🐚 :: Details of Summer :: 🐚

I made this with a shell I found combing the beach like a nomad.  Summer maybe leaving us, but I will still keep her around my neck! ;)

Don't ever think you can't do something.  Don't be still in life either.  If you are not creating something, learning something, putting one foot in front of the other, your not going to grow.  Find that something that gives you a burn.  Travel.  Go expand your mind.

THOUGHTS

 💭 || Great quotes do not come from great people. They come from ordinary people who think differently. It is nice to be around people who THINK DIFFERENTLY than you. They challenge your ideas and stop you from being complacent. Which is my biggest fear 😳So get out there, meet new people, share your crazy ideas with the world and get inspired to do great

Soul Mates

I've never been one to fully rely on one person.  When I mean rely, I mean emotionally, artistically, educationally etc.  I mean there are so many people who you can click with over different things. There are so many people who can bring different things out of you and push you to greatness.  You do not need your spouse to be all things.

Every time I hear someone say something about their "soul mate" I would think........maybe there is something wrong with me, I don't have that one and only person to do all things with.  My best friend will only do things if her boyfriend is with her.  That is so not me.  Hopefully after the newness wears off she will come back to reality a bit.  I've been married for well over 20 years and  I have friends that I like to do certain things with as well as my spouse.  No one can be all things to a person.   Branch out a little..........grow.  Life would be boring if you didn't.

I came across something on the Internet the other day and it made me so happy to know I am not the only one who things that you need only one person to do all things with:

So, know it is OK to have a variety of soul mates.........your normal!

Happy New Year

I'm not going to start an exercise program with unrealistic goals to lose weight.  A program I will not continue with.  I'm being honest.  I don't need a new year to start that.  I do something every day to be healthy.  To incorporate good habits daily.  Those goals, those baby steps will form habits.

I'm not going to enroll in school to better myself.  I'm already in school.  I'm not going to start a new hobby because if I want to learn something, do something, travel somewhere, explore...........I do it.   It is life. It keeps moving and so should  you.

You don't need a holiday or any special day to start something.  You just start.  Everyday I try and surround myself with encouraging, thought provoking and inspiring things.  I don't care that Steve Harvey made a mistake announcing the Miss Universe winner.  It disgusts me on how we tear people apart in this society.  How we are so enthralled with how many selfies the Kardashians take.  You rarely see encouragement to reach out to others, to help people in your own community.  Has humanity taken a back seat?  

Everyone is worthy of forgiveness.  Everyone is worthy of second chances.  People make mistakes, horrible ones at times, but for some people, who they were then are not who they are now!

The news has become tabloid news and gossip.  More often then not it is always negative, never positive.  There are people who are in and out of the system/jails like it is a country club and we never do anything to try and rehabilitate them or put the fear in them so they never want to return. They just keep working the system.  They should have harsher sentences.  Maybe people will feel safer in their neighborhoods.   There are people who commit a crime one time and they are thrown away for life.  If they have mental issues we should treat it accordingly.  If someone shows remorse, if someone has grown and changed we should probably give them a second chance.

 I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down

Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town

I wear it for the prisoner who is long paid for his crime

But is there because he's a victim of the times
~Johnny Cash

There are a few things I came across over the past year that I am glad I saw.  Actually many things, but here are a few:

I Will Fear No Evil~ Less Brown

https://soundcloud.com/musiclover33-2/i-will-fear-no-evil-les-brown


Patty Smith.  I read her book Just Kids and it was great.  Not a big fan of her music, but I love how she tells a story.  I am getting ready to read her next book, M Train.  Here is an interview I came across.  Here is a speech she did "Advice To The Young"  Anyone can use it really.  Just go after what you want:

https://vimeo.com/57857893

Asher Moss and Melodi Meadows are artist.  I would love to hang out with them and just absorb their energy.  Check out their video below:

Kids on The Run on Vimeo

https://vimeo.com/125259757

I hope all who reads this has a great New Year's.  I hope all who reads this has peace and that something on this page.....one of the links a word... anything inspires you.  Always learn.  Always grow.  Always explore.

Food For Thought

Inspiration that I've collected from the Internet:


Class. Respect. Honest. Emotion. Defense. Loyalty_The traits of a real man.  Don't get confused.

Your successes and your failures are the result of your own mind.  You choose which way the road takes you.  No one else.

Characterize people by their actions.  Don't let their words fool you.

Your desire to succeed needs to be stronger than your fear of failure.

Local minded people will never understand global minded goals.

Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate

Shake Your Life Up A Bit

You get to a certain age or point in life when you take a look at who is around you.  You have to say to yourself, are these people giving me the best, positive energies to  make me a better person?  You should always want to be better than who you are now.  You always want to continue to learn, express and grow.  When your in your comfort zone, you are not at your best.

Stay away from people who complain.  Be around people who like to make a difference.  Ones who do something or write something or change something to make a difference, no matter how small. We are conditioned to believe that you have to have a 9-5, live in a cookie cutter neighborhood type of life.  If you step out of that mindset, be bold or daring you are looked at like a freak.

 

There are a lot of things discover in this life.  There are a lot of things you can do or be.  Reinvent yourself.  Reinvent a room in your house.  There are so many things that you can learn and do that will change you. Choose a different hair style, outfit.  Stepping out of the same old can renew you like you cannot believe.

You don't have to have a pile of money. Travel.  Even if it is walking or biking to explore your neighborhood.  Drive.  Take a weekend away or a few hours away off the beaten path.  Read, something out of the ordinary. Write, to someone, yourself or an opinion on topic on the Internet.

"Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until they're 75"-Benjamin Franklin

Art Journal

I LOVE art journaling.  Once a month friends and I get together with food and wine and create amazing pages and share ideas and talents.  

One of the things we like to do is make our own books.  Sometimes we will do a fat book challenge and anyone who wants to can make a page to add to it.  We usually pick a theme.  Once we have a count of how many are going to participate, say 10 people, we each make 10 pages then get together and bind them.  Here is an example of one that was done:

I love having a book with pages from my artist friends.  So inspiring.  These can be done on cardboard or water color paper.  You can apply a gel medium over painted pages to give a leather feel.  If you don't have binding equipment you can always put pages together by folding them in half, like a book, and securing them with ribbons or yarn by poking holes in the crease.  I usually do two holes in the center spaced about an inch apart.

I came across this picture on the web.  I printed it out and I pasted inside one of my art journals.  I randomly color the flowers with bright colors.  

I never really liked keeping a traditional journal.  I hated spewing negative thoughts on pages.  It is good to get it out, it really is, but I was always worried that it would get found.  The reason I am crazy over art journaling is because I can add images or paint abstract on my pages and write messages.  

I have several of Sabrina Ward Harrison's books.  She is one of hundreds of people who inspire me.  I do similar things with my pages. Here are some pages from her books.  

Happy Journaling!