Nurturing Creativity-Part II

Expressing Gratitude-This is a BIG one for me. Many years ago my life was tremendously impacted by a sweet book written by Sara Ban Breathnach. It was "Simple Abundance". The world was abuzz with the concept of keeping gratitude journals. Not a new concept, but instantly driven home to the masses by this book and Oprah's endorsement. I bought a dozen copies and gave them to the women in my life that I loved dearly. It was just too good not to share the power of simply writing down five things we are grateful for every day and how this practice creates abundance. It's a universal law. REALLY, it is!

That was about seventeen years ago and I still practice gratitude journaling to this day. I remember it being difficult at times. But, most days, I could go on and on. Last week, I modeled for some students in an art class and spent the entire three hours listing (in my mind) all the things for which I am grateful. I wish I had counted them as I went. But, when I get started, the things I am grateful for rather flood my brain and there would be no way to keep count. It's truly euphoric! 

 This is me being grateful!

 

Although there are many brilliant works on this topic gratitude ,  I share with you this turning point for me as I recall lying in the hammock every evening while my husband, Charles, read the daily writings of "Simple Abundance" to me. We both shared what we had written in our gratitude journals and marveled that we had so much overlap. 

Grace is available for each of us every day-our spiritual daily bread-but we've got to remember to ask for it with a grateful heart and not worry about whether there will be enough for tomorrow.
 -Sarah Ban Breathnach

It is a lifestyle of expressing gratitude that nurtures my creativity. Seeing simple beauty around me supports my mission to create more beauty. And, that's how I see it! What nurtures your heart's desires?

Come see my new paintings!

With much gratitude,
Lisa

3 x 3 s

Want to know what 3X3s means?

Okay. A few years ago, I had been beat up and beat down and so had my niece. We were jobless and depressed and had a hard time putting one foot in front of the other.
So, niece #1 and I committed to each other to share, via email, a system we called 3x3s. We wrote three simple lists daily to each other.
#1-3 Things we would accomplish
#2-3 Things we would do that were fun
#3-3 Things we were grateful for

Seriously, if you have ever been depressed, you know that these lists can feel insurmountable. Sometimes, getting out of bed, getting dressed, taking a shower were seen as great accomplishments.

Having fun lists. Really, we are pretty fun girls. But, in those dark days we struggled to find fun and had to rely on each other to figure out what might bring a smile to our faces. There were days that eating a pint of Hagen Daz was the fun thing and we praised each other for it! Well, that’s ALWAYS a fun thing, right?

Gratitude lists—we knew the grand importance of that component. But, sometimes we were saying things like “I am grateful I got to clean the cat box because it means the cat is still alive.”

The 3x3 system works. When I feel a friend is in that dark, cobwebby place, I invite them to play along. It ALWAYS works. Sometimes takes a few days. Always brings light to the darkness. You don’t even notice that you have stopped playing anymore. Life has simply returned to “normal” and is once again joy-filled. If you ever want to play with me, I am thrilled to do it. We will both be lifted!

So today, for me, it goes like this:
A (Accomplish):
*Empty those last two boxes from the move
*Wash clothes after dryer repairman comes
*Take stuff to Goodwill—okay..have Charles take stuff

F (Fun):
*Yoga
*Mexican Food for 1st time in 64 days
*Zozobra event—burning of Old Man Gloom! It’s a Santa Fe Thang


G (Gratitude):
*I am grateful that we followed our hearts to Santa Fe
*I am grateful for the windows and doors being open with a breeze coming in
*I am grateful for walking home from my gallery gig in the rain. How romantic and urban it was walking from the Santa Fe Plaza to our Casita a few blocks away!

3x3s—it’s simple-it works. Join in anytime! (You don’t have to be depressed to play!)


p.s. Linka encouraged me to try to paint BIG after I struggled with the tiny, detailed stuff I used to do. The painting on the blog is my wild and juicy attempt at big and abstract.