Grateful for Friday

Friday is my new day for creative thinking and doing; as Grandma Earth Teacher I am led to make things that are a gift to the Earth in some way, sustainable, and with a message. Also, I need to prepare for the next week of after-school time: A calm flow with some repeatable fun learning and ongoing fall projects.

We are in the yin time of the waning gibbous moon - a time to receive the fruits of our labors, a time of quiet, internal, heart-driven, intentional Being-ness.

Agenda:

1. Gratitude meditation

2. Projects for the week

3. Preparedness

4. Read "The Achievement Habit"

1. Gratitude meditation:

Every month after the full moon, in the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon, I practice a love meditation that progresses from receptivity, to gratitude, to generosity. 

The most powerful receiving is accompanied with sincere gratitude, so today I will look again at the things I want to receive this month, and how I can better feel (and show) my heart-felt gratitude:

• Equanimity and calm - feel my calm, record my calm, celebrate my calm.
• Better understanding of neurodiversity so I can offer support - list out the wonderful differences and give thanks.
• Abundant wise writing - tell my readers thank you.
• Energy and motivation to work at clearing - plan a blessing ceremony.
• Continued enjoyment of watercolors - savor my time with paint.
• Synergy with my teams - meditate on my teams and feel the gratitude for each one.

Day 2: Practice a love meditation, and end by feeling and expressing gratitude - send a prayer of thanksgiving to the universe for all I have in my life.

2. Projects for the week:

The projects I see as priorities now are:

1. For my substack: Better photos, and watercolor illustrations (Butterfly hangers, bird eating seeds!).
2. Craftivism and nature projects to support my Nature-Culture shifts (Butterfly hangers, Fall leaves retreat project).
3. House and practical fix-it projects: (my Earth coat, hall doors project).
4. Sharing skill and fall projects (Fall colors - leaves, acorns, writing art, a bat cave.)

Art project steps:

• F: Make new Butterfly tags; PH: Tag steps; bee home packing up
• Sat: Watercolor of Downy woodpecker on Mullein
• Sun: Sew cuffs + PH: Give-Away
• M: Watercolor birds
• T: Watercolor birds
• W: Watercolor birds + Start bathroom door papering
• Th: Watercolor birds + Bathroom butterflies

Kid Projects:

• F: Aldo day: Bat cave painting + fix the fairy house?
• T: Artie Day: New bird cards, bird watching, beading
• W: Aldo Day: Start jet pack + Papier mache outside walls of bat cave
• Th: Both Boys Day: Pumpkin paintings? 
• F: Aldo day: Jet pack

3. Preparedness:

I've been working on a way to assure that I get to the studio and work on projects with regularity, and decided to make a weekly list for tiny tasks. 

 

Art Preparations:   

• Sat: PH of birds to paint: Downy woodpecker
• M: Set up to paint

Kid prep:

• Sat: Look for jet pack supplies - BiMart trek for silver paint, etc.
• T: New bird cards, take binoculars, set out beading
• W: Set up to make paste
• Th: Set up to paint pumpkins

4. Read "The Achievement Habit":

I'm reading from this book by Bernard Roth (2015), subtitled "Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life". This is a book about "design thinking", applied to achieving goals in your life. It's due, so I'm going to skim and sum up the last chapters:

Chapter 6 is Watch Your Language, about communicating with my teams with language that is honest, direct, and true to my intentions. Watch out for using no when I mean yes, 'but' when I mean 'and' (for example: "I want to paint, (but/and) I need to sleep"); 'have to' when I mean 'want to'; (One very good reminder is to use I statements with Aldo - instead of "Why did you dump out the blocks?" Say, "I feel anxious that you dumped those out."