Beauty - 52 Weeks of Colour

A thought for the week.....

When you take the time to exercise patience in your own life you begin to see the beauty that you once took for granted.  You have so many wonderful gifts and talents when it comes to your feelings if you don't treat yourself  with care then who else will.  Right at this moment, right where you are your life deserves attention!  Blessings, Amanda

You must become aware of the richness in you and come to believe in it and know it is there… Once you become aware of it and have faith in it, you will be all right. ...Brenda Ueland

"...whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matthew 21:22

Reflections and New Beginnings

December for me always brings about a feeling of renewal especially towards the end of the month as we look towards a new year.  A time to bring some projects to an end and find renewed strength after a period of reflection. To face a new year with new opportunities, adventures and circumstances.  This is a time to think about the new seeds that you will sow - those ideas, goals and dreams that you want to see in 2013 take shape and grow.  I feel the drive to take stock over what I have done during the year – what was a hit, what missed - deciding what the best choices for what I want to achieve. 

I find it also important this year to look at my current state of health and make changes if necessary.  I didn’t do as much walking as I would normally do this year and definitely felt the effects of an unhealthy body.  I also found out I was deficient in quite a few vitamins which may have been the cause for the allergies that presented themselves.  I tried to convince the doctor that a prescription for a holiday in the sun would be the right course of action, but she couldn’t quite get passed the cheaper version of supplements instead!  So armed with my scarf, gloves and several layers we will see the start of a regular time for exercise as I reinvest in my physical health and well-being.

Personal development is also an area that requires focus to see how you can grow.   It is important to see growth as part of a continual process for all areas of our life, it is essential for our creativity.  I do think it is important to have a personal development plan to enable you to either perfect a skill or learn a new one.  I did a few courses and workshops this year, including Hello Soul Hello Business, 21 Secrets and Motley Soul Mixed Media  - check out some of the workshops yourself.  There is always something useful to learn - it is a continuous process.

There has been also been changes in the health of loved ones and I try and think of new ways to adapt to the changing needs of my mother who has dementia or the resurfacing of the multiple myeloma for my bother.  I ask for you all to continue to lift our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Yes December for me brings thoughts of tying up loose ends and embracing the new journeys and not running from them.  I won’t run from the new challenges ahead, some will be unexpected and some we might have some notice about, but while we have this life, let’s live it to the full and as we are blessed, remember to be a blessing!  Why wait!

Gratitudes - Flowers

I love even the smallest flower that is produced by a weed, the colours and smells that some flowers produce, way they make you feel.  For a feast of colour see my 365 days of colour posts. 

What are you grateful for this week?

Christmas wishes and 21 Secrets - Jane Davenport

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and wishing you and yours every peace and good health.

I thought I'd share with you about another one of the 21 Secrets workshop that I have been doing.  Frolicaholic is Jane Davenports offerings in 21 secrets and is designed to help you overcome those blocks you may have to spending time in your art journal.   

The time you do find should be precious and while not everyone has hours on end you need to find the creative hotspots where you can, that 10 minutes or so wherever you are that you can utilise for your creativity.  You can pull out a few simple materials and sketch or doodle as this is your investment to your growth.   

 

We all have experienced the art gremlins as Jane calls them that try and convince us that what we are doing is not very good, or so and so is better or the worse gremlin talk is that there is not enough room for another artist.  You come away with your own reference for other creative work and a general reminder to keep at it no matter the circumstances. 

 

I still have some pages to finish in this journal and will share how I get on at a later date.  The more you practice anything the better you will get, how about practicing spending some quality time for yourself.  Check out Jane’s site, she is very generous with her videos and her site is a pleasure to spend time in. Blessings for now!