Wishcasting Wednesday: One Step

It's Wednesday (barely, but it still is), and that means it's time for wishing. Today Jamie Ridler of Jamie Ridler Studios asks, "What do you wish for in the New Year?"

My mind raced as I thought of the extensive list of goals I always start to mentally jot down as the clock ticks down to the New Year. Which one would I pick for this post?

Save more. Spend less.
Give more. Take less.
Practice contentment.
Clear the clutter.
Submit those picture book manuscripts. (Finally.)
Create (and stick to) a more regular blog posting schedule.
Pitch a minimum of one magazine article idea per week.
Reconnect with God.
Nag my husband less.
Listen to my body.
Watch less TV. Read more books.
Resist trying to do it all.
Develop SMART goals for Re.Told Journals.
Develop SMART goals for Stepping Stone Studio's creativity workshops.
Reinvent my career.
Live intentionally, not fearfully.
Grow out my hair. (My hair has never been longer than my shoulders.)
Live authentically.
Be quiet. Listen more.
Drink more water.
Get to bed earlier.
Stick to a clean eating lifestyle.
Sit down and write already!
Get in the best shape of my life...not just physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Soon, the list had me feeling more exhausted than excited. Didn't I tell myself this would be a year defined by doing less so in the end I could be more? So often I find myself jumping from one new idea to the next, feeding off the excitement of new possibility and potential, but losing steam when the nitty-gritty, day-to-day work and challenges come in to play. Instead of seeing obstacles and challenges as opportunities to strengthen my fear muscles, I shrink away, telling myself that it must be a bad idea. The doors aren't flinging open before me, and therefore it just isn't meant to be. Time to turn back. Again.

Or, perhaps those obstacles mean I am on the right path after all.

As screenwriter Frank Howard Clark once said, "If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere. "

So what do I wish for in 2010? To take one step. Every day. To make room for and a conscious effort to take just a single step—even when it means stepping in, towards, over and around any obstacles in my path—just so long as that one step is moving me closer toward the life I was created to inhabit...fully.

Wishcasting Wednesday

Today's Wishcasting Wednesday prompt from Jamie Ridler Studios ask...

How Do I Wish to Soar?

With…


Self-Confidence…
in
my
steps;
my
    dreams; my creativity
                               my
                            choices;
                               my
                             talent;
                               my
abilities; my, decisions.
      

               Openness…to new ideas;
      challenging                 thoughts;
    different                           views; the         
  road less                                traveled;
unfamiliar                                faces who                    
are really                                     new friends                            
 in disguise;                              loving fully;
  loving more;                            letting go;
    falling flat                           on my face
      but getting                     up one more
         time; dreaming big; expecting more;
               being completely surprised.

     Attentiveness…toward
my goal;                 my vision;               
my dreams;            the life I’ve
secretly                   and not so
secretly felt             was always               
mine to                   behold; my
spirit; my               body; my
mind; my needs; time spent with
my spouse,             my family           
my friends;             when I need          
to  just                   stop and when
I need to                 press on just a
little more;               the tiny detials
and the                     grand view.


Resilience to obstacles, delays,
detours;                     opposing               
viewpoints;                the nay-                  
sayers;                      the many
stories                     and false-
hoods                     I make
up then                 wrestle
against; the many gremlins that
try to destroy my progress, tell
me it can’t               be done; that
it isn’t                        worth the
time;                                 jealousy;  
negative                                thinking;      
fatigue;                                    burnout;  
opinions                                    of others
that do                                         not really
matter;                                           self-doubt.

A Case of the Mondays

Poor Monday. If I were to poll a room of people as to which day of the week is their least favorite, I'm fairly certain Monday would win by a long shot.

But why do people dislike Monday so much? Because it marks the end of the weekend and the start of the work or school week? I get that. I've been there. But let's try reframing the idea of hating Mondays and see if struggling through that first day of the week is really worth it.

