Oct30
Posted on Oct 30 by Ruth Davis
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” ~ Rumi My biggest take away from Patti Digh’s camp last month was the deep connection to creativity, both in others and in myself. Being around people who make art and music and love to write is rich fuel for my own creative soul. I was deeply inspired by the poets who stood up and spoke strong words, by the songwriters who sang their own lyrics, by the painters and jewelers and art makers who displayed their works on simple black tablecloths, all claiming, “Yes, this is my voice, this is my work.” I have been dreaming of getting back into a studio, to make things out of recycled materials, to focus on more creative writing, to follow the surges of great ideas and see what happens. But studio space is expensive and hard to find in Morro Bay and I had no vision of what I’d do with the stuff I made. Years ago, when I lived with Marika, I spent hours out...
Oct15
Posted on Oct 15 by Ruth Davis
Marika and I had a great vacation exploring Georgia and South Carolina. The pace is slow, the trees are tall and the people really are friendly, y’all. Here is my travel journal from our trip: Sunday: A dear friend gave me a ride from camp to our rental condo in downtown Atlanta, where I dropped off my luggage, then took the MARTA train to the airport to surprise Marika. What a delight to see her smiling face when I met her at the baggage claim so that she wouldn’t have to pick up the rental car alone. The condo was on the third floor of a twenty four story building, just a few short blocks to the aquarium. It started to drizzle as we made our way to the closest restaurant for dinner. We walked home in a downpour of warm, wet rain. Monday: We spent the entire day at the Georgia Aquarium. We got there just as they opened on a relatively un-busy day so it was easy to see everything. Our favorites were the Beluga Whales, the...
Oct09
Posted on Oct 9 by Ruth Davis
It happens to all of us. We get a great idea. We’re motivated. We take the first step toward what we want and we’re cruising. We feel excited. Rejuvenated. Like this thing could really happen! And then something doesn’t turn out the way we had hoped or expected. And we land in a pile of doubt. Sound familiar? Did you start the year thinking this would be the year of the Big Change? Maybe you’re ready to find a new career or to pursue that dream you’ve always said “someday” about. You made your list of everything you wanted, opened your heart to the universe and said, “Bring it on!” Maybe you even found a great job to apply for. You revamped your resumé and aced the interview. But you didn’t get the job. You feel defeated and so full of doubt that you wonder if you are ever going to live the life of your dreams. If you are standing in that space of ready, and unknown, it can be very uncomfortable. What do you do now? What...
Oct02
Posted on Oct 2 by Ruth Davis
I was talking with a client about her dream to create a dog sanctuary. She envisions a many acred facility that rescues dogs, finds them homes and, for those unadoptable ones, provides great care and companionship. She clearly sees a loving staff working with her, organizing successful fund raising events, and the joy that this work brings her. I invited her to make a list of the steps she can take now to keep this vision alive. While she came up with a wonderful list of self-care actions, I was surprised that there was nothing on her list that had to do with dogs. When I asked her about it, she said, “When I think about volunteering at a local rescue place, I know I would just want to take all of the dogs home with me. And I can’t do that. So I can’t volunteer.” She had created a black and white, all or nothing situation in her mind and it was keeping her from doing the work she loves. I asked my client if she could imagine...
Sep25
Posted on Sep 25 by Ruth Davis
One of the most valuable tools I offer my clients is to practice paying attention. To slow down enough to notice the details around us. To be still long enough to hear the quieter, stronger voice inside. Often, we are so distracted by the noise and activity of our daily lives that we are oblivious to the beauty, the wisdom, the inspiration of what is right in front of us. The other day I saw this image online and immediately thought, WOW, Great questions! What am I trying to CONTROL? What do I need to ALTER in my life? What am I ready to DELETE? Inspiration is everywhere, all around us. Too often, we just aren’t paying attention and so life goes on, same as it ever was. And we go on, same as we ever will be, stuck in the patterns of our days, far removed from what we might really be dreaming we could be and do in our lives. But if we pause and ask ourselves these kinds of hard questions, we honor that deep desire...
Sep18
Posted on Sep 18 by Ruth Davis
“Broken hearted often leads to broken open. And broken open is the perfect environment for finding out who you are and why you’re here. Break and grow.” – Michele Woodward Six years ago, on September 16, 2007, emergency open heart surgery saved my life. I didn’t have clogged arteries or heart disease or a heart attack. I had a myxoma, a very rare benign tumor that was almost completely blocking the blood flow through my left atrium. They discovered it after I had an episode of angina, that sharp ice pick stabbing in the back and chest and the inability to breathe. And yes, jaw pain and arm pain too. But I didn’t go to the ER or call 911. I breathed through it and kept myself calm and then went to Urgent Care the next afternoon. That’s where they saw an abnormality in my blood work, indicative of a clot, and sent me to the Heart Hospital down the street for further tests. A client recently asked me if I experienced a white light epiphany during the surgery, if...
