LIKE WINTER THUNDER....

Laugh wildly like winter thunder. (from PROMISES TO MYSELF, Conari Press)

Suze, my dreamer/friend, returned from her dance convention with a gift from the airport sundries shop. She walked in my studio with a toy: a plush black cat. She mysteriously reached into its fur and then set in on the carpet. The cat began rolling all over the floor while playing a recording of laughter. We were both lost.
I couldn’t have stopped laughing if I’d tried. I finally made her turn the thing off because my sides were starting to hurt. When she left I noted how invigorated I felt. I am always happy to see my friend – but that unrestrained laughter was some kind of medicine. I launched into my next project thunderously.
Winter thunder isn’t just a loud whack. It rolls around in the sky. And when one is done the next one is in line to compete for the award of longest peel. Find the good medicine of laugher in your day and let it roll around in the sky of your soul.
This image is from the brand new release from DEMDACO - beautiful interactive Art Blocks in the BOLD INSPIRATIONS line. Ask your favorite retailer to make them available for you!

WITHOUT APOLOGY....

Embrace your convictions without apology.

(quote from PROMISES TO MYSELF, Conari Press)

“Well, I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with you…”
Conflict is not at the top of many people’s list of favorite things. There are times when a deeply held conviction requires that we take a different path. Choosing a different road than your peers often generates difficulty. This is not a matter requiring an apology but one that is to be celebrated.
“The best place to stand is where everyone else – isn’t.” If you’ve ever been to a Disney property you know the rarity of approaching something that is absent a line. You never apologize for hopping on an entertaining ride absent standing in a line. You celebrate it for sure! So it is for the times in which embracing a conviction of yours leads you away from your peer group. It is an assurance that your vision toward your own goals and purpose is 20/20.
When I traveled to Paris with a group of friends, each traveler had different destinations in mind. Rather than argue over where we would all go together, we each pursued our own way and met up at the end of the day. No apologies. There was fascinating dinner conversation. Every one had fresh experiences to share and the journey was enlarged for everyone because of the diverse roads.

One often meets their destiny on their way
to somewhere else.

Where I think I’m headed and where I end up are often different places. The real point is to be on my way. I like to turn the phrase, “When you don’t know where you are going any road will get you there,” to this, “When you KNOW where you are going…every road takes you there.” It’s a subtle difference but important.
My thoughts about where I’m headed are like little feeder streams. They get me, ultimately, to the big river of my inspired vision. To “get there” though, my feet have to be moving. I must be willing to journey, to discover. And…in the process of meeting my destiny on the “way” to somewhere else…I must have open eyes and heart. So often our greatest good taps us right on the shoulder and we do not acknowledge it because it doesn’t look like what we expected. At every point in a journey you have to get your nose out of the map and pay attention to what is on the road. Pay attention!

(quote from PROMISES TO MYSELF, Conari Press)

NOW and...Then...

Extend your hand with the strongest reach.

(PROMISES TO MYSELF, Conari Press)

I’m carrying this letter dated December 26, 1772 around in my journal for the month of September. Did the author of this letter have any idea while penning this letter that 238 years later an artist would carry around their words? Likely not. 238 years – is quite a long reach.

I want to have an expanded awareness that when I extend my hand with my strongest reach…I have no idea of the consequences of that stretch. Thinking forward to the year 2,248 gives me serious pause. What might words and actions might mean to someone…238 years from now? And how does that action look today?

What does your strongest reach look like?

On The Wings of Possibility

In the quiet of this day may you know the greatness of your spirit and may your hopes fly on the wings of possibility.

(from maryanneradmacher.com poster # 01101)

Decades ago I wrote out the longings of my life. On that list was have seventeen books published. Hear that? Decades ago…and today I’ll share a photo in place of the essay. This photograph was sent by a friend who was visiting the country’s largest book store (I know, you New York folks claim the same about The Strand bookstore, but still…)Powell’s in Portland and was excited to find several of my many books. I’m on my way to seventeen…