Let's say most people start school around age 5. (I'm not counting preschool for the purpose of this illustration). And let's say you work until age 65. And let's say you hate every single Monday of every single school week and work week from there on out. If there are approximately 52 Mondays in a year, that means you end up hating 3,120 days of your life. Or, to look at it another way a little more than 8-1/2 years.

That seems like a lot of wasted time to me.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not always Little Miss Sunshine, especially in the morning and definitely not before I've had my coffee. But greeting the days I've been given with optimism and wide open arms is something I'm working on. And I think Mondays are a great place to start, as it sets the tone for the rest of the work week.

Several weeks ago, on a Monday, I took myself on a little field trip to a nearby park over my lunch break. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day and slightly warmer than usual for a Wisconsin October day. As I sat at a picnic table reading my book, I noticed a majestic weeping willow with low hanging branches about a football field away.

That's a perfect climbing tree, I thought.

I quickly glanced around. The park was fairly empty, with just occasional jogger or cyclist moving through the area.

Oh why not! I said to myself, jumping to my feet and walking straight towards the grand tree.

If you're wondering whether or not I climbed a tree on my lunch break in office attire, yes I did. And it was SO MUCH FUN! I loved climbing trees as a kid. In fact, I had my My Tree in the front yard that I sit in for hours reading books.

I can honestly say adding that little bit of childlike play sent me back to the office in a much better mood.

Since then, every Monday lunch break has been marked with some sort of childlike play. I've turned my Monday lunch hour in Monday's recess. Think about it, doesn't the word "recess" bring with it a sense of play and fun and freedom that "lunch" or "lunch break" or "lunch hour" does not.

So my challenge to you is to redefine Mondays. Create your own Monday Recess Ritual. I'd love to here the creatively clever ideas you come up with. If you need a jump start, visit 25 Ways to Turn Your Lunch Break Into Recess.

Now go play!

25 Ways to Turn Your Lunch Break Into Recess

Put down the sandwich. You heard me. Before you even consider working through another lunch hour, I want you to go outside. Right now. Really. 

Confused? Befuddled? Let's take a short detour down Memory Lane.

When you were a kid, you never willingly chose to spend your recess indoors working on your homework, did you? So what's changed? What is holding you back from putting the same freedom, excitement and fun into that one precious hour in the middle of the workday that is completely, selfishly, wholly yours?


This week, I challenge you to obey your inner child and transform your lunch hour into recess. If you need a little help, here are 25 simple, creative ways to get started. Pick one...or two...and GO PLAY!

• Climb a tree
• Go to a park and swing on the swings
• Make a snow angel (just remember to pack an extra set of clothes)
• Study something small—a blade of grass, an ant, a lady bug
• Trade lunches with a coworker
• Draw a picture
• Keep a coloring book and crayons in your desk and color a picture

• Curl up with a good book
• Grab a coworker and head outside for a game of catch
• Find a bike shop and rent a bike for half an hour (if you bike to work, go for a ride)
• Round up a group of coworkers for a pickup game of capture the flag
• Practice Yoga or Pilates
• Make wishes on puffy white dandelions

• Visit a candy store and stock up on all your childhood favorites
• Who cares if you look silly. Grab your coworker buds for a game of freeze tag
• Watch the clouds

• Jump in a pile of leaves
• Jump rope (or grab a couple of work buds and enjoy some double-dutch)
• Gather small objects as if they were precious treasures
• Pick a dandelion bouquet 

• Create a scavenger hunt for your coworkers
• Head to your local coffee shop for a hot cup of tea or favorite coffee drink
• Make a friendship bracelet...and give it to your work BFF or the first kid you see
• Treat yourself to an ice cream cone
• Bring some sidewalk chalk for a game of hopscotch

Have other ideas? I'd love to here how you've turned your lunch break into a recess. Post them here!

Wishcasting Wednesday: Be the Caterpillar

I simply adore Wishcasting Wednesdays with Jamie Ridler of Jamie Ridler Studios. So often the right journaling prompt finds me at just the right time...and today was no different.


