I’m an Artist, You’re an Artist

You may not have heard of them, but that is the point. There are unknown visionaries around every corner creating all kinds of written, visual and performance art and changing the landscape of their own souls, their families, and their communities. Really, we are all artists. Yes, you too! Don’t you think you are creating something that has never been created before this very moment through every word, thought and gesture that you dispatch? Your whole design of (insert your name here) is a piece of art. Accept it. Then, ask yourself what kind of art you are sharing with the world through being you.

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Well, now that you know you’re an artist, let’s turn our attention to a non-profit group called FOKUS. They deserve a big shout of for their  persistent and passionate work toward empowering artists and their communities through art education. In their Insight Magazine, they allow artists of all types to have a moment of recognition, and they have recently done so for Life As a Wave.

After reading, “From one and One” a FOKUS co-founder invited Life As a Wave to take part in an Insight issue themed, Color and Light. When they invited me, I thought, “No, I’m not an artist.” Thank goodness that didn’t last long and I came to my senses (see above paragraph, in case you’ve already forgotten.) This past weekend, the issue was published. I am so humbled to be included on the pages alongside such inspiring pieces. Hellbent’s public art project is my new favorite. You can peruse the magazine by clicking on the cover below. Don’t miss Life As a Wave’s moment in the spotlight on pages 48 and 49.

Tribal Configurations by Joseph Meloy

(your name here)

At peace with myself by Racquel McMullins

Here is an inspired writing I wanted to share with you. It wrote it today as I contemplated and inquired about the social anxieties, fears of perception, and bowing to expectations that we all have experienced at one time or another, some more often than others. They can cripple us so much in our attainment of spiritual and personal growth. What is the answer or nugget of truth that we need to encounter to see these things transformed? Well, I don’t have the answer for that for each person, but I know the words below were part of the answer for me, for this day.

You are a crucial part of this wonderful universe and all of the beautiful parts of you are eagerly waiting to express themselves in freedom and creativity. As you read this poem, try saying it out loud with your name inserted. Remind yourself of who you are.

Today, be (your name here.)

You would be surprised at all the ways you are not being you.

Be (your name here.)

*

When they say

Be this

Do this

Want this

With all their good and bad intentions

Filter it all through the intuition of (your name here.)

Let those things go that are not of (your name here)

For this time.

You will know them when you feel them.

If you need them, they will come back around.

*

Today, all you have to do is

Be (your name here.)

Today, the world needs you to

Be (your name here.)

From one to ONE

I have been feeling more and more boundless during my times of prayer. When I close my eyes and sink deeper and deeper into it, I can begin to sense that the idea of my body as my boundary is contrived. That my true self is without limits. Like I said, I’m no ordinary squirrel.

I remember when I was about nine that I had a life-changing moment driving past the lake in the passenger seat of my mom’s car. Looking out the window I suddenly realized in my gut that I was completely singular, completely alone in my experience. I remember looking at mom and, with no small sense of amazement, realized that she and I were two different people and our experience of the world would never fully converge. I would never know what her eyes saw as she looked at the same road I was looking at, or how the seat beneath her felt on her legs, or what thought was filling her mind from one moment to the next. It felt very isolating, yet somehow inspiring. There was suddenly a feeling of importance for my life, but also great alone-ness.

Whether or not it is related to that early event, for most of my life I have been operating under an unexamined belief that we are all separate. Why wouldn’t I think that? Don’t most people think that? Doesn’t it look like that? I am me and you are you. I am one and you are one. Here we are:

one, by ~~~S Wave~~~

Even as I’ve come to know more about God, even as I’ve experienced inexplicable connections with a few very special people, even as I have done some reading up on metaphysics and theories of transpersonal connection, my grander experience of life has never really changed. So why would my overall paradigm change?

But now, something new is dawning. The other night, as I was feeling boundless, I said, “Thank you for the way you move through all things.” With those words my paradigm changed. Suddenly there is a ONE. If my Self is boundless, then your Self is boundless. And his…and hers… Where do you begin and I end? Where does my spirit or consciousness or energy cease to inform yours and vice versa? Where does yellow end and green begin?

ONE, by ~~~S Wave~~~

I’m telling you, I am walking down the streets of Los Angeles the past few days passing people and thinking, “Do you know that we are actually colliding right now?? That you are made up of divinity just like the rest of us? How cool is that!?” This doesn’t mean I have to trust every person, that I have to welcome their energy into my experience, but I do think it is a part of the Love that I have asked to learn more about.

As for separateness, I think we are separate as sensory processors and as egos. My little nine year-old self was right about that. But senses and egos are not all we are.

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A final reminder—for you and for me—that this blog was started with the idea that we are like waves. Remember that you can not point to where your wave ends and another’s begins. Nor can you can point to where your wave begins and the ocean ends. It is a metaphor I like…and now I like it even more. Hope you do too.

A Poem For the Dove

The Dove

She is my voice.

When I discover her, at times, crazed in a cage

Plucking her feathers for lack of freedom

I open the door and she rests on my shoulder in contented confidence

In me.

~~~S Wave~~~

A sketch of the dove, after I met her.

Afoot and Lighthearted

We have found ourselves gathering photos of our feet. It wasn’t our plan, but a welcome wonder since it now leads us toward memories of places we have visited and the people (or empty spaces) that surrounded us. Looking back, we were able to find other similar photos and we share them all with you here.

Our feet ground us to a time and place, our footsteps mark the wanderings on.

Christmastime, 2012

Doors in San Francisco

In San Francisco, there is no lack of striking scenery. I’ve tried to figure out why these doors caught my attention as much as they did…in the midst of seasides, wildlife, bright colors, and LOTS of people. I think I’ve figured it out. It is the combination of conflicting textures, the movement in the wood and metal, and the containment that the lines provide that appealed to me. The whole compliments my personality. I appreciate structure and clear parameters. But, I relish the motion of one moment to the next and the great spectrum of beauty that surrounds us wherever we go.

~~~S Wave~~~