When you learn to let go to let come you won’t “feel good” right way.
In time you will feel good and see things in a new way and be able to sleep in peace.
Your current world, will be the old world.
There will be a new dawn, a new day and a new life…let it come…
don’t wait for the new year to begin…
start today to learn the benefits of letting go of the old for the new to come into your life.
I can’t remember where I was…some gym…somewhere…and this lady basketball player came over to me and taught me how to shoot a lay-up. She just walked up from out of nowhere, told me what to do and walked away.
She said:” just aim for the top corner and it will go in almost every time”.
Life is like making that lay-up:
1. There are proven techniques and tips for living a well-lived life. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
2. People will come out of no-where to help you. Be open to the universe bringing things to you to help you. Life really doesn’t have to be a struggle. If you’re struggling then you’re forcing “your way” and maybe that’s not the way things are suppose to work out.
3. It does you no good in life to know what to do and then not do it – you have to take action.
When you let go you enter into what I call the “dark tunnel of change” – a.k.a., the unknown. You have to trust in yourself and in life in knowing that all will be well.
No matter the outcome.
Here is where most people get stuck. Most people think of the outcome as having to be either “good” or “bad”. Regardless of the outcome (letting come) there will be aspects that are BOTH “good” AND “bad”. There has to be because life is all about balance. You need the night and the day, the summer and the winter, the positive and the negative (think about how a battery works- you can’t just have the positive charge only – it won’t work).
Once you truly understand this little mystery of life, it will feel like you’ve cracked the code.
You will no longer be running around chasing everything being “good” and wondering why everything isn’t “all good” in your life – wanting just happiness, light and love. That is not realistic and not how life works. There is sadness, there is hatred and there is death. But sadness is the other side of happiness and death the other side of life. It’s just opposite ends of the same coin. You can not have one without the other.
When you practice letting go a.k.a. allowing life to happen – not forcing things – not struggling to orchestrate everything – and not holding on to what or who is not for you then and only then will you be able to make sense out of what you are suppose to be, do and have:
It’s been a month since I posted the 3 things post and one of the three things that I decided to try for the month of October 2012 was only spending three times a week.
It worked like a charm.
At first it was a challenge because I was used to spending whenever I wanted to.
Friday’s seemed to be the hardest because you have to plan for your weekend starting on Thursday.
The way I decided to do it was that as long as I had “cash money” then I could spend that on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday, but I could not debit, charge, go to the bank (it’s been a long time since I’ve done that!) on any other day except Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Fridays’ ended up being very busy indeed. I’d go grocery shopping, get gas for the weekend, make sure I had enough money for any entertainment or craft shows over the weekend.
For example, if I needed anything like a belt (which I still need) I committed to doing that type of need/want shopping on Friday’s only. By Monday, I’d make sure I had enough gas to last until Wednesday, and Wednesday until Friday.
I paid all bills – credit card payments, auto, mortgage, utilities on Friday’s.
Also, another benefit has been that I have totally cut out eating out. I have had lunch out a couple of times during the week only because the place I go is like going to “Cheers” – they know my name, my usual order and it’s only $4 – so it’s like a little treat. Other than my $4 meal, eating out just didn’t fit into the schedule. Needless to say, my cooking skills have vastly improved AND I’ve lost weight…you can’t beat that as a benefit.
The above was a quote on a fine artist booth at an art/craft show I participated in this weekend. I agree. Art is an esthetic experience. I know this to be true from looking at “art”, creating “art” and selling “art”. Below are some of the pieces I sold this weekend at two craft shows and the stories behind the pieces and those who brought them.
A lady who had just moved to Charlotte came up and at first picked up one sign and was ready to get it, then she said: “Wait a minute I really need to find something for my son, he’s going through a tough time.”
I asked her how old her son was and she said 23 years old.
So knowing what I know about mothers and sons I started reading some of the pieces I thought might encourage a 23 years old.
When I got to the above, she said, that’s it. Thank you so much this will really help him. Wow! That was interesting because I did that sign in the font that a young person struggling might be able to relate to.
This was one of the first pieces I made over a year ago…but it wasn’t until this week that I added the colors purple and white to the piece….it just added a little something. Hopefully that young man is encouraged.