Today Jamie asked...

 What Do You Wish to Transform?

I wish to transform frustration into motivation...

My many excuses into falsehoods that I refuse to believe...

Another dreaded Monday into the beginning of another week's adventure...

Fear into excitement...

Distraction into focus...

A life that's ordinary into a life less ordinary...

It's easy to get comfortable and settle into the mindset that This, the Here and Now, is just the way life is and is going to be. That our dreams and hobbies can wait until later. That, really, they should wait until later. That we must be practical first, then dreamers.

I've decided that just can't be so for me.


My dreams can't wait.

 

So...I can either stay put and stay frustrated that Someday isn't here yet, or I can begin to "be the caterpillar" and take my chances with what's on the other side of Transformation.

I choose to be the caterpillar.

A Pair of Red Mittens

Of all the photos I have, this one is most precious to me. Unlike the other snapshots I have of my early childhood that capture the parts of my personal timeline I was still too young to remember, this one captures the moment the memories began.

I can still feel the warmth of those knit, red mittens as my father tugged them over my chubby toddler hands.

Like the photo, the memory is worn and grainy, and it plays itself slowly and in splices, like an old silent film. After helping me with my mittens, my dad helped another little girl with hers. But as he did, I noticed something was different about her. She didn't ask my dad to put them on, at least not with words. She simply motioned for his help. "She's deaf,"my father explained to me when I asked him why the little girl couldn't talk.

According to recent research, most toddlers are able to recall past events by age 17 months (I was 18 months when this photo was taken), especially if those events are special or distinctive. Why did my mind decided to latch on to this moment to propel itself into action? Was it the chance encounter with someone the same, yet different from myself? It's almost as if putting on the mittens sparked my memory, setting it into motion for the rest of my life.

The older I get, the more I appreciate photographs. There is a story in each. They are an unwritten, unspoken journal of sorts that require no words and no writing utensils. So I've decided to dub each Saturday "Snapshot Saturdays: A Wordless Journal." On these days, I'll set my pen down and pick up my camera instead. After all, I've been told a picture is worth a thousand words.

Wishcasting Wednesday: Celebrate the Journey

It’s Wednesday! Most people celebrate this day as the halfway point to the weekend. I used to, too. But since I started following Jamie Ridler Studios, Wednesdays have taken on a whole new—and more joyful—meaning. Now each and every Wednesday is a Wishcasting Wednesday!

Today, as Jamie celebrates the fruition of one of her wishes (she received the sample copy of her new book, the Wishcasting Journal—hooray Jamie!) she asks her fellow creative explorers, “What do you wish to celebrate?”

That’s a tough one, Jamie. I could celebrate being on the road to recovery from a nasty little head cold. I could celebrate my younger sister and grandparents’ homecoming for the Thanksgiving holiday. I could celebrate Re.Told Journals, my line of recycled vintage book journals, being accepted into a nationally recognized juried folk and fine art fair next month. I could celebrate the completion of my very first piece of mixed media art, something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time but let my lack of “artistic training” stand in the way. I could celebrate my husband, who had just the right words (even if they weren’t his own) to comfort my frenzied soul as I vented to him about the excitement, confusion, frustration and joy I feel over my many recent creative endeavors and the many possible paths they could—or might not—lead. (If you're interested in finding out what those words were, you can find it in a twitter update from today @bysararae.)

But which of these events and people and occasions were most worthy of celebration?

All of them.

I can't choose just one because each one, in some way, makes up a piece of my life's journey. It's all interconnected. So today I choose to celebrate the journey…every single step of it. I celebrate the hope and the frustration, the joys and disappointments, the calm and the chaos, the desire and the contentment, the gains and the losses, the expectations and the dreams fulfilled, the 2 a.m. epiphanies and the on-second-thought-maybe-not ideas. I celebrate learning to let go of it all, including the desire to have it all, in order to let this journey take its intended course. And with each step, I’ll celebrate—maybe even do a little version of my very own “happy dance”—because I am creating a life of handcrafted happiness.

www.bysararae.com

The Upside of Downtime

I have a hard time slowing down. But today, my body is giving me no other choice. I'm home with a terrible cold that leaves me with just enough energy to curl up on the couch with my pillow, blanket, mug of yogi tea and, of course, my ever faithful German shepherd, Dixie.

