Quote - Happiness

image credit

The point of life is happiness.  ~The Dalai Lama

Lately

I signed up for three different online classes for the month of August and have been wondering how I will have enough time to devote to them plus stay active here. Along comes Susannah with the answer...

The August Break

Challenge accepted.

:: She Reads ::

Callings by Gregg Levoy and The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (audiobook)

:: She Listens ::

Beneath Your Beautiful by Labrinth featuring Emeli Sande

:: She Watches ::

Identity Theft 

:: She Creates ::

I worked in the backyard all weekend cleaning it up so I didn't have much time to create. I was able to make a few pages for my creative dream journal.

Have a great week!

Hugs,

Do Good, Feel Good :: fashionABLE Scarves

fashionABLE is committed to long-term poverty solutions by creating sustainable business options for vulnerable women in Africa. By purchasing a scarf you are supporting fashionABLE's two-fold strategy of women's small business cooperatives and partnering with manufacturers to employ women with fair wages and fair hiring practices. fashionABLE is a nonprofit and empowers women to become a vital part of a developing economy.

Here I'm wearing the Etanesh Solid in off-white.

Thanks to fashionABLE, Etanesh left a life of prostitution and abuse and is now ABLE to watch for her son Abel, "grow and be in a good place."

View more stories of the women here.

To purchase one of the many beautiful scarves, view the collections at fashionABLE.

Hugs,

P.S. It started raining on me while taking these pics, hence the raindrops on my tee. LOL.

*The post contains affiliate links.*

Quote - Great Moments

image credit

When a great moment knocks on the door of your life, it is often no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is very easy to miss it.  ~Boris Pasternak

Gently Led into the Red Tent

image credit

I'm not sure how I managed to go all this time without ever reading The Red Tent, but I have. It's been recommended to me multiple times but I pushed it aside and moved on to other books. My guess is that I wasn't ready for it quite yet.

Have you read this book? The book is voiced from the perspective of Dinah from the Bible, the daughter of Jacob and Leah. I love hearing about the women's time in the red tent during the new moon. Why have I never heard of the concept of the red tent until now? Perhaps I had but overlooked it. They say, "The teacher will arrive when the student is ready." I completely agree.

Anyway, the women circled in the red tent during their womanly cycles. This is where they were nourished and loved, rested and restored. This is where they honored their histories, of those of the women who had gone before them, and those who would come after them. This is where they healed.

Why have we not continued this practice? Oh, how the women would be nurtured by this divinely feminine support. We NEED this. Inside of us, we have a hunger for this lost story, a story that we can choose to weave into our history. Let us be led into the shelter of the red tent, gently by our sisterhood, our tribe. We shall rejoice as our bodies sync with the repetition of life, as we gather wisdom of the women and place in our pockets for safekeeping.

Let us heal.

Hugs,

Quote - Seeking

image credit

What you seek is seeking you.  ~Rumi

Lately

:: She Reads ::

Visioning by Lucia Capacchione and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (audiobook)

:: She Listens ::

Paper Doll from John Mayer

:: She Watches ::

Side Effects

:: She Explores ::

Pixie Campbell's 5-week online course Visual Quest begins July 29th and I took the plunge and registered! I've been called to join in since I first saw the promo video. I hope to see you there!

:: She Creates ::

Progression of Chakra Goddess, still in progress

Finishing up Journal your Life

:: She Loves ::

Taking new selfies

I took these two pictures through a scarf trying to get a "dreamy" look.

Have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Seek Beauty

There are days where I wake up so exhausted and grumpy that I'm not sure if I truly caught any sleep. Even so, I trudge on through my daily chores and put on a happy face. I'm a firm believer in the, "Fake it till you make it." concept and on days like these I have to place this theory into action. The most valuable approach for me is seeking beauty in the ordinary.

Take a moment and look around you.

What do you see?

Look past the obvious.

Call on your senses.

Is there something that you usually wouldn't notice that caught you eye?

Does it make you smile? Remember? Does it bring you joy?

Yes, that it!

Take a mental picture or an actual photo, if it helps.

Now, take that peace and try to carry it with you throughout your day.

When you're feeling a bit stressed, recall that mental picture. Take a few deep cleansing breaths as you focus on the image and bring yourself back to center.

Come back to this practice, if needed.

We get so busy in our lives that we don't always take the time to look around us and take in the little things that we would usually miss. This became so obvious to me when my son was a tot and he would be spellbound by what I deemed ordinary but he considered extraordinary. A rain drop, a snowflake, the wind blowing his hair, a butterfly, or even a flower amongst weeds.

Seek it and you will find it.

Hugs,

Quote - Destiny

image credit

As is your desire, so is your will.

As is your will, so is your deed.

As is your deed, so is your destiny.

~The Upanishads

Choosing Joy :: The Joy Up Giveaway!

For me, it all started with Spirits of Joy, seaching within to reconnect with my true self and remember the passions and dreams I had long forgotten. Part of my excavation was realizing that I am worthy of all the joy my heart could hold and what overflowed was at the ready to blanket those around me. It feels good to spread that passion for life with others and watch them unfold organically into beautiful, amazing beings.

This is why I’m hosting a giveaway for 3 spots to The Joy Up guided by the lovely Hannah Marcotti. Yes, three spots, thank you, Hannah! I want you to say, “Yes!” to:

- Showing up.
- Doing the work, but not for anyone but you. It’s your soulwork.
- To uncovering your dreams.
- Reconnecting with your joy.
- Stepping into your fiercely beautiful life.
- Seeking connection with a circle of women that your heart has been whispering for. Tribe.
- Unfolding, beautiful you.

The Joy Up begins on August 1st and runs through the 12th. Can you commit to 12 days of focusing on your joy, your self-care, your soul-care?

I’ll randomly pick three names on Wednesday evening at 6 pm CDT and post the lucky participants shortly after. To enter, leave a comment below declaring that you are chosing joy in your life.

Learn more about Hannah and the magical work she's sharing with the world at HannahMarcotti.com.

Hugs,

This giveaway is now closed.

And the lucky winners...

Cindi from Letting the Words Escape

Lisa Marie Tsering

and MPeez (Marisa)

Congratulations! Please send me an email so we can get you signed up for The Joy Up! amanda.j.stclairatgmaildotcom

Quote - Choosing

image credit

I chose and my world was shaken. So what? 

The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not.

~Stephen Sondheim