He might never know that his mom was going to buy something for herself but decided to buy something for him instead. I’m sure she wanted that piece for herself, but maybe didn’t want to spend another $5 for it.
She gave me 5 worn dollar bills to make that purchase.
Both of these pieces were purchased by a middle-aged woman who came to the All Arts Market with a group of friends.
It’s was like a girls night out.
They read most of the signs and commented on them. They liked a lot of the signs, but only had plastic.
One of the ladies really liked the I AM GOD sign, she picked it up, and didn’t put it back. She also she picked up the Live Life sign and said quietly; “I have $10 and I’ll take these two please.”
I could tell that she wasn’t going home without at least the I AM sign. I had painted the back of the I AM sign red and wrote something along the lines of God is there in the stillness, in the silence, listen and you will hear. She read the back, looked at me and smiled.
A couple came up and the lady immediately asked if I was a teacher.
I told her that I had been a teacher at one point in my life.
She said that she could tell based on just walking up to my booth and reading my signs because it was educational and inspirational.
Then she and her boyfriend/husband read most of the signs. As she was going to walk away she saw the Question sign and said; ” Honey I have to have this for my classroom”.
She then told me she was a teacher and the name of the local school.
She asked her husband if he had the $5. He handed it to her and she handed it to me.
So a group of kids in a classroom somewhere in Charlotte, NC will read and see that sign. So will anyone else that goes in her classroom.
Knowing what I know about teachers – that sign will go with that teacher from year to year from classroom to classroom.
I certainly hope those children and adults look even deeper behind what that sign really means.
It means to keep asking questions and don’t always accept the first, second or third answer. It means to hear what is not being said in the answers. It means to question the questioner. It means to question yourself. It means to not believe everything you hear or read or what someone wants you to believe. It means to go deeper and deeper and deeper…question even the answers that you’re telling yourself…question your beliefs, question your behavior, question your life situation, question your plans for the future, question your hang-ups, question why you are here, question what you need to do next…just keep asking good questions…and question the answers you get back…
The booth I was at on Friday night was in the corner and in the dark (those two things were bad enough but..) this booth was also behind a booth where there were two artist who had LOTS of friends that showed up to support them that night.
What that meant for me was that most people could not get to my booth. It was blocked from this group talking in front of one of the entrances to my booth.
I didn’t get upset because half of the fun of doing these craft shows is watching people and studying human behavior.
The two artist in front of my booth were gay/lesbians and all of their friends seemed to be as well.
I was truly fascinated by the community that they had developed. It seemed pretty amazing to me. Everyone was friendly and loving to each other. It was the loving part that really was interesting to see. I was there for about 4 hours and I would say roughly 20 people/couples came up to make it a “celebration” of sorts: taking pictures, buying the artwork, holding hands, kissing, and hugging each other.
I’d never given it a lot of thought but I thought that maybe homosexual couples are just happy that they can now be with who they’ve chosen to be with without all of society looking at them like they are crazy.
I just keep wondering why heterosexual couples don’t feel the need to show this type of public affection and why homosexual couples do. Something to ponder. There were not only lesbians couples but some gay (men) couples started to join them as well. I started to watch how they all interacted with each other. There didn’t seem to be much or any conflict. It looked like one big family/community.
As I was watching them I thought to myself that they had found “Their Tribe” so to speak. Maybe they couldn’t/wouldn’t have fit in or been happy in a heterosexual relationship, but they seemed happy in these type of relationships. Maybe it was because they bonded because they had that in common.
A few minutes after I was thinking that one of the men turned around towards my booth.
He came over and we struck up a conversation. He read almost every sign in my booth. He said that there needed to be more booths like mine, uplifting people, spreading love and happiness in words and in pictures. He laid eyes on Find Your Tribe and picked it up and said he was really just drawn to it.
He asked how much and I told him $5.
Before I put it in the bag he ask if I would sign it. I hesitated because I didn’t know the name to put on it…my real name (which is on my business cards) or Ridea Richardson which is my creative works name. That was an interesting dilemma to me.
After he purchased it he told his “tribe” to come over and look at my booth and read the signs.
He was passionate about my work and thanked me for doing it. Just amazing stuff!
At the early Saturday morning outside craft show a couple came up, They had known each other since high school – 40 years. He had liked her back then in High School, but she was already taken. They both got married and divorced to different people. He found her on Facebook, connected with her, moved to NC to be with her, and now they’ve been married for a year.