A part of me is thankful for the rest. It's giving me the opportunity to take a fresh look at why my body called a time out in the first place. And I can't shake the feeling that is has something to do with the fact that there's simply too much on my plate these days. There's a fine line one has to walk between being "busy" (spinning in circles) and being productive (moving forward). It's easy to cross the line, especially when the extraneous to-dos and obligations take on the cunning guise of "opportunity." And yes, I'm learning, that even things we enjoy can become unnecessary distractions that pull us further away from our intended paths.

I recently stumbled upon the Creative Thursday podcasts by Marisa Haedike. In this particular podcast, she talked about childhood holding clues to our authentic self, or the me I'm supposed to be, as I like to say. As a child, what did you like to do for creative play? What made the minutes fly? What made you feel pure joy?

For me, it was writing. When I received my first journal for Christmas in 1988, I wrote in it daily. Faithfully. When I wasn't writing in my journal, I cut and pasted pictures onto paper to create my own magazines. I wrote my own newspapers and left them on the neighbors' doorsteps. I devoured creative writing assignments in English class. In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I spent every after school moment working on that year's family play (yes, my aunts, uncles, sisters and cousins kindly obliged and became my cast and crew). Back then, writing was play. Writing was me.

When did that change? When was the "play" of writing replaced with what would be perceived as "practical?" When did that undying belief in myself—in my voice, my opinions, my ideas—become misinterpreted as conceit? When did the need to pick up the pen or bang the keys succumb to fear of what others would think of my thoughts? It's almost as if I turned my back on Young Sara. Just left her standing there with her pen and notebook and a head full of deliciously creative ideas. The thought makes me so sad.

So I've decided to use this precious downtime I've been given (ahh, there's the silver lining to my stuffy head and runny nose) to reconnect with Young Sara.  I'm surrounding myself with old photographs. I'm even watching reruns of favorite childhood cartoons and 80s sitcoms. I'm paging through the books I read and re-read as a child. I'm reading old diary entries and listening to my small voice captured on a cassette tape. And as I do these things, I'm allowing myself to feel the energy and emotions each creates, the clues they leave that will lead me back to Authentic Me.

www.bysararae.com

The Everyday Mundane

One of my favorite blogs and podcasts is that of Jamie Ridler, of Jamie Ridler Studios. Each Wednesday is dubbed Wishcasting Wednesday, an opportunity for bloggers and “independent creative spirits” (as Jamie so lovingly calls we creative types) to release their hearts’ desires into the world. (And on a side note, don’t you just adore the term “independent creative spirits?” Don’t you just sense yourself standing a little taller at the mere mention of it? I know I do.)

I realize it’s Thursday and that my wish is coming a day late. But, really, is it ever too late to wish?

This week’s wishcasting prompt was, “What do you wish to enjoy.”

For me, I wish to enjoy the everyday mundane…the here and now…this in between time in my life that feels a little bit like standing in a line. I know what I want and where I am going, but must first work…and then wait to reap the harvest.

It feels a little bit like being a kid and having a pair of footie pajamas that are a tad too tight. You know, where your toes press against the inside and stretch out the ends of the feet, but they aren’t quite tight enough to convince mom to cut them off and let your toes wiggle freely? I’m that kid in those don’t-quite-fit-right footie pajamas.

I recently stumbled upon a proverb that spoke to my core about this very matter.

“Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.” Proverbs 20:4

Writer Diane Eble, expands upon this thought in her book Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions by explaining that, as with so many things, timing is everything when it comes to the success an endeavor. With farming, it does the farmer no good to sow too early in hopes of harvesting his crop a little bit sooner. Nor does it do him any good to sow too late in an attempt to shorten the time between the planting and harvest. There’s a timing and a method and a reason for both in every successful undertaking.

