Mar14
Posted on Mar 14 by Ruth Davis
I absolutely LOVE teaching art classes for kids. The kids are so open. Willing. They are happy to dive into whatever we are making, often without even knowing what the final product will look like. Sometimes I show the kids samples so they can see different interpretations of the process. But not always. Because often the kids will think theirs has to look exactly like the sample. I recently taught a Changing Story book making class. I intentionally didn’t show them what the finished book would look like. Instead, we began by brainstorming nouns and verbs and adjectives. The dry erase board was filled with words like hot dogs, zebra, flowers, puppies and run, play, sweat, dance and smelly, tall, fat, purple. Together, we combined some of the words into silly sentences. Then the kids wrote their own sentences. Once the kids had their content we began on the construction of the actual book. One twelve year old girl kept asking why are we doing this step? What are the lines for? Why do I have to measure this?...
Feb29
Posted on Feb 29 by Ruth Davis
It’s leap year, leap month and, today, February 29th is Leap Day. And so it seems so fitting to talk about leaping. Taking the plunge. Taking a deep breath and just going for it. It’s such a wonderful concept, this leaping. It’s all about risk and faith and letting go and pushing aside all of the monkey voices in your head that talk you out of doing some big, scary thing and just going for what you really want. Although the phrase “Leap and the net will appear” is sometimes attributed to an unknown Zen source, it is, in fact, a quote by American naturalist John Burroughs. I first heard the phrase in the song, “Right Outta Nowhere” by Christine Kane. “Right outta nowhere You open your heart And let go of everything You’re going somewhere And all you need to know Is that you’re free to go Dream and the way will be clear Pray and the angels will hear Leap and the net will appear” The song encourages us that all we have to do is...
Feb21
Posted on Feb 21 by Ruth Davis
Have you ever been called to do something that pushed you to the edge of your comfort zone? This soft edge is where we can learn so much about ourselves. We can observe how we respond to the challenge. We can hear the stories we tell ourselves. At this uncomfortable edge we can choose to step back from the fear and stay safe and small. Or we can choose to move toward the discomfort and uncertainty and say YES to this thing that excites us and scares us, knowing that something big and beautiful is bound to happen when we do. I had never considered going on a retreat. In fact, I really didn’t even know what it entailed. At this uncomfortable edge we can choose to step back from the fear and stay safe and small.
Or we can choose to move toward the discomfort and uncertainty and say YES to this thing that excites us and scares us, knowing that something big and beautiful is bound to happen when we do. I had never considered going on...
Feb08
Posted on Feb 8 by Ruth Davis
I was talking with a client about her new coaching practice and the strengths she brings to her work. She shared that she had been sitting at table with several colleagues at a recent training and one woman told her that she could accomplish anything she wanted to, that she has a way of moving in the world that attracts people to her. My client was stunned to hear this about herself. “Isn’t it funny that others see us so differently than we see ourselves?” she said to me. I suggested that she post this colleague’s words on the mirror in her bathroom so that she could begin to believe it for herself. She loved the idea. And she took it a step further. She looked at all of the recommendations she had received on Linked In and posted those too. And then she sent me a photo, with a simple : ) smiley face as the subject of the email. It can be so enlightening and empowering to hear what others see in us. We usually only...
Jan25
Posted on Jan 25 by Ruth Davis
Every morning after walking the dogs, I fill the birdfeeder and sit out on my back patio with my coffee and a bowl of bran cereal, no milk, sprinkled with dried cranberries and sometimes a sliced banana, and the birds and I share breakfast. This regular morning time is my opening time, my quieting time, my daily meditation. It is the space where I am not in my thoughts, my ideas, my to-dos, but instead, focused on the world outside of me: the sky colors, the array of birds at the feeder, how the pecking order changes from sparrow to mourning dove to pigeon. But for the past two weeks it has been too cold to sit outside in the mornings and instead, I’ve been having my coffee with my email. Today, it caught up with me. My head was spinning with too many thoughts: preparations for tomorrow’s workshop, remembering to treat the stain on my brown shirt before doing the laundry, the things I will teach 28 lingerie salespeople about their new iPads, what I will have for...
Jan11
Posted on Jan 11 by Ruth Davis
This past weekend several women gathered and created their own Dream Altars, beautiful physical manifestations of what they want to happen in their lives this year. I know from my own experiences that naming and claiming our dreams is only the beginning. To bring our deepest dreams forth into reality we have to nurture them, honor them, keep them in our daily awareness. Maybe we do this with a daily affirmation, an altar, a poster on our bathroom wall that we see every morning and remember. Yet, at the same time, it cannot become an obsession. We need to maintain a balance between asking and receiving, between action and waiting, between knowing and letting go. After all, it’s not for us to figure out the HOW of our dreams. Our job is to stay focused on the WHY, the WHAT, the essence of what we desire. WHY do we want this? How will it feel? How will living this dream serve others? As you may know, I am in the midst of manifesting my own big dream. For years...
