Category: Art a Little More Robust-Inspiration Starters

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Take a New Class

It was rather late in my day, when I suddenly realized two things: 1) I wasn’t sure what I was going to be writing about this evening because 2) I did not draw an Inspiration Starter out of the jar this morning. My work day started the moment I woke up. And these double realizations came about at 6:00 this evening.

Reaching into the Inspiration Starters jar at night requires courage…and trust. The day is spent. There isn’t time to drive to a new town for an adventure or work on a large creative project. I reached into the jar anyway.

This is the slip of paper I drew out:

I smiled. This was very doable. And as it turned out, traveling down this trail as I searched for a class to take led me to an unexpected destination.

I checked out several options for furthering my education, in local shops and online. I found classes on nutrition, painting, photography, cooking, and a variety of artsy crafts. All looked interesting or fun…and yet none “rang my bell”, as Aubrey would say. They didn’t resonate with me.

And then, with my laptop plunked on my lap, I stumbled across a word that directed my path. It got my attention because it is my word for 2018…Story. I’m very excited about next year’s adventure as it is evolving and unfolding.

My new writing journal, with next year’s word and symbol on it.

As the year winds down, and the new year approaches, I experience this overlap of the old word and symbol and the frequent appearance of the new. It is the way life flows for me. When the word story caught my eye, it became a light on the path that drew me onward.

As a result, I found a wonderful website called Story Circle Network…by, for and about women. Visit the website HERE.

Founded in 1997, by Dr. Susan Wittig Albert, Story Circle Network is dedicated to helping women share the stories of their lives through memoir, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama, and to raising public awareness of the importance of women’s personal stories. They carry out their mission through a wealth of resources and activities, including online classes.

I am so excited to have found this place. I feel divinely guided and invited. And just as I was inspired this year by Alan Rickman’s quote, about making life a little more tender and art a little more robust, I will be empowered through Story Circle Network next year as I write stories.

Checking their online classes, I was immediately captivated by this one: The Love of Everyday Things: Telling the Stories of Our Lives by Teresa Cutler-Broyles. This class resonated with me. It begins January 22 and concludes March 5, with weekly writing assignments. Each week I will choose an object in my home and tell its story, its connection to my past or future, to my hopes and dreams and losses, to people or places or memories.

This class is perfect for me, on so many levels.

I’m excited about the class. Even more, I am excited about joining Story Circle Network. I already appreciate what it will offer to me as a member in the upcoming year, and I am eager to discover what I can offer to the network in return.

I love that I was led to this class, this place, because I drew a random slip of paper out of a jar, late in the day. I love that Trust whispered Do it… and belief enabled me to go for it. The beauty and wonder of it all makes my heart beat faster with immense gratitude. Isn’t life a grand adventure?

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Try a New Fruit

I was grateful to select an easy and fun Inspiration Starter today. I am always open to trying something new. I drew out the slip of paper with the words, Try a new fruit.

During the summer months, my local farmer’s market carries a huge assortment of amazing fruits and veggies. This time of year, I shop at the neighborhood grocery store. I hoped there would be a fruit in the produce section that I had not eaten before.

At the supermarket, I found one…one…fruit I had not tried before. There were cartons of small yellow fruits called guavas. Perfect! I bought a box containing 10 of the tropical fruits.

I had to look this fruit up, to learn more about it.

Guavas are indeed a tropical fruit, found in Mexico and Central and South America, and also in countries such as Pakistan, China and India. There are many varieties. The skin, which is edible, can be green, yellow or maroon when the fruit is ripe. The flesh inside can vary from off white in color to dark pink.

The fruit I bought for the first time was soft, with a fruity aroma. When I sliced one in two, the flesh inside was off white. The tiny seeds are very difficult to remove. Everything I read suggested the seeds, like the rind, were edible.

I chose to use my guavas to make a refreshing drink called agua de guayaba, or guava water.

The recipe was easy:

• 6 or 7 guavas

• 1/4 – 1/2 cup raw, unrefined coconut sugar

• 6 cups water, approximately

Wash guavas and slice each one in half. Drop into blender, rind, seeds and all. Add 4 cups of water and 1/4 cup of coconut sugar. Blend for one minute, or until fruit is thoroughly liquified. Pour into a pitcher. Add up to 2 more cups of water. Taste and add up to 1/4 cup more of coconut sugar.

I added more water. The taste was just right for me, sweetness wise, so I didn’t add additional sugar. The drink was very light and refreshing. I did not, however, like the seeds. Blending didn’t break down the tiny seeds and my body instinctively reacted to them, which is my way of knowing whether to consume something or not. It was a “not” for me.

It was a simple task to pour the guava water through a fine mesh strainer and remove the seeds. After that, I enjoyed drinking this special treat.

Guava has many health benefits, including being extremely high in vitamin C and vitamins B3 and B6. This small fruit reduces the risk of prostate and breast cancers, promotes a healthy digestive system, supports the thyroid, aids in weight loss, increases brain function, improves eyesight, prevents colds, slows the aging process, reduces cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and regulates blood sugar.

That is one power-packed little fruit!

Now that I am familiar with guavas, I will include them occasionally in my diet. This is their season, late fall and early winter. I have never noticed cartons of guavas in the produce section before. With an increased awareness of them, and their benefits, I will not be able to help but spot them now!

And that’s what I love about these creative games that I play. They expand my knowledge and my awareness, teach me trust and introduce me to new things. I always win, in so many ways, when I play!

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Travel Scavenger Hunt

I’m not quite sure what I had in mind when I wrote out this Inspiration Starter back in July…Go on a travel scavenger hunt. However, when I drew this slip of paper from the jar today, an idea immediately came to mind. A scavenger hunt, by definition, is a game in which the participant seeks to gather all of the specific items on a list.

I had a list in mind, and it was connected to travel.

The first Inspiration Starter I randomly drew on December 1 had to do with going on a Getaway Weekend. I was puzzled at first about why I drew that slip on a day when a weekend away wasn’t possible. However the day was full of surprises, and by the end of the afternoon I had been gifted with a generous check, for the very specific and stated purpose of having a solo weekend out of town.

I am full of anticipation for a few days of personal retreat time in January. I used today’s inspiration as a nudge to seek out the perfect place to get away to.

Here was my scavenger list for that special weekend:

• Location within 100 miles of Joplin, with particular interest in NW Arkansas or SW Missouri.

• Water view

• Kitchenette so I can do my own meal prep

• Private deck

• Cute place

• Seclusion

• Right price

I would know I had found the perfect place for my retreat if I could check all of the items off of my list.

After a bit of searching on my laptop, I “happened” to stumble across something new to me…Vacation Rentals By Owner, or VRBO. These homes, cottages, condos, apartments and cabins are managed by their owners, much like Airbnb, and the prices are incredibly good.

I sorted through possibilities, checking them against my scavenger list. Some had a couple of my “must haves”. Quite a few had six out of seven. I knew those were not the places for me. I found three that had all seven items. It then became a matter of which location appealed to me the most.

The little condo I have selected, located in NW Arkansas, not only had all seven of the items on my list, its decor drew me. There is a Namaste pillow on the bed, a framed art piece with the word HOPE on it, a glass door that opens onto a private deck. It is cozy, intimate and perfect for my purposes.

I love how the Divine has brought this whole idea of a getaway weekend together, encouraging me to go, giving me a playful nudge to find the right place, and providing the funds as a beautiful gift to me.

That last part carried significance today, as I played my scavenger hunt game. Because, the object of the adventure is to find the items on the list, without purchasing them. I laughed when I realized how wonderfully connected it all is.

It is going to be an amazing weekend away, I can already tell.