2013 Reflections

I love the string of colored lights I turned on by the window and the tree filled with snow, standing outside the front window, visible to me next to the red stockings hung on the mantle.

What a holiday season. We started with thanks back in November. Then we moved to the natural response of giving. It is wonderful to hear stories of people's lives being touched by love because of hearts reaching out.

This Christmas was filled with music and children. What better reflection of the Christ Child could there be!! The pinnacle of love.

It's strange but maybe the hardest part of the season is the tenderness it creates, that opens to all reality, even that of harshness and loss. I know we will all "toughen up" as 2014 moves us along. We will become highly intellectual again about good and bad. We will become task focused and check off the list. We will heal from winter bugs that slipped in or pulled us down.

But I hope we won't forget completely...that we were touched by the love of this Christmas season. And we are different because of it. We are richer and fuller because we paused a moment, maybe not much longer, to be grateful and to be loved...to love and to give.

What a year! Thank you, 2013.

Happy New Year!

Ocean Reflections...

Where does it start?

Where does it end?

The ocean waters wonder

As they wave their white flags

In defiance or surrender.

Gravity is serious stuff!

What's it like to be a cloud,

Floating serenely with fluff?

A school of many

Cuts the water below.

Black and white behemoth

Leap as they blow.

Where there's a will

There's a way...

That's what the

Hearty ones say.

I think it's a mystery--

We may never know why

The ocean is water

And there's air in the sky.

The way ahead means don't quit;

Even if you blunder, the path is lit..

It always turns out

One way or the other.

The journey is what matters

Surprises to discover.

Thanksgiving in Seattle 2013

Puget Sound Photos

Ocean views...

Learning About Me

HIGH NOTES GIFT

This is the season of the year we give thanks for all of our blessings.   I am thankful for all of the readers of High Notes and want you to know that you touch me through your responses, as well as inspiration and new ideas touching you through the newsletters. Check out the full High Notes newsletter or archive on my blog site, which has additional photos and poems.  http://creativitywonders.blogspot.com,/    Linda

I am excited so say that the official release of the wonderful product, Learning About Me, occurred at the Crisis Nursery Benefit Concert on November 15, 2013.  By a child we are led.

FLY…Free and Loved

 Two books for children, with artist comments for parents, are now available for you online.  Check it out at www.ltcarlson.com and you will find two stories; Wings to Fly and I Like Myself Too that will be fun for kids and inspiring for parents.  Meet Abigail and Timothy.

 

Go to my web site at www.ltcarlson.com and click on Learning About Me Videos on the bar of choices.   That will take you to the web page that has the book video selections for you to choose or the comments I offer about the inspiration and artistry of this product.

 

Abigail, the butterfly, and Timothy, the dragonfly, give us all great messages of acceptance about others and ourselves in both books. 

 

Just like Abigail and Timothy, kids teach adults every day about curiosity as well as   acceptance.   I hope you will love the book characters and their messages as much as I do.

 

Enjoy Learning About Me at www.ltcarlson.com and feel free to pass on the link to anyone who may benefit from this teaching material. 

 

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
 Melody Beattie

 

Genesis Creative Concepts

Linda Carlson, Creative Strategist

www.ltcarlson.com

http://creativitywonders.blogspot.com,/

The Piano Bench

Pianos share a legacy

Far beyond their melodies.

Stories of dreams and aspirations

Rise among black and white keys.

Remember lessons for the children,

Hymns to say what we believed?

Duets: who could forget chopsticks?

Practice is finished—necessary, most relieved.

Pianos carry memories

Of love and hate and hurt,

Of charm, beauty, or comfort

Like a well worn plaid shirt.

Children gathered round about

Or sitting on a knee,

The tunes of time move quickly on

Yet capture you and me.

Where do we find reflections

Of these treasures in our hearts?

Lift the lid on your piano bench;

That will surely be a start.

A collection of keepsakes

We didn’t want to lose,

Sermon notes, songs composed,

Recital programs, sheet music to choose.

It seems so second fiddle

To the glory of hammer and strings,

But the hidden joys of my piano bench

Came to light and made my heart sing.

For life is filled with moments.

We walk in measured feet.

Pause for lyric or word refrain,

Relish those secret treasures that you keep.

(Dance and choreographed reading by Leah Nelson at the Crisis Nursery Benefit Concert)

Spectacular Fall Colors

Halloween Soup

It's a grey, sometimes drizzly day.
Surely, all the little folk in costume
Will still come out to play.

Butternut squash is calling.
It is a soup day for me,
What creative mess can I make
That will be delightful to taste
This day's inspiration, not to waste?