Metamorphosis Journal

I'm not sure what this activity was really called...maybe an "Intention Journal" or something like that....maybe "journal" wasn't in the title at all; however, it's an activity we did at the yoga retreat.

I'll just admit up front that I'm art opposed and artistically oppositional. I don't do crafts. However, one HUGE change that has come about over the past year is that I'm really super attracted to color now and a way I wasn't before. Odd, but true. Even more so, I'm drawn to colors that I previously found annoying, such as bright colors.

So, when I was presented with this activity at the retreat, I was less than enthusiastic. I had set as my personal intent to be receptive...palms turned up during meditation and all that to receive, so I didn't totally discount the activity. But I wasn't sure what I was going to do.

Yet, I started cutting as instructed, just focusing on images that appealed to me. It was a little too touchy feely for my comfort zone, but heck, I was 0ver 700 miles from home, doing yoga with strangers. If that wasn't the place to explore outside my comfort zone, nothing is. So I did.

Anyway, as I've said in at least one other blog entry, I've been having trouble formalizing and articulating how I've changed over the past year. Working on this project, though, helped with that.

The interesting thing is that I had images sorted, but they just weren't coming together on the page for me, until it occurred to me that I had to create backgrounds. Then it all fell together.

I've only done four pages total, but I intend to set time aside over the next few weeks and months to continue working on this project.



The cover has the Chinese symbol for 'live' on it in green glitter and the quote says "The purer the attention I can pay to whatever I happen to be doing or working on at the time, the fuller my life life experience."




Inside the front cover:

The page representing the more active me....and my physical goals (as I am far from "buff" and may never actually become so). I especially like the quote on the bottom right that says, "Someone who's got what you've got is out doing what you're not."

The yoga page...after all, it was a yoga retreat and the activity was in the "yoga off the mat" time slot. I am going to be more diligent about my practice.

Spiritual pursuits, calming, centering...

I'm so excited

Tomorrow I get to meet face to face with a long time internet friend and someone who has been quite helpful and supportive during this past Year of Suck: Gena Ram.

Gena, having had breast cancer herself several years ago, just stepped right up to the plate and provided an awful lot of support to me, especially in the early days when it was just all so horrible. I'm not sure what I would have done without her.

She also organized a huge Posse of caring people, probably including many of you reading this, to provide support in both concrete ways (financial) and emotional.

And tomorrow, I get to meet her and spend a weekend with her at a yoga retreat for breast cancer survivors.

As I've said elsewhere today, I rarely get school-girl giddy, but I really am giddy with excitement about meeting Gena and this weekend. However, moreso about meeting Gena.

I know many of you were helpful in making this happen, and I'm so very grateful. Thank you very much.

Waaaahhhh....

....missed yoga this morning. It was 8:00, then it was 9:05.

I hate missing things I've paid for.

As Louis said, "You can do it at home."

As I said, "Sure, if all of you go away so I can have some quiet."

As Louis said, "Guess you missed yoga."