Serendipity Sunday

Bee Humble

Bee Kind

Bee Joyful All the Time!

These words have been running in my head for the past week.  I even awakened with these words in my head and vowed to get this put into a pattern TODAY.

I LOVE the message.

I have also been obsessed with the seeds that we are planting.

As I have stated dozens of times, I was raised by a Mother who did NOT believe in coincidence.

These two thoughts that have been running in my mind, amongst the clutter o’ crap in there, have given me great encouragement to be better.

I am working, oh, so hard, on removing the “clutter o’ crap” from my mind and filling it with ideas, messages, and words of GOODNESS, KINDNESS and HOPE…

I want to be a beautiful flower who BLOOMS with possibilities.

I want to plant SEEDS of KINDNESS…HOPE…GOODNESS…POSSIBILITY…

Choosing BLOOM as my “word” of 2016 has caused me great pause in many areas of my life.

I have spent time contemplating WHAT it is that I want.

My “wants” have changed greatly, in some ways, since being a kid of 21 to an “old maid” of 53, BUT at the basis of my desires, I SIMPLY, like most everyone else, WANT TO BE HAPPY.

I CANNOT buy into, nor WILL I buy into this “crap” of America NOT being great.  Can we improve?  You bet your bottom dollar, we can, and should, But to imply that we are not great, is WRONG.

NOTHING I do or say will ever make one bit of difference in the world, as a whole, BUT it is making a difference in me, and by CHANGING ME, I am changing my little corner of the world, and WHO KNOWS, maybe those seeds I plant will grow MORE beautiful FLOWERS of peeps!

As I scuttled to meet deadlines this week, I found myself, again, THINKING what I want to accomplish with designing patterns.  I joked that I KNOW I will never be a BIG BRUSH, but I do hope, in some way, to be a small 20/0 Liner in this decorative art world.  I have absolutely no desire to travel teach, or to be “famous”, I just want to spread JOY in my little quick and easy designs, and to spread the message that there is PLENTY of room for all of us and that ANYONE who wishes to paint, CAN paint.  I don’t want to be in the middle of “You STOLE my design” or “THAT is my idea” or “don’t PAY to have someone cut your wood because THAT is wrong”, “You DID NOT pay to teach this”…sigh…

DON’T send me nasty comments, because I think, I know as well as anyone, about Copyright, but at the end of the day, is THAT how you want to spend a chunk of your time SCREAMING and sending nasty VAGUE COMMENTS across social media???  I ALSO understand this being a livelihood for MANY artists, and I UNDERSTAND that everyone deserves to be paid, BUT again, at the end of the day, You will NEVER change one single person who THINKS they are entitled, and THAT applies to the designer as WELL as to the customer.

Let’s face it…THERE are ONLY so many ways to paint a SHEEP….to paint a SNOWMAN…to paint a SANTA…to paint EYES…to paint a HOUSE…and on and on…WE ALL are THIEVES who steal our ideas from the MASTER DESIGNER!  WE copy His work each time we lift a brush, and you don’t hear HIM complaining…NO, He encourages us to go “deeper” and to “learn from HIM”…

AND again, I understand, IF you came up with an ORIGINAL and UNIQUE idea, then YES, you SHOULD be able to get your due credit, but ONCE an idea is put into SPACE, it is out there to take on a life of its own…SO, We must ALL decide how we want to spend our time…

AND HEY, in MY WORLD, a 20/0 liner, although small and unassuming, is one of the most important brushes an artist can own!  ROFL…NO, again, I am NOT saying I am ALL THAT and a BAG OF CHIPS, but I AM important, because GOD created me in HIS OWN IMAGE, and that makes me pretty special, AND makes you JUST as special.  WE ALL are SO VERY LOVED!

So, Today, I give GREAT THANKS for the ability to paint—in my own style—in my own way—on my own level—through my own eyes as I see things.

Also, I give GREAT THANKS for those who have encouraged me.  Susan Kelley of PUDDLES OF PAINT has been a great help.  Her kind words and suggestions of improvement mean so much to me.  To take time from her busy schedule, means so much.  Yep, I am certain I have caused her more confusion that she deserves, but sometimes we NEED someone to slow us down!  ROFL….ok, that is my story and I am sticking to it!

