Isabel Designs

I’ve been putting off ordering new glasses for over two years now. My eyes have changed to the point where I need bifocals – I guess it happens to most of us after we pass the forty year milestone. My eye doctor said I could wait until I just couldn’t stand it anymore before biting the bullet. In this case, the bullet could have been $650.00 worth of lenses and frames! Yikes! So I’ve held off placing the order…until now. I broke my glasses.

Duct Tape & 18 gauge wire

It’ll take two weeks for my new glasses to arrive, and in the meantime, I’ve wired and duct-taped up my old frames. Yes, they look funny, and I get a good chuckle at myself when I put them on. They’ve become a social experiment for me. I leave them on when I go into the grocery store, or gas station, or wherever. The reactions are fairly predictable: my friends laugh and jab, but strangers take one look, and never make eye contact again. I have broken glasses – not leprosy! How many people in wheelchairs or with other visible differences experience similar reactions? Though I didn’t scientifically measure the results, my two week experiment was certainly enough time to ‘experience’ the awkwardness of people I encountered.

We have the ability to touch each other with our eyes every day – every time we look someone’s way. We’re all broken in someway or another – mostly on the inside. Today my challenge to you is another social experiment – never look away. Focus your ‘kind eyes’ on friends and strangers, especially if they’re ‘different’. Don’t just look at them – ‘see’ them – and take it to heart.

(By the way – I ordered new glasses online, progressive lenses and frames for a mere $66.00. Now we’re talking!)

Read Jackson Brown’s song lyrics: Doctor My Eyes

Sorting the pieces

Some day’s life really does resemble a box of moving parts. When the lid is removed, the pieces look like they should come together to create the finished-product of your dreams, if only you had more time. But if you’re like most people, it’s a struggle to find enough hours in the day to study the instruction manual, let alone sort the pieces.

I love spending time with my sister. Last time we were together she happened to be working on a 500-piece puzzle. She set up a card table in the living room, emptied out the box, and sorted the pieces into nice neat piles according to colour and texture of the picture on the box. By the time I pulled a chair up to the table, she had the perimeter done, and was working on the interior. Each newly placed piece felt like a small victory, and as the evening went on, it was clear we were on a quest for complete and utter triumph. A few hours later, we high-fived and called it a night, satisfied and proud of our puzzle making skills.

I love looking for lessons and meaning in the activities I do, and certainly there’s one here for me. I think it’s this: I need to believe my many small efforts will yield the results I’m hoping for. I like to be organized. I need confidence and steadfastness. Sometimes it just seems like I’m spinning my wheels – or that I’m just moving pieces around. My hope is that at the end of the day I’ll be that much closer to realizing my dreams.

  

 

 

Be Yourself - Click here for necklace details

Over the past couple of weeks I have chosen to embrace this word, and own it just like Maria did in The Sound of Music when she sings, “I have confidence in confidence alone”. Remarkably, as I claim this word, it pops up in conversation, in random thoughts, and yesterday it was the title of the chapter I was reading in Rhonda Britten’s book, “Change Your Life in 30 Days”. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I’ve expressed this need and desire to myself, and the universe is sending in reinforcements. Cool, eh?

Confidence is about being self-assured and having faith in ones abilities and it comes with some elements of risk. Because it is acquired through experience, you actually have to step out and practice doing the thing you’re afraid of in order to get confidence in the first place. If you’ve ever performed or made a presentation in front of an audience, you’ll probably agree that your first effort was accompanied by butterflies. But the second time you took the stage it was less frightening, and each time after that, the limelight felt more and more comfortable.

I am learning that confidence brings about empowerment; as I gain more experience, the fear and mystic that once confounded the activity is removed and I am free to express and explore with more autonomy. Today I found out that I was not selected for a festival I had applied to perform in. I am disappointed, and it’s funny how quick the old inner voice kicks in with vindication saying, “Well what did you expect? You’re just not good enough for this gig”. The good news is I caught myself in time to dodge the ‘bad language’ bullet and get back on track. I reminded myself of the many successes I’ve had in submitting for gigs and performances, and that many more opportunities await. Sometimes it’s about taking baby steps; every booking I get this year will lead to bigger and better gigs next year. Little by little, as I do the work, I am confident that my efforts will be rewarded.

I’ll leave you with more of Maria’s lyrics, and invite you to claim the word that will help you gain momentum in your life.

“And mind me with each step I am more certain
Everything will turn out fine
I have confidence the world can all be mine
They’ll have to agree I have confidence in me”

The bracelet my first boyfriend gave me after our first kiss, the keys to the car that declared my ‘roll down the window and crank up the music’ independence, and the love notes exchanged between me and my first true love, preserved in shoeboxes and Tim Horton cans, are evidence that I am a sentimental pack rat. I don’t apologize for hanging on to these things. They help me remember special moments in my life. They remind me that I was here. 

Sunflower Angel

Up until recently, I still had the big green trunk that my Dad passed on to me when I was thirteen. It held precious things like ticket stubs from concerts and movies, letters from high school friends and sweethearts, and the high-heeled pink shoes that my sister made me wear to her wedding. I also stored college art projects and theology essays, the ones that got A’s, so I could remember those achievements. It held photo albums filled with the escapades of friends that still make me laugh out loud when I look at them. The trunk was ruined in a basement flood a few years back, so I had no choice but to part with it and the majority of its contents. One starry summer evening, when the flames were burning high in a backyard campfire, I put the trunk in the fire, and ceremoniously gave its ashes to the wind. It was a good lesson for me to ‘let go’ of some of these old things. Let’s face it – I’ll never wear those pink shoes again!

Today I received an email that filled me with a sense of hope and newness. Today I witnessed a great blue heron walking along the water’s edge, and felt the morning sun flood its light on my face. These were not yesterday’s memories. This is my now. I know all these things will be added to my storehouse of treasures, to be called forth again when I need them, or least expect them, but living in the moment, feeling them for the first time over and over again, is really where it’s at. I am here. 

 

Inspiration - Photo by N.Cotnam

I had an opportunity to view two fabulous DVD’s over the weekend. They were so helpful and inspirational that I thought I’d share the titles and links here on Isabel Design. 

I’ve been familiar with Dr. Wayne Dyer’s work for many years, have seen him on PBS, and own a set of audio CD’s called “The Power of Intention”. Saturday night I gathered with a few friends to watch “The Shift”, where Dr. Dyer “explores the spiritual journey in the second half of life when we long to find the purpose that is our unique contribution to the world…(it) not only inspires, but also teaches us how to find the path to our spiritual purpose and therefore our greatest joy.”

The second DVD introduced me to a woman who’s been creating positive change in the world for years, Louise Hay, and her book and dvd entitled, “You can heal your life“. Hosted by Louise, the movie “offers not only an intimate look into her moving and inspirational life story, but also a special segment devoted to helping you apply Louise’s affirmations and groundbreaking wisdom to heal your own life and the challenges that you face today.”

I thoroughly enjoyed the message and recommend these DVDs to anyone who is looking for purpose in their life.