Motivational Self Portrait

When I took this photo I was drawn not to the pretty shiny car or even to the many reflections. Instead I was drawn to the message on the license plate, a message that resonates with me. Life is oh so short, and yet we put off so many dreams.

It occurred to me that this would be a motivational self portrait so I positioned myself to cast my shadow over the license plate. Reflecting on this self portrait I decided to try my hand at a Haiku to add to the photo. While I am fond of writing poetry I have never tried to write a Haiku so I hope I have done it justice. The title for my Haiku is 'Y Wait'.

I would love to hear what you think of my shadow self portrait and my Haiku. Good or bad, feedback and critique help me to improve.

Linking up with Shadow Shot Sunday.
and Haiku My Heart.

Wednesday Wishes: Getting Real

Claudya of Unknown Mami fame has a nice little thing going where she celebrates the abundance of the Universe on Wednesdays by making her wishes known, and invites others to do the same. The idea behind posting her wishes is that as she says "... the first step toward getting what you want is knowing what you want." By putting our wishes down in black and white we are consciously taking the time to figure out what it is we want, and thus the likelihood that we will receive or achieve our wishes rises exponentially with our acknowledgment of the wish.  I encourage all to join us in celebrating the abundance of the Universe. Your wishes can be big or small, silly or serious because the Universe is vast and can handle them all.


After missing a number of weeks, this week I have decided it is time for me to get real, so here goes.

Life is a challenge, sometimes that challenge can become overwhelming resulting in stress, anxiety and yes even depression. Optimism during such times can be our greatest asset, yet it too can suffer the blow of the challenges we face. This is where I have been for nearly a year now, with it spiraling this last month to a place where no creativity thrives and even conscious thoughts struggle to survive. A situation verging on impossible. Faced with decisions that feel like they have no viable solutions.  Zapping my optimism as well as my ability to focus, to create, to write.

A while back Michelle at The Space Between Raindrops wrote a post about desperation that really resonated with me. She wrote:

"Desperation breeds attempt. It makes people do things they usually avoid, it unearths latent talent, gets us off the couch, makes us find jobs and research health improvements. Desperation turns us into learners and seekers. Desperation is responsible for the achievement of more than a few of the world’s impossible dreams. Desperation is fuel." Although it has taken weeks, her words have moved me to use this desperation for the positive.

Yes, without going into details which I am sure you don't really want to hear, my situation is desperate. Suffice it to say I have until the beginning of the new year in which to decide if I will give up my dream of making Artistix Network LLC a profitable business, if that is even possible, or close it down. Beyond that, for my sanity I have until May of next year to find a way to become financially independent. Now that may not sound like much of a challenge, however due to various health issues working a regular full time job where I am unable to set my own hours is not possible. So far I have been unable to even obtain a part-time job. With this in mind here are my wishes:

1. I wish to find a way to make a livable income from one or more of my talents and abilities.
2. I wish for the strength and courage to explore all possibilities, and learn how to make them profitable.
3. I wish to regain my optimistic outlook. To take back my life and embrace my life motto.

Oh yes, and Mother Nature ... a bit of sunshine would be real nice about now.

Because the universe is filled with endless possibilities one more wish:

I wish you all a glorious day!

Set the winds in motion with a wish of your own.

Freeze Frame

My dear husband use to tease me that I had absolutely no concept of time. For the most part he was right. I could easily let the day slip by while I soaked up the beauty around me. 

It is widely known that time slowly creeps by for the young, while the older one gets it passes too quickly. Although, I do admit time seems to be going faster as each year passes, there are still times when it almost stands still. I am most certain if this was my yard, I would often find time standing still as I enjoyed the peacefulness of this setting. 

I can easily picture myself sitting there sipping a tall glass of sweet tea as I listened to the chatter of the birds. Or perhaps dozing between pages as I read some historical novel while relaxing in this quaint garden. 

However, I  do believe if this was my yard I would use this area to contemplate why it is that time can on one hand feel like it is whirling by at break neck speed while at the same time feel like each day drags by slowly. Because time in retrospect always seems to have passed too quickly, even when it didn't feel that way.

Maybe what we all need is a special spot like this, a sort of Freeze Frame spot. A place where one can make time stop if only for a moment and just soak in the beauty around them.

Self Empowerment Through Inspirational Quotes

I was looking for an inspirational saying for today and came across this quote on a  great blog. One of my personal sayings is 'hold on to hope, for in hope anything is possible'.  I believe self empowerment is vital to individual fulfillment and happiness, and the Warrior Mind Coach definitely understands how to achieve self empowerment. The blog post not only contains 40 great inspirational quotes like the one featured here but goes into detail on how they can be used to promote self empowerment.

May your hopes be realized and then some.