Burford Designs

The Artist's Way

If something continues to show its self to me I pay attention.  When the same topic, or book, or name pops up in different conversation or events I take notice.  This past week that is exactly what happened with the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. 

I vaguely recall hearing about it before but it was never anything really memorable, but that’s why when I saw the name again it was somewhat familiar.  The first instance was a couple of days ago, I was looking up some information on writing and was wondering about fonts so I typed my query into Google and proceeded from there.  One of the answers I came across mentioned The Artist’s Way and one of the writing exercises that he still did to this day.  It intrigues me but not enough to actually do anything about it.

 

Later that same day while I was on a site about scrapbooking I followed a link to another site which lead to a link to yet another site (and that’s how some afternoons just seem to get away from me) where I found a site that was inspired by another exercise from The Artist’s Way.  I thought that was pretty cool, to have two randomly different searches both bring me to the same book, and yet, still I did nothing about it and basically left it at that. 

 

But, this book was not to be forgotten or pushed aside so easily.  The very next day I received an email and in that email was a link to articles to help build my business.  One of the articles listed something like the 10 must read books and if you haven’t guessed it already The Artist’s Way was on that list.  Since I don’t believe in coincidences I decided that I needed to look into this book and my first stop was the online search for my local library.

 

Now, I live in a very small town, a hamlet really, and I wouldn’t be exaggerating too much to say that my personal library is probably larger then the one in town.  The nice thing is that in the past year and a half they have connected with several libraries in the area, in both large and small communities, to have an inter-library loan and anyone with a library account can look up books and have them delivered to their local library.  This is something I really took advantage of when I lived in California and I still utilize today.  No matter if no one else in town knows who I am, I am always on a first name basis with every librarian I have ever encountered, usually because I check out so many books (seriously, since I was five and got my first library card I have checked out a minimum of ten books a month).  Since I live in this hamlet, they typically don’t have the exact book I want on hand at that moment.  Generally I go online to their network, place a book on hold and frequently have to wait about a week or so, sometimes it’s just a couple of days. 

 

That’s exactly what I thought would happen with this book.  I logged in and did a quick search for The Artist’s Way, it came up with multiple listings and that is always a good thing.  I clicked on it and noticed that the first few selections were checked out and not due until January, this was not looking good.  As I scrolled down I saw that the last few listings read the same but right there, near the bottom, was one little library that had the words ON SHELF listed under the library name, and that little library was right next door to my work.  Rather than put the book on hold and wait for a librarian to grab it for me and call me when it was ready I decided that it was time to take a break and sauntered next door.

 

It was quick to find and now I have another book to read over my winter break.  It will be a good thing to begin the New Year.

The Top 10 Holiday Should's (And Permission to Let Them Go!)

by Christine Kane

Do you know the "Shoulds?" Those voices that occasionally creep around your head telling you that things aren't as good as they could be and that everything would be better if you behaved well?

Yea?

Well, you're not alone. We all go there from time to time. Some of us spend our every waking moment "shoulding" all over ourselves!

In the work I do, I know one thing to be true about this time of year:

The Holiday Shoulds are a special breed of Should. The Holiday Shoulds are loud and insidious. If you're not conscious, they can make you believe that they're a rational way to think.

After all, during the holidays, people become almost hypnotized into believing that every moment should be a certain way, that every yard should look a certain way, that every family should behave a certain way - and that it's okay to beat themselves up for their own preferences or for not keeping up with the imaginary standard.

Here's a list of the Top Ten Holiday Shoulds, along with a thought or two about simply letting them go, and delighting in this moment. In the words of Byron Katie: "When I argue with What Is, I lose. But only 100% of the time."

1 - I should have a new outfit to wear to the Christmas party!

Last year's outfit is fine. Your shiny happy self tells a brighter story than something you bought at a store.

2 - I should have done hand-made Christmas cards! (Or, I should've done Christmas Cards at all!)

Relax. If you had time to delight in making cards, that would be great. But it's okay that you didn't. And as for not sending cards, you can send them out next year. (Or, be like my brother's family and send out annual Valentine Cards instead!)

3 - My kids/parents should behave differently!

Everyone is doing the best they can. What would happen if you simply accepted each person's path and choices - and let them be exactly where they are?

4 - I should've bought more expensive presents!

When gifting becomes about competition or keeping up, then it just drains you. Take a moment to remember who you are and how you want to love the people in your life. Nothing beats authenticity.

5 - I should go out and buy more [insert useless consumer good or processed food here.]

When you nervously become a consumer for no reason, challenge yourself to sit down, listen, and experience the emptiness. You might find that it's actually quite peaceful in there!

6 - I should've lost weight this year!

Become a champion of yourself. Make a list of five great things you accomplished this year, and let go of those things you didn't. You can revisit them in January.

7 - The Holidays should look more like the pretty scenes in a snow globe or on Christmas specials!

The cool thing about snow globes and such is the happy feeling they create inside of you. Instead of thinking everything should make you feel that way, try to capture the feeling you get from those things - and then carry that feeling to each moment in your life. I call this Positive Daydreaming.

8 - I should've made [Insert time-consuming baked good featured on Martha Stewart]!

See #5.

And remember that Martha Stewart has a very large staff. And that there's rarely a shortage of sugary baked items during the holidays.

9 - My house should have better decorations!

See #8.

And go take a nap.

10 - I should make better scrapbook pages after the holidays!

Doing good scrapbooks does not make you a good mother, sister, daughter or friend. Doing good scrapbooks makes you someone who has time to scrapbook. If you use photo-boxes or boring albums, you're still a wonderful human, and we'll all still love you.

**BONUS SHOULD**

11 - It should be The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas is lovely with all of its twinkle lights and confectionary goodies, AND there are many wonderful times each year. (I happen to love each and every time I hike in the woods, no matter what time of year it is!)

Wonderful is about your delight and how you feel on the inside. When you let go of what is not authentic delight for you, then you might be surprised at how simple the holidays become. You might find that wonderful is right here in this very moment.

*~*~*~*

Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 12,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.

I Think, Therefore It's Thinkpad

Christmas came early for me this year.  I decided to stop hoping and wishing for a laptop computer and decided to finally purchase one.  One really nice thing about my job is that we are able to purchase computers through the district and then have it come out of our paychecks, the only requirement, other than being an employee, is that the purchase has to be paid off by the end of our fiscal year (August).  That means that I have the next nine payrolls to spread out my repayment. 

I already had some money saved up and I didn’t want to put the purchase on a credit card and have to deal with any interest so once I figured out what I wanted I set about figuring out my finances and moved some things around so that when I came across the deal I wanted I could get it.  Just such a deal arrived last week in the form of a Black Friday sale.  I was hemming and hawing between getting the laptop I really wanted and one that was smaller and slanted more towards my frugal side.  I knew that I could deal with the smaller computer but I also knew that I would be settling and that ultimately I would only regret I had made the purchase I really wanted.  The difference in what I was getting was pretty significant; however the price was about $200 different. 

 

My first instinct, and in fact my first action, was to put the cheaper laptop in my shopping cart.  Once in there I saw that the ship date was slated for 3/14/2011.  Wait, what????  March??? Oh, heck no, I quickly removed it from the cart, went back to my original desire and placed it in my cart.  The ship date for that one was 12/14/2010… I could deal with that.

 

On Tuesday I received a notice that my laptop had shipped and yesterday I came home and it was waiting for me on my dining room table. 

 

One of the main reasons I wanted a laptop was because I always felt that I would be more productive.  I like to write (type) and edit photos, but I hate having to sit at my desk in my room where my desktop is located in order to do it.  I like to be out where everyone else is, I like to be able to work wherever I am and this is what I am now able to do.

 

Here’s to being more productive!