How many times have you equated patience with power? It doesn’t seem like patience is powerful, or even considered a virtue, in today’s hyperlinked, mobile, always connected culture. But this quote reminds us that patience can be powerful.

I’m the first person to admit that sometimes it is difficult to be patient. It’s hard to be patient when traffic is horrendous. It’s hard to be patient when on hold on the phone. It’s hard to be patient when waiting in line. But it is hardest to be patient with ourselves. We want everything to be done now. We want success, however we define it, in our lives now. We find it unsatisfying to wait, to take a breath, to be patient.

But patience is powerful, if we are intentional about slowing down and taking the time to be patient. How wonderful is it to simply enjoy a conversation over a cup of tea with a friend or loved one without hurry? This is when we truly connect. How joyful is it to write, to bake, to paint, to print without worrying about what anyone else thinks about what we make? This is when we truly create. How peaceful is it to listen to the rain without interruption? This is when we truly have time to imagine.

Patience, like all good parents say, is a virtue. It is also a power that we can all cultivate that helps us in life and in art. I wish you a day of patient work and talk and wonder. May it lead you to new insights and success. 🙂

Happy Friday! Another week is coming to a close. It is amazing how quickly the time is flying by this year. Though, in fairness, it feels like that every year.  Today’s inspiration is from Gertrude Stein on the importance of harmony, which seems appropriate at the end of the week.

Harmony is essential to life and to art, at least it feels that way to me. In writing, tension, conflict, and suspense are all necessary for compelling story. We know this in our fingers when typing and in our brains when editing. But there is also an element of harmony that is necessary. This doesn’t mean we get rid of tension or obstacles, but  if everything in the story is going well, then the writing itself is in harmony. All the parts are working together to create a story that we don’t want to leave. That, to me, is harmony on the page, but we also need harmony in our lives.

As we create  writing, calligraphy, letterpress, doodles, or something else, we have to have some part of our being and life that is in harmony with our art. I don’t buy into the idea that we need to suffer in our lives in order to create. I take solace in positive psychology research (and I love this talk by Shawn Achor on the happiness advantage) that shows our brains are more creative when we are happy. And, happiness is easier to achieve when there is harmony.

I hope you find harmony in your work and have a wonderful weekend full of moments that make you smile. 🙂

What is home to you? Is it a place? A person? Is it somewhere you feel deep in your bones that you belong? For me and for my writing, the where and what of home is very important. Everyone wants a home and a place to belong and, on this gloomy day when I want nothing more than to be curled up at home, this quote sums it up for me.

Stephen King wrote this in his novel, Revival, and the quote feels like home to me. Having people want you to stay longer is a wonderful thing. To not wear out your welcome, to be somewhere you can belong, to be content with staying, are all wonderful things.

So as you create and live and love I hope you find a place to call home, in art and in life. Adventures and travels are wonderful things, but there is something magical, too, in coming home. 🙂

Spring fever has come early where I live. Flowers are blooming, new leaves are budding on the trees, and the birds are singing. We’ve even broken some records for hottest days in February. With this strange turn in the weather, it can be hard to focus inside on work when the outdoors are so beautiful and lovely.

I love this quote because it reminds me that sometimes the best way forward is to take a break. I’m rather bad at taking breaks when I’m working on a project, whether it is writing or editing a story, researching copy for a new exhibit, or cleaning the house. If there is something that needs doing, then I should be doing it now. Except, sometimes this can cause exhaustion and a too-narrow vision of what it looks like to be productive or successful at the end of the day.

Sometimes, we need (I need) to take a deep breath and walk in the sunshine. We need to listen to the chickadees and juncos chirp and feel the breeze on our faces. We need to be distracted, diverted, so that we can be more creative and wise when we return to our work.

I hope you have something lovely to be a diversion for a while today before you get back to thinking big thoughts, dreaming big dreams, and creating big visions. 🙂

I was at a writers conference (the lovely San Francisco Writers Conference) this last weekend and learned a lot from the agents, editors, writers, and published authors in attendance. It was amazing to hear about all the different paths people have taken to become writers and to become published authors. So this quote by Eddie Cantor seems especially appropriate after listening to many authors talk about their long journeys to publication.

Sometimes in the thick of writing and rejection, when others seem to be having overnight success, it can be hard to remember that success usually comes after a lot of time and effort. It is comforting to know that there is rarely an overnight success and most likely there is a lot of hard work that we never see behind that “overnight” success.

It motivates me to keep writing and creating. These things I can control and the rest I try not to let bog me down. I hope you have a lovely week of creating things that give you joy in the process and that you find success sweet when you get there. 🙂