Weekends are "prompt free"---

So on this journey of NaBloPoMo, we don't get a writing prompt on Saturday and Sunday...   and that works out just fine for me today... because I have been thinking about a few things that need to see the light of day instead of hanging out in my head or heart.   Over the last year, I have participated in a few online workshops that have been fabulous and enabled me to break through some personal barriers with making art, talking to people, setting limits, and setting goals.  Strangely, breaking through any personal barrier is really the same "work" despite what the barrier is.  Define the barrier, define the things that keep it in place, decide which side of the barrier you want to be on, and then begin removing the things in the way either by redefining them or getting them gone.  And, no, I don't mean that it is easy, but it is doable.  And discovering that within me (within you) lies the ability, the power, to be the you you want to be is a really awesome experience.  Even when it happens once a week, or every day.  Our inner life, that voice within is ready and willing to awe us each time we let it be heard.  So, yeah, life is better now that it was, I'm more "me" than I've been for awhile, and I find that that is a journey I take every few years or so-- the one back to me.  Because I'm the kind of girl who has big ideas, and big dreams and I solve problems.  I rarely look at any situation and say "okay... we're done.  We can't fix this, or move past it, or come up with another way to get it done."  Though I don't always enjoy solving the problem or doing the work, I LOVE rising to the challenge, using my creative energy to come up with another "way," getting something solved, done, fixed.  
I'm the kind of  girl who knows that out there in the world are a bazillion ideas and things and people who I absolutely need to know, even if I don't then choose to keep them in my life.   I fear rejection like the next guy but I know that if I don't reach out, the answer will always be a closed door, an empty space where You might have been.  I recently attended a webinar with Jonathan Mead, hosted by Cara Stein, and while I was disappopinted to find that what was supposed to be a two hour webinar was not much more than an hour and most of it a sales pitch,  Jonathan presented the idea that instead of making a "to do" list, it might be time to make a "to stop" list.  And that really hit home with me.  Because I get myself stuck in the "I don't have time" trap all the time... yet I've been up for an hour this morning, and done nothing other than play a few games online and write this blog post.    What would that hour have been worth in terms of "time to do" if I hadn't gotten my cup of coffee and sat down at the computer?   What would each and every hour mean if I stopped before doing and thought for a few minutes about what I will have accomplished, gained, taught, or removed before I give my time to the task at hand?  
I've been giving a lot of thought to the idea that all the answers are "out there"  and we just have to learn to listen.   That we need to learn to be still, quiet and not just hear, but listen.   I know that the power of community is a powerful and altering thing-- that when we work together to accomplish something we are stronger than when we work alone.  I know that we get stuck feeling small and helpless and that our one voice cannot make a difference, our one small action cannot matter.  But it does.  Every time we reach out to someone and offer our genuine support, love we are making a difference.  Every time we turn off a light we don't need we are making a difference.  Every time we choose to shop locally, buy handmade, or even to do without, we are making a difference.  As I've been writing more about the real world realities of  my life, and not just about Planet You, or making art, or any of the other little wonders in my life, I've been so overcome by the responses of those of you who have stopped to listen.  I have been awed by your support.    You make a difference in my day and in my world, and it is so wonderful that you stopped to listen.    I believe that when you reah out, there will be someone with a returning hug.  We are here to make connections, foster bonds and forge ahead.  So I will tell you this... don't be afraid to tell your truth, ask to have your needs met, be honest, give your kindness, feedback, support, help when you are moved or called to do so.  The world is ready for you-- we are ready for all the fabulous gifts you have in your heart that you have been afraid to share.    And we need you. 
Make something beautiful with your heart and your hands,
Kaere