It’s something I must continue to work on, and remind myself of often as I put in the late hours and make sacrifices and all the while wonder, “Will it even matter?”

When my gremlins named Self-Doubt and Passivity try to talk me out of my dream, I silence them reminding myself of the tiny sprouts already springing forth in this creative dream of mine. A year ago, I hadn’t a clue what I wanted to do. Now, Stepping Stones Studio is REAL…and growing. One. Step. At. A. Time.

During my first marathon, my muscles sore but strong, my body fatigued but determined, I realized that all the training miles, all the lonely early morning runs had finally pieced themselves together to create this moment. It was because of all those baby steps that I was now conquering the 26.2-mile challenge before me.

So today I want to enjoy the steps, whichever one I happen to be on at this very moment. It may be working an ordinary J-O-B for awhile in order to fund My Dream…and that’s O.K. Actually, it’s not only O.K., it’s great because it’s the steps in the journey that make arriving at the intended destination that much sweeter.

So today, I wish to enjoy every last second of the everyday mundane.

www.bysararae.com
Stepping Stones Studio

Wishing Wednesday

When I was a little girl, I wished upon stars nightly, casting up my Christmas-list of wishes like handful of sand. Looking back, my wishes were silly things. A pet bunny. A good grade on an upcoming math test. A boy to like me. To be a famous singer. Or my personal favorite...to meet my idol Julie Andrews. (What can I say, I was a bit of an old soul.)

The thing is, back then, my little 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-year old heart was so full of hope and belief that there wasn't any room for head logic to creep in and steal my wishes. They were real to me, and if I believed in them enough, they would come true.

I eventually got a pet bunny...and several more would follow over the course of my childhood. Upon being handed my final for Algebra II and told by the teacher, "You need a D on this test to pass the semester," then, yes, I consider the D+ I got an answered wish, too. A boy did like me...so much so, he married me. I never found star-studded fame in singing, but I did reach my own level of stardom when I got to live out my dream of playing the role of Dorothy Gale in a community theater production of The Wizard of Oz. I'm still waiting to meet Julie Andrews. Maybe someday. (And if I do, I hope she won't think it too corny to sing "My Favorite Things" with me.) :)

My point in all this reminiscent rambling is this...sometimes our wishes, like prayers, aren't answered in the way we think they will be. But they are answered in some way when you believe with your heart instead of your head. It's up to us to look for it. 

I only discovered the Jamie Ridler Studios blog (http://jamieridlerstudios.ca/) and the Creative Living with Jamie podcast the other day. But already the words I've read and heard resonate. In fact, it has inspired me to start wishing again...and believe with a wide open heart and the faith of a child.

So, in the spirit of the Jamie's blog's Wishcasting Wednesday, my wish is to...

• Change the lenses in my glasses to the ones that see the blessings in seemingly inconvenient situations.

• Take a closer look at that closed door and see that it is only closed...not locked. And then go open it!

• Reclaim my energy by letting go of the urge to reach perfection...one task at a time.

• Inspire those who read this to rediscover their own hidden wishes.

Happy Wishing!

The Sum of Our Many Parts

I am...

a writer.
a journalist
a hiker.
a mountain biker.
an outdoor enthusiast.
a traveler.
an athlete. 
a singer.
an actress.
a reader.
a dreamer.
a crier.
a laugher.
a jokester.
a control freak. :)
a tree hugger.
a red head like her dad.
a "look alike" of her mom.
a wife.
a friend.
a daughter.
a sister.
a child of God.
an animal lover.
a believer.

I am the sum of all my
many parts...

I am complete and yet ever changing,

ever growing, ever becoming.

I am me.

WHO ARE YOU? Follow the same format and share!