She proudly showed me her ring.
She started reading all the signs and said: “You did this to me?” and he said: ” I’d never do that to you.” It was about a heart that had been shattered by a loved one. Then they read all the signs, but she keep coming back to the Love Everyone sign
and said she had to have it.
Of course he pulled out the money and brought it for his sweetie.
Such a wonderful love story. They looked so happy together…LOVE in Action.
Another couple who came up and read each sign, talked about the Idea Jars. They made a couple of comments about the wood I was painting for more pieces…then…the lady “found” the Evolve or Die piece.
She picked it up and said: “I have to have this. Oh My God I love this. How much is it?” I told her $5 and her boyfriend pulled out the $5 and handed it to me.
I asked her if she wanted me to wrap it and she said yes, but she said she really just wanted to keep looking at it. She had a hard time handing it to me in order for me to wrap it. That was so cute to me.
I decided to tell her about what I was thinking when I made that piece. It’s a play on the word EVOLVE…Evolve is LOVE however you look at it…EVOL (is love spelled backwards) and EVO L(O)VE is love when I add the “o”.
Evolve means to grow, to be alright with change, to let go of what was. If you are not able to evolve (change) then you might be alive, but you aren’t really living.
What I didn’t tell her is that I had just “re-worked this piece at 2 a.m. on Friday morning.
This was one of the very first pieces that I made over a year ago when I was afraid of color or messing anything up. So that night I added all the color to depict evolution and death to me.
Sometimes the spirit within me just says “rework” this piece, add this, change that…it just knows…
As they were walking away the lady kept looking at the piece through the plastic packaging that I use.
I said to the young man: “You’ve made her happy today.” She looked at him and said: “He makes me happy everyday.” She looked like she wanted to take his hand or show some sign of affection, but she didn’t. I thought about the community of gay couples the night before who had no problems showing public displays of affections.
Still I think it was a very memorable moment for that young couple and I hope their relationship evolves and doesn’t die, if that’s what meant to be.
This little girl came up in an “awe” type look. That is the look that I get from young people. They are drawn to my booth because of all the colors. I think it looks like candy or something sweet to them.
Later her grandmother came up and we talked for about 30 minutes (no kidding) we talked about grand kids, our kids, being creative, cooking (she liked to make cream cheese cakes and told me about an interesting website – cookingforengineers.com).
She started looking at the pieces and her eyes locked in on Life’s A Beach.
The interesting thing about this piece is that one of the little shells had come off in transit to the venue. I looked at it and wasn’t going to show it, but decided I needed to try to fix it.
I went over to the musicians who were at the venue. They let me hook-up my glue gun to their amps to glue back the little shell. I told the lady that the pieces were fragile, and I wrapped it in Bubble wrap to help protect it on the way home. She didn’t seem to care. I think she just liked the saying because she was old enough to appreciate the waves of life and enjoy them!
I love the coasters I’ve started to create so much that I don’t want to sell them really, but I decided to put them out anyway hoping I can create more.
This gentleman came up and IMMEDIATELY picked up the Yin and Yang Coaster. He asked me if I had another one like it and I told him no I didn’t, but could make another one for him.
I asked if Yin and Yang was “his thing” and he said yes.
He pulled out his necklace from out of his shirt and showed me a small yin and yang pendant and a Mother Teresa pendant that he wore all the time. He asked me for my card and told me he would email me about making two yin and yang coasters for him. Then he walked away.
I don’t sell my pieces. I don’t even try to promote them really. I feel like these are things that sell themselves and thank God I have a job that takes care of my needs and I don’t need craft show money to survive on.
He came back about 10 minutes later and said he wanted to buy the one coaster and that he might still email me for another one.
I’m glad I took a picture of it because I worked, re-worked, and touched it up so many times I don’t know if I could re-create it exactly the same, but I’ll do my best. Hopefully I can make it better.
Maybe you are not into doing anything artistic, no problem, BUT you ARE creative.
We are all creative.
It will come through you, if you allow it.
