Artist Dates, Week 15 ~ Ebenezer Scrooge Week

My Artist Date's theme for this week was Ebenezer Scrooge.  Last Sunday I attended by myself the Fountain Hills community theater production of A Carol for Tiny Tim.  Their Youth Theater put on this production which presents this twist on Charles Dicken's classic holiday tale about the spirit of giving.  The play takes place 15 years after Ebenezer Scrooge changed his ways, and once-sweet Tiny Tim has grown into a spoiled and selfish young man.  The ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future return to work their magic this time around on Tiny Tim. It was a wonderful performance.  There were only five adults in the play, all the rest were kids.  Santa Claus came out at the end and everyone sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.  Then the kids were allowed to visit with Santa.  They had hot chocolate and cookies outside on the patio, plus fun games to play for the kids.   It was a very enjoyable afternoon.

On Christmas Eve my husband and I took my in-laws to see the very last production of A Christmas Carol at the Herberger Theater.  I bought these tickets in October when I first heard that the Actors Studio was going to end their 19-year run of the play.  What a GREAT show!  I am sorry to see it end.  All the actors came out to the lobby after the show and talked and took pictures with everyone.  My in-laws really appreciated us taking them to see this play.  I love giving gifts of experiences and entertainment rather than a store bought gift.  People always seem to remember a shared experience when you take them someplace, but often have amnesia when it comes to remembering what store bought gift you gave them last year.

Then I finished off my Ebeneser Scrooge week on Christmas night.  After returning from our friends house we sat down and watched one of my favorite Bill Murray movies, Scrooged.  Watching this film was a great way to end my Ebenezer Scrooge week.  :-)

No man can know where he is

going unless he knows exactly

where he has been and exactly how

he arrived at this present place.

MAYA ANGELOU

Artist Date, Week 14 ~ Ballet Week

This week of Artist Dates turned into another theme week centered around the Ballet.

On Tuesday I went to see Black Swan at Harkin's Camelview Theater.  This is one film I would have probably not have gone to see without all the Oscar buzz.  I really get into award season and love to watch all the award shows like the Golden Globes and the SAG awards too, besides the big show - the Oscars.

The film was good, and Natalie Portman really transformed herself into a believable ballerina.  But as a psychological thriller, I have to say I would much prefer the film Shutter Island to be getting all the award nominations instead.  I thought Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island was far more entertaining and thrilling than this one.  I even like the director, Darren Aronofsky's film The Wrestler much better than this also.  Just one chick's opinion.

I continued with the Ballet theme this week by attending on Thursday night the Harkin's Theater Ballet in Cinema showing of The Nutcracker.  This was not a live performance like the opera Carmen I saw in October.  This performance of The Nutcracker was taped from an earlier performance from the Royal Opera House in London.  I have not seen The Nutcracker in a very long time.  So it was a treat to see it again. 

Some people would probably argue that seeing a live performance is superior over seeing one in a theater.  There is something about the energy of seeing it live that can't be duplicated by seeing it on a movie screen.  I agree somewhat.  But unless you have some of the best seats in the house, then seeing it at a theater can actually be just as rewarding, if not better.  You can see every bead of sweat run down the dancers faces.  You can see the detail in their costumes, and you could even hear their feet hitting the floor even over the music.  The camera can zoom in on their faces for their expressions at pivotal moments.  Plus the camera can move in on their bodies while they perform some amazing dance poses and movements.  I admit I am not an Opera or Ballet buff, but people who attend these at the theater really want to see all versions of their favorite Operas and Ballets, and this allows them to see the European productions without getting on an airplane.

The eyes upturned to Heaven

are an act of creation.

VICTOR HUGO

Artist Date, Week 13 ~ Christmas Angel Week

First off, I am not Christian.  I was raised Catholic, but I could have told you by age seven that I was not a Christian.  Christianity was never my personal truth.  Christ Consciousness is my more of my personal truth, but that is another complete topic. 

Since my family is still Catholic, I do the dog and pony show every year.  I endure the Holidays with as much grace as I can stand.  Some years I exemplify more grace than other years. 

It was actually James Van Praagh who helped me see the holidays a little differently.  In an email he sent out many, many years ago he said, "This is one of my favorite seasons of the year.  As it says in the Hebrew tradition, it is the Season of Light.  It is a time to remember all the loved ones in your life who have made an impression in your heart.  With light, we illuminate the darkness and have clearer idea of where we are going.

We are each made of light and it seems throughout the year as we go about our daily lives we get caught up in the trials and tribulations of succeeding and forget about our light.  We leave little, if any time, to reconnect with that light, and when we do, we often realize how dim it is due to taking on fears and expectations of others.

So, my wish for each one of you and every member of your soul family is for you to take a few minutes throughout this holiday season and, once again, celebrate your light.  May your light shine on everyone's path you share.  May it open up their hearts and take away fears, limitations, expectations and disease while it regenerates and rejuvenates their spirit. 

Remember, every light bulb needs to be changed every now and then!"

Greetings to you all of Peace, Love and Light.
James Van Praagh

That one email gave me a whole new perspective on Christmas, and a way to find a way to celebrate it without feeling like a phony and a fraud.  I found a new meaning for the Holidays, and a new way to celebrate. I now choose to celebrate my own light, as well as everyone else's light.

