So, here come the holidays, Folks! Are you ready? If we listen to the news, we might be frozen in fear. Every day, we hear of one more company which has released many of its employees. We hear that folks in our country are losing their homes due to usurious mortgage interest rates. We pray for those people and wonder how they let themselves be so naive as to purchase a home they could not afford. Did anyone use common sense? What are the lessons to be learned here?

There are many lessons if we look. These learnings could be different for each of us. I keep recalling learning in history and social studies classes that civilizations rise up, are greatly successful, and then they fold up and become like the song title "Dust in the Wind." I recall that in my college Anthropology classes, there was an almost extinct tribe, I believe they were in Brazil, called the Yanamomo. Their lifestyle was nothing like ours! They were self-sufficient and worked cooperatively, like other intentional communities. There were rules and rituals. Everyone always had enough to eat, and a roof over their heads unless there was a natural disaster.

I am pondering "intentional communities." I have done a little soul-searching and I believe it is just about time for me to visit a few. I wish to learn if I can thrive in the co-operative model community. Most of all, I desire to touch the Earth. I wish to work in a community organic garden. I wish to learn about the cycles of the moon and how that affects crop-growing. My mouth is watering with the thought of eating something I myself grew, eating something that never was subjected to pesticides. A plant that was raised with rich composted earth as its "womb." I don't know about your thoughts, but I feel it's time to honor the earth and get back to basics. And wouldn't it be enriching to pick the fruits of our own labor and have a canning party? Our pantries full of wonderful food that we helped to grow by touching the soil and meeting the earth worms and understanding their mysterious task! The cooperative social skills that may be hard at first, begin to make sense and promote a feeling of comfort, peace and strength to decide to act like a part of something bigger than oneself, called a community!

Let's all do some pondering. More than that, exercise your rights! Be all that you can be. Walk away from that tedious job and artificial life you've been following. Who told you that you must be a "puppet" of a society that has worn out its usefulness? Go watch the bees in the beehive, how the hierarchy of the bee colony becomes more intelligent than any human colony ever dreamed of! Radical, you say? I dare you! The Earth is changing. She is disgusted with the way we've used her up. Be like Thoreau, build a cabin in the woods and hoe beans. See if you aren't more content and connected to the natural forces that our culture is quickly destroying.

Dear Friends,

It seems impossible that it's almost Thanksgiving time and I have not written since August! If you are wondering why the time lapse, I'll tell you! I was moving! From a tiny, cramped, dark, dingy, moldy little downstairs room that had only one window in a large Geodesic Dome house to a spacious, sunny home where I have kitchen priveleges and all the amenities I could ask for. And these two homes are just a mile apart, but who knew? Who knew that I can (and you can, too) be specific and ask for precisely what you are dreaming of? Now that my allergies from dust and mold are calming down, and I have the entire house to roam about in all day because the owner is always working and studying for a Master's Degree, I feel a bit more myself.

I couldn't ever accept that I would live all alone in a little room that just did not suit me, and kept asking myself how this turn of events had come about. Home means so much to me. I spent most of my adult life being a mom, baking, cooking, cleaning, supervising my children, car pooling to and from school, and having plenty of leisure time for playing golf and swimming with my friends.

I was the proverbial stay-at-home Mom (does such a position still exist?) who had her life all put neatly together. My homes were spotless, and of course, so were my children. Remember those days before the internet? And television was just there for certain select programs, not droning all day long. Everything went along quite smoothly and being a wife/mom suited me well! I loved my time as a Girl Scout leader! Life was not hectic, though there was a lot of busy-ness.

No Failures

If you think you have failed, you should realize that there are no failures in this Universe. You can completely erase the idea of failure by stating that there are no failures. If one believes that he failed last year, he will be likely to fail again this year. So we must erase the false thought. The only failure is what you tell yourself. So turn this idea around and know that circumstances are just that, and you can come at the same solution again until you feel you have success. Notice that it is only in your wrong thinking that says "failure," and not an actual fact. When you forgive yourself, you will be able to move on and try again from another angle if this is important to you. So, breathe deeply of the perfection and beauty all around you in nature. Take a walk, talk to the animals, look at the mountains and seas and watch the sunset. And even if you decide not to try again, let it go. How many times do you think an inventor has "failed" until he finds just the right combination of thoughts, ideas, and tools. And then he can say he has succeeded, but was it not the process and not the product that brought him the triumph and joy?

I cannot tell you how many canvases I have stored in my closet that I deem "failures." So, the other day I realized I can dispose of them or sand them down and start again. I don't want them taking up space in my room or in my headspace, so I am going to take them out and burn them or I am going to pull out all the staples and dispose of the canvases and make new paintings using the stretcher bars. I do not want to look at "failure" except that they tell me I have tried and I can try again. Some paintings are a success right away and others, well, they were an exercise. It's going to feel good to throw out everything extra that is taking up space here. Whew! I am glad I made that decision.....NEXT?!

Artimino, Italy

I loved traveling in Europe. I was so inspired during these trips that I felt these beautiful scenes of orchards, gardens, hilltop villages, acres and acres of sunflower fields in July, all were a melody that came right into my heart and stayed forever. I had to paint! And so, Artimino and many others have come into being. Maybe they are more than simply images. Perhaps they can live inside us and make us feel calm, and experience wonder. I wonder how the peasants and farmers who planted these seeds and watched them grow, and finally harvested them were influenced by their relationship with the earth, the land, the sun, the rain, the seasons. It's in you, too. Just close your eyes and picture these fields of flowers and fruits. Run and laugh in the rain, and create a rainbow of memories for yourself and those you love. Better still, go to the fields and work. Plant your own seeds and watch as they grow. Perhaps it will become a metaphor for your life.

Artimino