Chasing the magic number is chasing an illusion, because it not only puts us outside of ourselves and our process, it puts us outside of today - far into the future, where we are free to make up stories based on nothing but fantasy.
There's no such thing as a magic number. But there is such a thing as magic. What feels like magic is different for all of us - a bluebird on the windowsill, a beautiful sunset, the handmade valentine from our child, the friend who holds our hand and listens to us with compassion and total acceptance - this is true prosperity. And true prosperity always feels like magic. Because it is. - Julia Cameron
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I'm re-reading Julia Cameron's book The Prosperous Heart. Although I rarely reread novels, I frequently reread non-fiction books - especially those to do with art and life coaching - and every time I do, I discover something new. The quote above was from yesterday's reading. Later that morning, the doorbell rang and a small, friendly woman with a basket full of cleaning supplies explained that she was going to clean and prep my front door and that her husband was following along behind with paint and a paintbrush. Apparently, at the last general meeting of the strata, the one I didn't attend, they had volunteered to paint the trim and yellowing plastic on each set of 113 doors. This struck me as magic. It's a task that's been on my to do list ever since we moved in and one I felt that I had to get to this fall. Now, I just need to paint the door itself and that is so much easier.
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The roll above is the remnants from the Lyn Mizono dress. There's quite a bit but perhaps not enough for another garment. I bought the fabric in Salmon Arm and a friend is going there tomorrow. She offered to stop by Fabricland and see if there is any more AND... tomorrow is the start of a buy 1, get 2 free sale in which this fabric is likely to be included since it was already discounted the last time I was there. Even if the fabric is sold out, this is magic.
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After restarting the little girl's sweater twice due to a lack of yarn - and even though I'm now knitting the smallest size - I'm still not sure that I'll have enough so I found another ball, different dye lot, on Ebay. When it arrived, the color was ever so slightly darker than the other balls but not dark enough to present a problem. I can use it for the edging and the collar. This is magic.
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I've been knitting and knitting and knitting and my scarf-like shawl is now 69" long. I'm aiming for somewhere between eight-six and a hundred and four inches but the real length will be the length of the remaining yarn. This variation is the third with this yarn and it appears to be a case of third time lucky. The shawl is looking like a perfect fall and spring accessory, perfect for Ashland if I finish it on time. This is magic.
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When I was at my friend Rosemarie's the week before last, she showed me a triangular scarf knit in garter stitch that started with five stitches and increased each end of every row to a short and wide scarf that wrapped well around the neck. This past Christmas, I knit a lot of scarves attempting to use up all the recycled yarn in my basket. I didn't BUT... some of what I have left will be just perfect for this scarf and the scarf will be just perfect as a take along project for both my trip and the drop-in session at Diane's studio on the Wednesday. This is magic.
The prosperous heart is abundant. While we may not have all that we wish, we can be assured that we have "enough." Rather than insatiably craving more, the prosperous heart makes the most of the stores that it has. We find we can meet our needs and even our wants. We know that prosperity is more than our cash flow, more than our fiscal bottom line. Prosperity is a matter of faith. The prosperous heart trusts that the future will be cared for, as is the day at hand. The prosperous heart does not fear abandonment. The prosperous heart believes that even its tiniest whisper meets God's ear.- Julia Cameron
Lately, I've been struggling with the lack of progress in the mess of the rest of my life and I've been soothing myself with a little too much on-line shopping - some fabric, some yarn, some books. The magic within my studio is a good reminder that while I may not have all that I wish for, I certainly have enough and that I can soothe myself at home while knowing that even my tiniest dreams and wishes are reaching God's ear.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - stash magic
There's no such thing as a magic number. But there is such a thing as magic. What feels like magic is different for all of us - a bluebird on the windowsill, a beautiful sunset, the handmade valentine from our child, the friend who holds our hand and listens to us with compassion and total acceptance - this is true prosperity. And true prosperity always feels like magic. Because it is. - Julia Cameron
I'm re-reading Julia Cameron's book The Prosperous Heart. Although I rarely reread novels, I frequently reread non-fiction books - especially those to do with art and life coaching - and every time I do, I discover something new. The quote above was from yesterday's reading. Later that morning, the doorbell rang and a small, friendly woman with a basket full of cleaning supplies explained that she was going to clean and prep my front door and that her husband was following along behind with paint and a paintbrush. Apparently, at the last general meeting of the strata, the one I didn't attend, they had volunteered to paint the trim and yellowing plastic on each set of 113 doors. This struck me as magic. It's a task that's been on my to do list ever since we moved in and one I felt that I had to get to this fall. Now, I just need to paint the door itself and that is so much easier.
The roll above is the remnants from the Lyn Mizono dress. There's quite a bit but perhaps not enough for another garment. I bought the fabric in Salmon Arm and a friend is going there tomorrow. She offered to stop by Fabricland and see if there is any more AND... tomorrow is the start of a buy 1, get 2 free sale in which this fabric is likely to be included since it was already discounted the last time I was there. Even if the fabric is sold out, this is magic.
After restarting the little girl's sweater twice due to a lack of yarn - and even though I'm now knitting the smallest size - I'm still not sure that I'll have enough so I found another ball, different dye lot, on Ebay. When it arrived, the color was ever so slightly darker than the other balls but not dark enough to present a problem. I can use it for the edging and the collar. This is magic.
I've been knitting and knitting and knitting and my scarf-like shawl is now 69" long. I'm aiming for somewhere between eight-six and a hundred and four inches but the real length will be the length of the remaining yarn. This variation is the third with this yarn and it appears to be a case of third time lucky. The shawl is looking like a perfect fall and spring accessory, perfect for Ashland if I finish it on time. This is magic.
When I was at my friend Rosemarie's the week before last, she showed me a triangular scarf knit in garter stitch that started with five stitches and increased each end of every row to a short and wide scarf that wrapped well around the neck. This past Christmas, I knit a lot of scarves attempting to use up all the recycled yarn in my basket. I didn't BUT... some of what I have left will be just perfect for this scarf and the scarf will be just perfect as a take along project for both my trip and the drop-in session at Diane's studio on the Wednesday. This is magic.
The prosperous heart is abundant. While we may not have all that we wish, we can be assured that we have "enough." Rather than insatiably craving more, the prosperous heart makes the most of the stores that it has. We find we can meet our needs and even our wants. We know that prosperity is more than our cash flow, more than our fiscal bottom line. Prosperity is a matter of faith. The prosperous heart trusts that the future will be cared for, as is the day at hand. The prosperous heart does not fear abandonment. The prosperous heart believes that even its tiniest whisper meets God's ear.- Julia Cameron
Lately, I've been struggling with the lack of progress in the mess of the rest of my life and I've been soothing myself with a little too much on-line shopping - some fabric, some yarn, some books. The magic within my studio is a good reminder that while I may not have all that I wish for, I certainly have enough and that I can soothe myself at home while knowing that even my tiniest dreams and wishes are reaching God's ear.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - stash magic
Our greatest fear is that we will never live a life worth sharing with others, never live a story worth telling but that we will find ourselves trapped in a story for which there is no ending, only an endless cycle of disappointment and defeat. The lie that paralyzes us is that those failures and disappointments disqualify us from living out the great story of our lives. The reality is that our struggles and suffering give us the content to tell the greatest story of our lives. To do this, though, we must discover the unique characteristics that distinguish those individuals who have know both tragedy and triumph, who have found the dancing after the mourning and who have learned to count it all joy when they faced trials of many kinds.
- Erwin Raphael McManus