This past week was spent putting up my three Christmas trees.  I have one in my family room, one in my dining room, and even a little angel tree in my living room.  I have an angel theme that runs throughout my house. Plus, my house is filled with light from candles I have everywhere.  I try to be creative by changing  things up every year by rearranging all my Christmas decorations.  I also change up my table settings for my Christmas Eve dinner.  By celebrating my creativity, I also celebrate my light.  

I also went to Paradise Valley Mall this past week just for the Salvation Army's Christmas Tree Angel program.  I try every year to participate in this program where you buy clothes and toys for a specific child who would not have otherwise gifts to open during the holidays.  I cannot ever forget how Oprah Winfrey said  how nuns brought her a doll for Christmas when she had no other presents from her family that year. She said that gift of that one doll helped change her life.  The gifts I purchased this week need not be life changing, but I only hope they bring a little light to a small child and their family. 

In Heaven an angel is nobody in particular.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

My Thoughts On Completing 12-Week Artist's Way Course



My Artist Dates

in

Pictures

Weeks 1 - 6

Today is the last day of my Artist's Way course. I started this course on Saturday, September 11th, and today is the last day in the 12-week course. First off, let me just say that I am so not done with this course. I am only just beginning, but more on that later.

This post is just about my thoughts on what I discovered for myself over the past 12-weeks. For starters, this course helps you open up and realize all synchronistic events in your life. Just how I found this course was a major synchronistic event in my life. Most people wait until a milestone marker in their life to make changes. Mostly it’s turning a certain age, be it 30, 40, 50, or 60 years of age. When we hit a milestone age we start to look back and forward and see what needs to be changed. For me I am just 48 years old, so no milestone age yet, but I just celebrated my 25th Wedding Anniversary on September 14th of this year. That date was my milestone marker.

The first 12-1/2 years of my marriage was spent living in the suburbs of Chicago. The first six years were focused on taking care of my parents. Once they both died I said to myself, now what is it that I love to do, and let’s make a career out of it. I come from a family of travelers, we love to travel. Even my mother was always trying to push me into the travel field in some way since our family loves to travel. Long story short…on Mother’s Day of all days a job in the travel business just landed in my lap. I spent the next 6-1/2 years working in a field that was meant for me. I had travel benefits and perks, and boy did we use them.

Next, it was not enough to just travel several weeks a year, now I wanted to live in a vacation destination. Long story short…synchronistic events got my husband’s family and us to move to glorious Arizona. Now I wake-up every day and feel I am always on vacation. The beauty of where I live still intoxicates me. My career this past 12 years has been working with hubby and his family in a business.  Now with the recent economic decline, business is not very good. With no business or work for me to do, I have more free time to do anything I wish. So back in August before my 25th Wedding Anniversary I was thinking…what is the next phase of my life going to look like?  What am I going to do next?  I was ready to reinvent myself once again.

Well I am on a lot of e-mails lists, and back in late August I received an e-mail from someone I never heard of inviting me to join his Autumn Series of webinars called Beyond Awakening. He had a link to his blog to introduce himself, so I clicked on and read it. Then he asked people who were interested in his webinar to introduce them selves in the comment section. Well, I read a few of the peoples comments, and one lady said she was looking forward to this webinar series, but she also was very busy doing The Artist’s Way course. A few comments down from that, another woman said she was doing The Artist’s Way course too. Well I just had to Google this and see what this course was all about.

So one e-mail opened, one blog read, a few comments noticed, and one Google search brought me here, and now I am just completing the 12-week Artist’s Way course. If you only knew just how many e-mails I delete without ever opening them, but this one I opened even though I did not know who it was from.  Just finding this course was a major synchronistic event in my life.  This course is exactly what I need at this phase of my life.  It has opened me up to new possibilities that I never even thought of before.

Julia Camerson says in her section about synchronicity, "Answered prayers are scary.  They imply responsibility.  You asked for it.  Now that you've got it, what are you going to do?"  Well, what I am going to do first is to keep going on with her courses.  I bought her book, The Complete Artist's Way, which contains her first book The Artist's Way, plus her two other books which are 12-week courses as well, Walking in this World, and Finding Water.  So tomorrow I shall start Walking in this World.  In this 12-week course you still continue to write your Morning Pages, go on weekly Artist Dates, and in this one you take weekly walks, either by yourself or with someone.  I pretty much walk or hike weekly anyway, especially now that it is below 100 degrees.

But more importantly I am not going to be one of those people who just takes courses, and never gets off their butt to make changes or reinvent them selves.  I asked for it, now I have to do something, and something I will do.  Without mentioning what exactly, I came up with a plan of action that I am going to pursue over the next couple of months.  This idea never even occurred to me before, but my doing this Artist's Way course, the idea just fell from the sky right to me. 

So over the next 12 weeks I will follow Walking in this World course, I will continue to write my Morning Pages, which by the way, I NEVER missed one morning of writing in the past 12-weeks.  I will go on an Artist Date with myself weekly.  This time I may just stick to once a week, and not 3, 4, or 5 times a week like I did with this past course.  I will walk or hike in the mountains once a week.  But more importantly I will follow my inner voice with my next phase in my life.  I will devote the time and energy to pursue the ideas I came up with.  I am starting on a new path, a journey to reinvent myself. 



My Artist Dates in Pictures
Weeks 7 -12

 

Until we accept the fact that life itself is

founded in mystery, we shall learn nothing.

HENRY MILLER

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