http://whatareyougivingaway.com Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:11:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Once upon a time I had a blog. It was a friendly little blog that was happy being just the way it was with no great aspirations of one day growing up and hangin’ with the big blogs.  I did what I wanted on that blog – wrote what I ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/10/journey-of-a-blogger/ For reasons I can't fully explain (not even to myself), I have decided that it's time for a little self-imposed online silence. I need to focus on a few other things right now, and I need to spend some time just being quiet and not caught up in the clutter ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/10/a-time-for-silence/ I didn't know Karla before she visited my house for the launch party for this site, but she'd been reading my blog and knew enough about me to know that she'd be interested in hanging out with me for an evening.  I'm so glad she did, because it didn't take ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/10/the-gifts-we-give-ourselves-reflections-from-karla-penner/ Reading the Desire chapter of The Joy Diet stirred something in me this week.  Martha Beck writes that if we are attuned to our heart's deepest desire, we will recognize our calling, our gifts - our true purpose in life. One of the places my journey toward more fearlessness has taken ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/10/making-space-for-desire/ It all started with a map. I love maps. This was one of those old fashioned sepia-toned maps that I’d used as inspiration for my treasure hunt. I cut a piece of it and glued it to my art journal.  On one corner of the map, I stuck a photo of ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/10/beauty-in-the-shadows-making-peace-with-my-dark-side/ Perhaps I'll just retire and let Maddie take over the blog. Or maybe I'll just have a monthly "Art with Maddie" segment. (After we recorded this, she suggested I send the video to "that guy who painted the Mona Lisa". I informed her that he was dead, but assured her there ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/10/some-thoughts-on-art-from-our-resident-artist-maddie/ [caption id="attachment_472" align="alignright" width="280" caption="Christine Mason Miller (photo by Denise Andrade http://deniseandrade.com/)"][/caption] One day in the early Spring of this year, when this website was busy getting born in my brain, I came across Christine Mason Miller's story of how she was leaving copies of her book, Ordinary Sparkling Moments, ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/10/live-your-truth-and-follow-your-instincts-reflections-by-christine-mason-miller/ Maddie has no doubt that she’s an artist. “Of COURSE I’m an artist,” she told me one day as she put brush to paper, just after I’d mused “maybe you’ll be an artist when you grow up”.  Why would there be any doubt - if she can pick up a ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/10/let-the-little-children-lead-us/ I’ve had a few people tell me lately that I’m “one of the most fearless people they know”. Gulp. Part of me is flattered and wants to wrap that description around me like a colourful jacket and wear it proudly as I strut down the street. But part of me ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/10/lets-talk-about-fear-one-of-the-dragons-im-facing-on-the-treasure-hunt/ [caption id="attachment_452" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Vicki Madden with her family"][/caption] I think my online friendship with Vicki Madden started about 5 years ago when one of us stumbled on the other's blog and we discovered almost instantly that we were kindred spirits.  These days, she's without a blog (though that will be ... http://whatareyougivingaway.com/2009/09/seeing-beauty-through-a-viewfinder-reflections-from-vicki/