 30s, loving the early stillness and quiet, the soft morning light painting a pastel sky, watching the night creatures tuck away for the day whilst others moved into the sun.
a few years of cocktail waitressing well into the wee hours of the night made me a night person, though. living in the high desert promoted this even more with an infinite sky full of stars, the milky way hovering above the driveway, orion keeping watch at the end of deerbrush st. i swoon at the beauty of night skies.
the idea of a gratitude jar, filled with string lights, appeals to me. i need it now, the reminders/reasons/remembrances.
as always, thank you, amy.
The nice think about posts, Kathi, is they are always here—no worries about timing. Post are to be read and enjoyed when they are convenient or helpful. Thank you for reading, and I hope you are feeling okay. I think we all understand how difficult the days leading up to and now after have been. I hope you are all right. I miss night sky, I think. I don’t think about that often, but the simple reality is it is rarely clear at night in a way to see what you’ve described. I love that you have those memories and views. Yes to the gratitude jar. Do it!
It can be very hard to know what we're looking at when we are too close, likewise if we are too far away or looking from an angle that alters reality. I appreciate the idea of needing to check-in on all of these things when assessing a personal or relational situation.
The puffy origami hearts and stars are available for purchase on Etsy, but were we to make our own, we'd have more invested in what we've written down. Years ago, I selected 52 quotes which I typed onto slips of paper and rolled into little scrolls, then gave to friends for a 1x/week bit if inspiration. It was a fun, low-cost gift. I can see that technique working for gratitude, rolling them up and setting them in a jar to unfurl once a day or week the following year. :)
You are a good teacher, Amy, and a teacher of good.
Elizabeth - I love knowing you did that with the 52 quotes. (I love the quote you sent me, by the way, too.) (Even though I am more digital than analog these days…) There is something about not only the time and intention of writing things down, but the mindfulness of the folding or rolling…. the time we spend thinking while we do such things can be so important (and different, yes, than buying something readymade). This is the same kind of thinking that goes into many handmade projects. I’m thinking of knitting projects, but definitely anything we do with our hands. It’s all connected. There is something about the jar…. It’s intriguing as a mental image at the very least! Perspective is a difficult one right now …a much harder thing to contemplate. But it is always good for us to remember that things look different from varying angles and distances…. And that we need both the near and the far, the forest and the trees. We can talk ourselves into circles with this one.
Harder to contemplate because there are so many competing perspectives... One day at a time, I suppose, though it feels like hollow advice.