Before I flipped our card over, earlier today, I had been thinking about continuing that “clutter” discussion. But now, I’m only going to touch on it briefly, then REALLY let it go. I simply don’t want to give my own self elf a miserable time over it. Not worth the stress. And not what our message says either.
The word bothers me, on a purely technical level, because it’s too damn subjective. Additionally, it’s harsh. Also, in my experience, those people who say “de-cluttering makes me feel lighter” are also implying that they are better than me. It’s painful. And it’s never going to be the answer in MY life. It hurts my feelings and makes me feel bad. I don’t like feeling bad.
Yes, I DO experience all of the ups and downs in life, but I refuse to go out and SEEK the negative ones. Why would I? Depression shows up on its own, who would go LOOKING for an excuse to pack it back home again? So, that definition of Doreen’s was like stabbing me in the face. If it helped some folks, excellent. Good for you! For me? The opposite of positive.
And that’s all we’re going to say about it. Now, I really am done. Let’s look at some pictures. Yesterday’s event was my son’s early Mother’s Day gift. We went to a tattoo convention.
This time I remembered to use the camera in my pocket. Sort of. I mean I did, you can clearly see that. The shots just didn’t turn out very well, and they weren’t of things we purchased* or spent a lot of time looking at. It’s an odd dynamic there, lots of people working and lots of folks missing key bits of clothing.
*Not to be all mysterious and shit, but I can’t show you some of what we ended up with because those items aren’t all mine, and the individuals who they do belong to haven’t seen them yet. It’s unlikely, but possible, that sharing the specifics here could spoil some surprises. So you get OTHER, less terrific, views instead. For now.
The woman who ran this booth was awesome. (This was just one side, it was bigger and full of more than you can see here.) She lives in San Francisco, but if originally from Australia (!!!) and travels around doing shows like ours.
Art.
The last time we went there was a separate room for the painting and artistic displays. There was less this year (or possibly they were just smaller), so now it’s all in one place.
We saw several of these on books, and what I liked best was that the pages were not destroyed to make it all work. There’s lots of artsy creations out now that cut up everything and ruin the book. I can’t stand to look at them. To me, that’s death of a story.
Here’s the specifics and vital info, which I nearly forgot to get a photo of. Thanks J.D. for the reminder, and the entire wonderfully, inky day!
On our altar this afternoon nothing threw itself at me, and there were no bonus cards.
“Tenderness ~
Speak gently to yourself.
Cherish the child within.”
This illustration is by the same person who did that last one I loved so much. And she did the box art for this deck as well. I like the color tones and the celestial qualities here, but I’m not a fan of that little girl’s dress. It looks choke-y and uncomfortable. Also, the doll is bothersome. But otherwise, it’s fairly soothing.
Plus, when the Universe says things like this, I listen. Our self-talk is much more powerful than we realize and we are all far too critical. The old saying about being our own harshest/worst critic is true for just about everyone, women in particular. Let’s make the most of this Tenderness message and give ourselves a break right now.
That exquisite rendition of the crescent moon (and the mention of clutter removal) reminds me, I promised to talk about Phases recently, and I haven’t done that yet. Here’s what I said in ONE of the posts where I covered this previously:
…. Dark Moon…. as the kids were growing up we called it the Recycle Moon. That big black hole is where you toss things you need to get rid of, then it transforms and comes back out the other side (on the Full Moon) in its positive form. Throw anything in there, negativity, ill health, debt, lack of motivation or inspiration. Then sit back and wait for the results.
In expanding further, it’s about the turning from dark to light, and day to night, subconscious to conscious, the very basics of transformation. We are cyclical creatures, and we’re mostly made of salt water, like the oceans, so we ebb and flow with Mother Moon, as the seas do.
We need to recognize when we are strong and when we need to rest. When we are creating and when we are simply recycling the used-up back into the reborn. Staying aware of what the planets are doing, mostly our own moon, is a good way of staying in touch with ourselves.
When the Dark Moon is a day or two away, gather up the trash and recyclables and prepare for transitions. Making the most of metaphorical tidy opportunities. When it gets to the other side, and is gathering momentum in the constructing direction, begin the phase of creating and renewal.
Today’s Deck:
Self-Care Cards by Cheryl Richardson
LateNight Link: my Hurricane and some friends have created a new tumblr. See what they’re up to and think about contributing. (Aside to Han, there is no back/next or last/previous button that I could find. Just sayin’ -it’s a valuable addition.)
