HIGH NOTES

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.   Without them, humanity cannot survive.   Dalai Lama

SPRING UP

Recently a High Notes reader I haven't seen for a long time said in a note that she was sure that I was "connecting to others and making this world a better place."  Thank you, Jodi.  All readers' notes help me spring up to new ways to give and earn such an awesome comment.  Together, we make it happen.    Linda

WINNING

We have just come through March Madness.  Our culture is mad about winning.  Many of us have a competitive spirit.  Sports play a big role in entertainment and education.  Beyond the joy of the game is perspective…people are even more important than the game or winning.   Are you spending time, are you playing sports or games of any kind with people you love?   Be a good sport!   Find an activity everyone can enjoy and do it!!  It matters.

SPRING…A TEST IN PATIENCE

Many of us think about spring as a great metaphor for new life.  It is.  But, as I watch the new leaves bud on my trees, I'm aware that in the darkest of snowy winter, I KNEW this was coming!  Maybe some part of me could hardly remember or just hated to be patient.  Or maybe it is easy for us to ignore this cycle of life.   Some parts we might like better than others but surprise is probably not one of our reactions to spring.  I do love the familiar French expression, Carpe Diem, that tells us to focus on today.  I mused about Seattle weather recently and decided that the phrase I used fits spring everywhere and life in general.   Keep watching…something lovely is coming!

INSPIRATIONAL READING

Books can inform us and inspire us.  People can inform us and inspire us.  The two words that describe for me an important part of our process for either are "open" and "seeking." It was great to meet with fellow artists to discuss a book that brought inspiration to us about differences and the power of seed planting.   Kids are usually curious about differences, not afraid and judgmental.   Maybe young children need to be our model in this regard. In this story we read how through a neighborhood experience with gardening, many leaps over harsh global perspectives were made.  It says to me that we can plant seeds, take on big issues in small ways, and make a difference.  If we are to BE the change we want to see in the world, it means being open and seeking the new and different not just same and familiar.

AND...

A Cadillac ad says:  It is not the critic who counts.  Credit belongs to the person actually in the arena!   At the best, know the triumph of big achievement.  At the worst, fail while daring greatly!

Soon...SPRING...New Life

Under the cold, hard earth, tulip bulbs are sleeping.

The sun will warm them, and suddenly they will stretch.

They will stretch from their winter's slumber.

Silently they will reach until daylight.

For them, the sun will show through the ground.

For me, the green suddenly appears.

Under the harsh ice,   

Under the white snowdrifts,

Under the frozen dark earth,

Suddenly green will break through.

Then red or yellow buds will show up.

The color warms my psyche.

The spring sun has warmed my soul

Winter dark days are forgotten.

New life is here.

Spring.   Again.

Eternal hope.

EMPOWERMENT UNLIMITED

HIGH NOTES

February 2015

INVITATION:  Come.  Be Inspired.  Grow your story.

If you live in my area, check with me or the Chaska Library for information on the Inspiration Gathering that will be held monthly at my home/studio starting in March.

EMPOWERMENT

As the New Year moves forward, some people I have talked with find themselves wondering just where they are headed with their lives.   Some like the forward visions they see and some still feel unfulfilled with their possibilities.   It has reminded me of a poem I wrote many years ago that seems like a perfect Valentine gift for people in both certain and uncertain circumstances.  

POCKETSIZE

Stories are pocketsize.

They appear magically before your eyes.

They can be short of long,

Develop in riddle, poetry, or song.

Stories share joy or sadness,

Frolic, folly, maybe even madness.

Reach in your pocket,

Let your hand slip deep

And you’ll be surprised

At the stories asleep,

Waiting to be roused,

Waiting to be told

As possibilities unlimited

Before you unfold.

Just remember that your stories are your lives, not just your memoirs or written tales.   What do people read when they see you?  This is a poem about empowerment, my wish for all of you.   Within you lies the mystery of your life purpose fulfilled in delightful ways.  Check your pocket!

UNIQUENESS

Fortunately we are all different.   It seems like an obvious and innocent truth, yet recently it dawned on me that we are often touched through a unique gift that someone else possesses and shares.   Sometimes our own qualities seem so common, yet we are a part of a great mystery, often providing for someone else the uniqueness they need or value.  Sometimes we'll never know when it happens, but believing that this does occur will give us a new perspective on our own gifts and qualities.  

Proceed boldly in the direction of your dreams and destiny.  Linda

Anything Is Possible

Light the light...smile!

HIGH NOTES

December 2014

Tis the season:)  Linda

Many say that this is the season for light overcoming the darkness.

Midst all of the realities of clouds…in the sky, in lives, in the world's lack of love…there are smiles this time of the year!

Creativity is just like that! 

It's going the extra mile.

It's seeing things just a little differently, even upside down like kids do.

It's doing something a bit unusually that may even bring a smile to yourself or someone else.

A smile is the least expensive yet maybe the biggest gift you can give someone.

For whatever reason, find a way to celebrate life this December with joy.   

Let your eyes twinkle with the light.  Smile:)

"It's not what you have on the outside that glitters in light, it's what you have on the inside that shines in the dark."

― Anthony Liccione

Poetry and Life

A collection of alphabetical letters

Scrambled together to make words.

A collection of words

Scrambled together to capture ideas.

A collection of ideas

Scrambled together to reflect visions.

A collection of visions

Scrambled together to build lives.

A collection of lives

Scrambled together to share hope.

Faith, hope, and love

Scrambled together to share beliefs.

Poetry, messy like life--

First the mess, then the beauty.

October High Notes

Are your thoughts uplifting and inspiring… just like a good book?  Notice what you think about!  Your mind guides your days and ways.   Linda

TRUST:

Steven M. R. Covey has just written a book called the Speed of Trust.  In essence, he says that in professional and personal outcomes, we pay a higher price in dollars and time if we do NOT have trust in relationships.  It is a useful read and good for discussion.  One easy application is to ask for counsel and expertise from people you trust.   Everyone has opinions, many of which will not encourage or thrust you in positive ways.

CLOUDS:

The warm days are gone and the colored leaves have been blown away by the fall winds.  It is easy to say that the clouds create a dark and gloomier day.  But what about thinking of the clouds as just vapors, beyond science, lifting our gratitude and collecting it to soon shower the beauty of winter?  Pollyanna?   Maybe, but empowerment gathers our verve and wits in ways that hopeless resignation never can.

THANKS:

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  The very first article I ever wrote for a newspaper was done when I was in high school: Let's Put the Thanks Back in Thanksgiving!  It's still a good idea.  Maybe the gratitude we lift to reframe our perception of dark clouds will also prepare us in wonderful ways for the upcoming traditional gathering of thanks.  As you plan for dinner with your family and friends this year, think of the title of the hymn tune—
Come Ye Thankful People Come!

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted in big matters.

Albert Einstein