Seeing Beauty....

Hooray for photos! and the love of photography! Check out my guest blog at Ari Hunter's "See Beauty" posts on her site :)

She's SO talented and has some amazing photo work!!!!

Enjoy!

Fairies & Tales

As a teacher, and coach, I often, unknowingly, add a bit of “therapy” into my lessons. Working with teenagers can be a challenge, but, it can also be very rewarding, and a great learning opportunity too.

I was sort of  “forced” to revisit the tale of Pinocchio this week with my students. Carlo Collodi, the author of the original “Pinocchio,” knew in 1881 about the “tales” coming from the mouthes of babes. His story is well versed by almost every child today. When asked “what’s Pinocchio about?,” students will usually says “long noses and lies.” Yes, they know the basic concept and revisiting their (not so long-ago childhood) isn’t something they seem to enjoy too much either.

“Why would Pinocchio fall for that?,” they ask as they watch him dig into the groud to plant gold coins. “That’s absurd! Who would fall for that?” they continue. So, I stop the DVD and ask “Were you 5 yrs old once? Would YOU have ‘fallen’ for that joke from the cat and the fox?” They stop and quickly scan back 10 or so years, “oh, yeah, I see.”

And they do see, but how quickly we forget! Is it not fun to watch a childhood film when you’re 15 or 16? My years of experience have shown that answer is a “no, it’s not so fun.” But why? Answers?:

“We’re not babies any more.” – “That’s so old!” – “We GET it already!” – “This is so boring.” etc…. And yes, while some of that may just be true for a teenager, I ask them to take it a step further, then answer this: “If this were true (blue fairies, talking puppets, etc.)  wouldn’t it be a fun place to live?”  I usually get boughts of silence or an occassional “ok, she’s gone over the edge now!” remark. But I remind them that at 4, 5, even 6 yrs of age, they did live in the fairy tale world and it was wonderful. The fairies were beautiful and the puppets were friends. Talking animals and bugs were fantastic! (the cricket is my favorite in Collodi’s tale – I equate him to a sort of Buddha-Jedi Master!)

It’s a world we all were familiar with – at one time. We let that go as we allow ourselves to believe our thoughts, fed to us by others, and hence, let go of our fairy tale world. It doesn’t mean that world can’t be revisited. Maybe you remember fewer fairies and more butterflies. Maybe the childhood world you recall was full of playmates and friends, animals and waterfalls. But know that , at one point, this happy place did exist and we just allowed ourselves to forget it and leave it behind.

If you take this literally, good. If not, allow yourself to find a quiet time each day and meditate on this idea. Some Reiki Masters and therapists call it “Inner Child” work – it is, and it’s not.  This work, this type of meditating will bring you to your happiest childhood moments and surroundings. It may take some time, and you may not get there immediately but don’t give up. Work on meditating for just a few minutes if you’re new to this, then, gradually, extend the amount of time. Write down some of the memories that come to you after you’re done meditating. If you still find it difficult to locate your land of fairies, think of a favorite color or simple object as you meditate. 

Enjoy and allow the flow of visions to move through you.

Below are a few FairyTale Etsy finds! :

                                          Afterdark

karmelidesigns

ShySiren

Eclettica

Freshmetal

RossellaJayne

Visit my new blogs at:

AnimaFoto  & TheHappyHealer

The Walking Path...

I took an amazing, and rather brisk walk with my daughter yesterday - the air was almost cleansing - which, can only be good. (As the daughter of an Italian father, you learn that air cleans everything all year long - open the windows when its 20 degrees - it's good - it cleans! -yes, I still believe it's true...)

We did about 3 miles, it was great. Lots of other people out there too...always nice too see.

There's just something about a good, brisk walk that makes you feel good - it's really something I try to make a part of my every day. Yoga is too - even it's 10 mins... although I prefer the 1 1/2 hr session in the studio - the 10-15 min version at home does help too. It's all about the breathing - go back to the breath, it's taught me so very much.

*Photos - since the birth of my daughter, well, actually, for most of my life - I've been a photo nut! But since my daughter has been born, I've been taking even more... The old polaroids and film of the '60s and '70s were dark, hard to read - just not 1/2 as easy as they are to do today! Who would have though I'd be printing and editing my own photos in my own home 25 + yrs ago!? Photos are part of why I started blogging too... If I send out one more Snapfish or Smilebox (which I love!) album - my family and friends will probably go nuts!

Example - this one: yeah, it's grafitti - but it's actually sort of pretty and has a nice message to it - "Make it Beautiful" - they're right, at least do what you do and make it beautiful! No, I don't think grafitti is "ok" - but this one hit a cord...

Then there's this one - small, I know - my daughter in pink looking after the geese - her new-found friends! I don't allow her to chase them, she knows better already - they were here first, be kind to them, they'll do the same for you :)