milestones that break and make

As a family we love to celebrate personal sucesses, achievements and evolution - opportunities for reflection and in particular the transformation and transmutation of something that is not working, past it sell by date, into something new and functional, more attractive and comfortable.

Last Friday evening saw the Private View of an exhibition featuring the art work of both Laurie – Pre Degree Art Foundation, and Lily – A Level Photography.

For Laurie especially, it was very personal milestone that marked the ending of a traumatic and emotionally charged time. A year that had begun with such high hopes, vitality and promise of a bright and shiny future but unexpectedly morphed into the type of life experience that either makes or breaks.

Ironically it did both – the sudden loss of a very special friend shattered the rose coloured spectacles in one fell swoop, destroying everything that we believed to be a given. The impact was beyond words, the emotional pain indescribable, yet completely tangible and all consuming. Resilience and resourcefulness betrayed us for some time, but eventually... slowly but surely, we all came to a resting place that clearly demonstrated to us that experiences such as these can be wonderful opportunities to reflect; reassess our beliefs and  values, our life's aims and objectives, our loves and desires, and our understanding of ourselves and our relationship to each other.

Laurie bravely chose to expose herself; to examine these fragile and very personal emotional experiences and translate her inner landscape into three dimensional form. Exploring what identity, collective consciousness, freedom and separation might look like and how they could be contained or defined, understood and integrated. If the human body is such a container for emotion, how might this be depicted in abstract form?

The resulting sculptures and light boxes are inspiring and demonstrate a true commitment to integrate and define a year of challenging experiences. Check out Laurie's art blog to read her own insightful reflections of this exploration.

 

Despite intending to depict four individual aspects of herself within four separate forms, Laurie's final exhibition has become more like pure emotion itself; undistinguished and elusive in what the sculptures represent with the experiences and emotions overlapping and merging within. Moving independently spinning and swaying, yet spontaneously connected with each other; the pieces interacting in ways that can not be anticipated, truly representing real life emotional adventures subsequently influencing and affecting our everyday actions both consciously and unconsciously.

Our family reflections concluded that at any given moment we can choose how to utilise and make the most of any situation or experience, of what we have on offer; sad experiences, happy memories, exhibition space, materials, time etc. even those thrust upon us.

It is what we choose to create from these, that truly defines us, makes us, as individuals. Laurie's gorgeously talented friend will never be forgotten for she now resides in the hearts of each of us, inspiring us every day to live in the moment, to take nothing for granted and seek opportunities for creative expression and connection in everything that we do.
xxxxxx

inspiration of the year

Just had to share this link from the incredibly inspiring world renowned nutritional expert, David Wolfe speaking out as to why he rejects accumulating financial wealth opting instead to follow ancient Taoist principles of owning little and sharing much.

Pretty awesome example to set in these changing times of discontentment and financial instability. Check out his website  for more scrumptious life changing support. Thank you David for putting it out there XX

one small step for you and me; one huge step for mankind....

Having been inspired by my gorgeous friend Charlotte and then reading the beautiful blog of Erin's, at Bluebirdbaby , I  have committed myself to a year of conscious "choice"....a year of having faith in the process, of being ever present and mindful, aware in every moment, of the choices on offer. And then to be grateful and to honour the subsequent experiences. As life is ours to create at will through these choices we make, anything we desire.

We've had a pretty rough ride these last few years, and I have allowed these experiences to cloud my judgement. I became scared,I lost faith in myself and my abilities to create my own story; my own reality the way I choose.
And yet I really genuinely believe in the innate ability that we all possess; the potential to be more than we've ever allowed ourselves to be and as we re-invent ourselves individually, we do so collectively.
Every single moment presents the opportunity of choice, the opportunity for us to be new in a split second of time.

Look at how amazing the transformation of caterpillar to butterfly is. If we didn't know this to be fact, and we had never see the process with our own eyes, could we believe it possible?



Life is a field of unlimited possibilities. We have the very same potential as the butterfly, to deconstruct  whilst simultaneously reinventing ourselves. We have no hard wiring, if we did, every physiology would be totally predictable. Instead we build new pathways and circuitry at will in response to every new experience, every new choice we make.
So whilst no choice is ever right or wrong, good or bad, they do dictate the life, the outcome, the behaviours, the reality that is created as a result.

The biggest, scariest choice I have recently made is to expose myself through this blog...what will happen, what will people think.....

I had intended to write for some time, friends commented often, asking when it would happen, and for six years I allowed the fear to get in the way. I had made choices previously and had trouble with the powers that be. So threatening, we stood to lose our children as a result of refusing to vaccinate, feed cows milk, meat and wheat to our six month old twins. Incidentally, animal protein can not effectively be broken down and utilised in a baby's gut  at this age despite certain baby food manufacturers being allowed to include it in their processed baby food that is then marketed for being suitable to feed from 10 weeks, but that's for another time.

So this blog was a huge leap of faith for me. At new year, Charlotte predicted that in a year's time, I would find my life in a completely different place; a place I hadn't even imagined, the choices I would make would open up a myriad of possibilities..and the rest would be history.

No regrets, only freedom and liberation, and endless choices. How exciting!

If you would like to join us, you'll find the code for the blog button courteous of Erin here -

So who shall I choose to be today? Whom will you choose? And what shall we create together??

Love XXxxxx