The Definition of A Dream Fulfilled

Being the planner that I am, in high school I started a very detailed list of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30. One of those things was to be the next Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer, (my role models throughout high school and college). What can I say? I’ve been known to set my standards pretty high.

As it would be, my experience in broadcast journalism lasted just through my second college internship with a FOX affiliate in Rochester, Minnesota. Come graduation, I’d been told to submit my tapes to the station for a possible job. But as I reviewed my tapes, I kept hearing the words of my mentor from an earlier internship. “You have to love it,” she’d told me. And she did. But did I? When it came down to it, I loved aspects of it. The variety of material, the rush of a late-breaking story, the fast-paced nature of the business. But I realized I didn’t love telling stories through sound bytes and B-roll as much as I did through pen and paper.

Today, I received the nicest email from a woman I interviewed a few months ago for a story that ran in a local women’s interest magazine.

“We would just like to thank you for the wonderful article in the magazine this month. You really captured the story and the essence of our trip.”

Lately, I’ve been wondering if I made the right decision six years ago...or did I give up on my dream to soon out of self-doubt and fear? But that one little sentence, “You really captured the story and the essence of our trip” reconfirmed my belief in my decision.

Merriam-Webster defines a “journalist” as “a person engaged in journalism, especially a writer or editor for a news medium; a writer who aims at a mass audience.”

Huh. Funny, but that sort of sounds like me. I didn’t give up on my dream after all. On the contrary, I’ve been living it since my very first published byline. I just hadn’t noticed my growing collection of clips because I was too busy focusing on whether or not I’d made the right decision.

So what about you? Like me, have you been so focused on the should’ve, would’ve and could’ves of your life to fully embrace and celebrate those many stepping stone momentsbrought you to where you are today? 

Dreams aren’t a one-size only commodity. They come in a range of sizes, shapes and colors, and they aren't required to be flashy or expensive or carry any level of prestige (perceived or real). They are who you are. ake a moment to recognize each and every one for what they are and where they have brought you.

www.bysararae.com

Sometimes They Just Want A Burger

“Some people don’t always want steak. Sometimes they just want a burger.”


My husband has an uncanny knack for knowing just what to say to me...and when to say it. The problem is, at least for my ego, the moment at which he shares his insightful adages is NOT usually the moment my over-achieving self wants to acknowledge the truth behind his words. This moment was no different.


Still, I got it. He was telling me that everything doesn’t have to be perfect all the time—or any of the time for that matter. Sometimes a big, juicy, inexpensive hamburger is just as satisfying as a pricey, perfectly cooked steak. I didn’t want to admit it, but he was right.


What I do admit is that I am a perfectionist. In my head, I expect my life to unfold like the carefully scripted scenes in a movie, for the rooms in my home to look like those photographed in the pages of Real Simple or Better Homes & Gardens magazines. I’m a fan of BIG. I’m a fan of the unusual, the exciting and life’s mountain-top experiences.


But what I’m realizing is that there is a lot more worth noticing—and celebrating—between that first step at the base of the mountain and the view at the top. While on my quest to the summit, did I notice the lush side of the hill painted with wildflowers? Did I stop to sense the sun warming my skin? Did I hear the calls and songs of the birds in the trees?


Not to get too carried away with metaphors and imagery, but what I’m trying to say is that reaching the top of our mountains is really the result of all the smaller steps we’ve taken in between. It’s life’s “stepping stones” that bring us to our life’s milestones.


For years, I’ve put off writing a blog because I felt I didn’t have the “perfect” idea. What on earth could I write that people would want to spend even a minute reading? But lately, I’ve found myself wondering if it’s necessary for a blog to be of filet mignon status in order to be enjoyed. Maybe all readers really want is a blog the equivalent of a plain, ol’ satisfying burger. Something that is relatable...something that celebrates everyday commonness...something that recognizes the tiny successes hidden the little things.


So this is it. A place to share, remember and applaud life’s little joys and simple successes. A place to celebrate the small stuff...because in the end it’s the little stuff that makes up the big stuff.