And that brings up another thought in my head.

Last night, I did my monthly grocery shopping at Walmart.  The cashier was an older lady, whose skin was wrinkled from the sun.  She was SLOW.  I kept feeling empathy for all of us as we waited and for those behind my VERY FULL buggy.

BUT as I thought about the moment, I realized that there was absolutely NOTHING for me to get angry about.  I DID NOT need to run to FB and tell everyone what a HORRIBLY SLOW cashier I had and how WALMART needs to get its act together, and on and on…PLANTING SEEDS OF ANGER…

AND yes, I realize many of you will say ISN’T THAT WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW? 

No, hang with me for a moment…

The cashier, as I said, was an older lady.  I can only make assumptions that she has probably had a life filled with struggles, as I concluded by the lines on her face and her working at an older age, BUT then, NONE of that MIGHT be true.  IT is simply MY analysis.  I spoke to her and asked HOW she was doing.  Her face brightened with the most BEAUTIFUL SMILE I have ever seen.  SHE RADIATED JOY.  I watched as she would struggle to find the bar codes, but she would find them and carefully bag the items.  I asked her jokingly, if it was HOT enough for her, and again, that beautiful smile appeared.  I sensed she was NOT a BIG MOUTH like me, and I decided to not chat and confuse her, and simply helped to keep the items on the belt in order and to get the bags into my cart.  I smiled at her, and at the others who stood in line, as I wondered WHERE are we going in SUCH a hurry at 10:45 at night?  SERIOUSLY??

She was lovely.  She did a good job.  Yes, I think she did the BEST SHE COULD do.  Here is my question:  WHY is it so frustrating for us to accept someone’s BEST as inferior?

THIS is HOW I think we can make our COUNTRY GREATER—accepting people as PEOPLE.  WE are in a rat race to be the BEST…the FASTEST…the FIRST…

We have thrown these unrealistic standards onto our poor, sweet children and our expectations, while well-intended, have children NOT getting to be CHILDREN…

We extol the “good ole days” as we YELL and SCREAM at each other to HURRY UP…We don’t take time to KNOW each other…SOOOOOOOO…

TA DAH…

As my Serendipity Moment of the week, I want to give THANKS for that sweet little lady at Walmart, who gave me the biggest, brightest and most beautiful smile that I have seen in a long time, for ALLOWING me, YES, giving me an opportunity to STOP and THINK for just a moment about HOW we treat those who give us their best.  This unexpected blessing to be reminded that LIFE goes too quickly is a lesson I, again, needed to re-learn.

When we are STOPPED in traffic, instead of worrying that WE will be late, give THANKS for the moment to sit and BREATHE.  There is not one single thing your anger will change except for making yourself sick! Also, think about the person who caused the stop~~PRAY for them and the responders and for the families…be THANKFUL you are safe…and REMEMBER, things HAPPEN and sometimes you have to plan better and leave earlier.  Oh, HOW we HATE to be reminded that WE MAKE MISTAKES, too!  Oh, how we LOVE to point that old proverbial finger at others who CAUSED our frustration.  Oh, how we HATE to be “called out” for planting “seeds of hate”.  I promise, in 10 years, you will probably not remember that moment…

When you get behind someone taking too long, at whatever it is that YOU are doing, talk to the person behind you, if there is someone around.  Take that moment to BREATHE and give thanks for ALL the blessings that YOU have…LOOK around you and SEE what is in your little corner of the world.  I can almost promise you that you will SEE something you haven’t noticed before.  Fill your mind with POSITIVE thoughts...get rid of those ugly thoughts that have no place, other than to SPUR you on to GOODNESS…

BLOOM…BE in FULL BLOOM…LIVE your life in FULL BLOOM…Plant Seeds of kindness…of JOY…of HOPE…of TOLERANCE…

BE a REFLECTION of HIS LOVE…~I am SIMPLY Blessed to create…charlotte♡

I finally wrote the pattern for this piece that has been sitting around for probably 2 years, maybe more, maybe less, but it is now In my etsy shop (click here to magically appear there!)—both the original piece and the pattern!  The pattern includes 3 small bonus projects, too, because, THAT is a kind thing to do~~LOL