Maybe its working on cars, or baking, or writing, or speaking, or singing, or making money, or investing, or painting, or gardening, or carpentry, or organizing, or teaching, or healing, or WHATEVER….just find that WHATEVER thing and GIVE IT TO THE WORLD…that is why you are here…TO BE YOU…GIVE YOU AWAY in SOMEWAY…in finding your passion…(really it’s passions plural)…doing it…creating it…sharing it…
Just Live Like You Were Dying and that will help you find it (smile)
Growing up with my brothers and sisters in Virginia we “made” our fun.
One of the ways we made our fun was to get out the pots and pans.
We’d have a jam session all-night-long with those pots and pans. We’d just go to town and make music together.
Last night I went to a mini-concert and listened to a Hang Instrument being “played”. It took me back to” playing” those pots and pans with my siblings.
It doesn’t matter what the external “instrument” is
It doesn’t matter what it looks like
It doesn’t matter what is cost
It doesn’t matter what others think about it
It matters that you look for it
It matters that when you do find it, you are true to it
It matters that you allow your soul to come forth through it
It matters that you get out of your own way, so you can “play” it like no one else plays it
It matters that you let go of being someone else – just be yourself
It only matters that you let come the you that is deep inside…wanting to be born…wanting to come forth…wanting to finally dance your dance…to sing your song…to hit your pots or your pans.
Below is what a hang instrument sounds like when played. Yes, it looks like a flying saucer, but I guess that’s what makes it unique. I’m sure it’s more expensive than the pots and pans in your kitchen cabinet…BUT the principle is the same…
A young girl at the playground asked me that the other day: “Why are you walking in circles?”
I told her I was exercising. She seemed to be okay with that answer, but I knew it was much more than ‘exercising’ to me.
It was the easiest answer to give her, because exercise is one of the benefits of walking.
I certainly couldn’t tell this young girl:
How could I explain to that little girl that:
How could I explain to her that yes, my answer about exercise was accurate, but it was not all there is to her question.
How could I explain that one day she’d probably find herself in middle age “walking in circles” too.
How could I explain that in life she should keep asking those type of questions…and question the answers…most people never question the answers. Answers are taken at face value, but there’s usually more to the answer than the answer itself.
I saw her again the other day as she twirled an incredible flip on the monkey bars. I smiled, and just thought as strongly as I could that I was looking at a future Olympian I wanted her to believe that too, just from my eyes and my smile. She caught me looking at her and her eyes got really big. She looked so proud that I had “noticed” her …or maybe she caught the message I was sending with my eyes and smile – that she could be anything she wanted to be in life.
I wonder if that young girl will remember that lady in the green and yellow crocks that she asked the question: “Why are you walking in circles?” I won’t soon forget her, or her question to me, or the fact that one day she might just be in the Olympics twirling on the uneven bars.
I went to a workshop last week about social marketing.
Even though I learned a lot, there was one thing that stuck with me – The Power of ‘3’.
The presenter gave an example of how both campaigns in the current U.S. Presidential race are using the Power of ‘3’.
I went looking for recent articles about this (there aren’t that many???) and found the below (of course I had to find ‘3’ articles):
http://www.psychotactics.com/harness-the-psychological-power-of-3-to-improve-communication
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/rule-of-three-speeches-public-speaking/
http://theunchainedentrepreneur.com/the-power-of-the-rule-of-three-in-marketing-your-small-business
Based on the above I’ll look at my blogs, business cards, flyers, workshop and training designs and follow the Power of 3.
Actually when I give this a little more thought. It might just work to let go of trying to do EVERYTHING (sort of willy-nilly) and focus on just three things in each of life’s categories. Maybe use a week as the time period of measurement.
Physical
Do ‘3’ things to stay healthy; 1. drink water 2. walk 3. cook
Social
Do ‘3’ things that I enjoy doing each week: 1. craft shows/make crafts 2. walk 3. new stuff with new people
Emotional
Write down in my Gratitude Journal ‘3’ emotions that I felt (and what triggered them) during the day
Spiritual
Grow Spiritually by 1. Meditating 2. Encouraging Others 3. Noticing Nature
Financial
Only spend money ‘3’ days out of the week…this one sounds very promising and like a very good idea…maybe only spend on Friday’s, Monday’s and Wednesday’s
Vocational
Focus on only ‘3’ networking sites to update, find colleagues or comment on 1. Linked-In 2. Etsy 3. The Presencing Institute
(I’m going to test this little theory for the month of October and see if this technique works…just to see…)