Wishing a Happy New Year to all!

So ends 2012 in one hour. I wanted to share one more post for this year.

One of the CZT's living in CT asked all of the CZT's to send zentangles® or zia art ( zentangle inspired art ) work for a project she called "Heal the Love". She was going to deliver them to the school after the tragedy that left a community & the nation grieving.

Today we were told that the school is requesting that no more items be sent. The school is overwhelmed with the out pouring of mail & gifts. The nation has reached out to comfort those who have suffered so much loss. 

The request for our project was that with every stoke, we were to bring love & healing into our piece. It took many days to come up with the images that I wished to convey.

I wanted to share the two mandalas that I created & sent to the CZT. The first one I titled "Metamorphose". Children remind me of the stages the butterfly goes through. My hope is that all the love can make their lives beautiful & they emerge as beautiful butterflies (adults).

This mandala tile below, I titled "Sending love in the breeze". I wanted to use lots of zentangles  amongst the hearts. I also wanted to incorporate a woman to represent a safe, gentle & nurturing figure.  I do not have experience with drawing people, so I feel that my figure was a bit out of proportion.  One of the lessons in doing zentangle is to allow things to be as they are & work with them. The lesson in life, recovery & or wellness is to not seek for perfection. Perfection does not exist. Chasing this illusion only adds to chasing ones tail. What is important is to try your best, find acceptance in yourself, enjoy the process & work towards improvement. 

One thing in life that has helped me is to be grateful. Some people make a practice out of writing a gratitude list everyday. When I have felt really down I think about three things that I am grateful for today. When that has proven to be especially challenging, I am grateful to have flushing toilets, running water & a bed to sleep in.

Instead of writing a list daily, I practice being grateful to anyone proving any service for me. How many times do you thank someone, cashier, food servers, bus driver, etc.? Some people believe that "it's their job & they should be thanking me". I agree & it makes me feel good when they do. It makes me feel even better when I thank them.

We can create positive energy & pass it around to others. Even if someone does not thank me, I still chose to be thankful. Just as if you smile at someone who passes by you, some may smile back & others will not. Positivity can spread to others just as negativity can. Any environment that has a positive energy is nicer to be in than one full of negativity. In the world, we can use all the positive energy we can summon. What do you do to create a more peaceful & positive place in the world?

So next time your mood is feeling low, think about three things you are grateful for. This can be a useful tool to use just before bedtime or when you wake up & start getting ready for the day.
This is something you can do everyday no matter how you feel. Feel free to let me know your thoughts about this or what works for you!

Thank you & happy New Year!



Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways.