Sunday, June 30, 2019

Woman with the Flowers in Her Hair: Part 2

Homelight. Woman with the Flowers
in Her Hair, 2019
“She wore flowers in her hair and carried magic secrets in her eyes. She spoke to no one. She spent hours on the riverbank. She smoked cigarettes and had midnight swims...” ~~― Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” ~~Iris Murdoch

“We need to spread more seeds and fill this Planet with love to be surrounded by flowers just everywhere! It starts by simply opening up our hearts and hands to one another. It's in simple things where true Happiness may flourish.” ~~ Ana Claudia Antunes, A-Z of Happiness: Tips for Living and Breaking Through the Chain that Separates You from Getting That Dream Job





Steps in Completion:

























The Woman with the Flowers in Her Hair
By Homelight 1/10/2019

Let me tell you about the woman
with the flowers in her hair. I awake
moments before the dawn showers. When
sunlight paints hymns of pinks, cheery
oranges, playful yellows blended
Into divine purple -- rainbow hues
revel my beauty.

“Zippidee do dah,” I sing. “It’s going to be
a wonderful day.”

It is me with the flowers in my hair,
standing in my power -- heart aligned
to create my “today’s story.” Everyday
a choice for more joy, for more love, for more
expansion along my spiral journey.
Nightly rituals to make right within, I shed
sloth off yesterday’s walls, outgrown
habits-- rocky people all forgiven
I am reborn into the sunshine
lite, renewed.

“Zippidee do dah,” I sing. “This day will be
wonderful.”

I love that woman with the flowers in her hair.
I am strong, kind and gaily spread
infectious laughter. It's in the tunes
I whistle to make feet tap, hips sway
with merriment. I am a woman
with flowers in my hair -- opening hearts
to possibilities in all things. I am woman
who love life.

“Zippidee do dah,” I sing, “What a wonderful
day.”

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Woman with the Flowers in Her Hair

Homelight, The Woman with the Flowers
in Her Hair. 2019
One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.” 
~~Joan of Arc

Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it
~~Oprah Winfrey

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." ~~Maya Angelou

“bloom/beautifully/dangerously/loudly/bloom softly/however you need/just bloom” ~~Rupi Kaur



Conform or be transformed?

I recently came across several articles about these two words: conform or be transformed. The gist of the articles was that many of us measure joy and happiness on how much stuff we have.  The articles described the external variables we use in measuring happiness:  our job, the car we drive, or where we live, how we look and dress.   There is a toll in believing these are the key ingredients for happiness.  When I find myself under stress I begin to conform to these computations.  I forget that happiness and joy comes from within.  


There is another variable that lurks and influences how I get stuck.  The damn mirror and bullies and naysayers don't like the facets that make me who I am.  My inner critic is addicted to their messages and repeats them in my head.  Out of fear or having anxiety, I push away my uniqueness...my way of making chocolate cakes or gardening or choosing black versus the bright colors my real self likes to wear.  I feel bad for trying to fit into a "dictated mold" and I feel bad that I have conformed.  Ultimately, I sit and stew that I am sacrificing who I am to feel prescribed happiness and joy.   

~~~

Our Deepest Fear
By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.
We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Williamson, Marianne. A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles." New York, NYHarpersOne, 1992. 

Note: The quote, “Our Deepest Fear” often is quoted as being part of Nelson Mandela's inaugural speech, "Our Deepest Fear" does not appear in the speech. Marianne Williamson herself has noted this mistaken attribution.

~~

My recent painting, "The Woman With the Flowers in Her Hair," I dedicated it to a quest for happiness and joy in my life.  While I painted I reflected:  Why don't I welcome my own style?  Why am I unsure about what I really like or don't like? Why is it easier for TV and the magazines to inform me?  

I began searching for what it really feel to be happy? (Not what my family or friends feel happiness is, but me.)  I landed on this song by the Cowsills:  The Woman with the Flowers in her Hair or The Rain, The Park and Other Things.  For those not familiar.  It was a sunshine pop song of 1967 by a family band (reminding me of the Partridge Family Show).  

The lyrics talk about a woman wearing flowers in her hair and is in the park.  It takes courage to pull this look off and then to have the confidence to go out into a public space.  Listening to the song, while painting; I began to wonder what happened to my courage.  Why am I allowing people to dictate my journey?  My journey?







I Love the Flower Girl by The Cowsills ( lyrics on video )