On my peace platform, think about peace of mind, and your contribution. 

Are you set up for direct deposit when it comes to your peace of mind? And what of your contribution to the peace in your family, your co-workers, and your friends? 

“Live now, enjoy Life now! Love now, for this now is the precious moment that is creating our lives. Each now is unique -- it won’t come back in time. In it we leave a footprint, and within that impression are the actions we leave behind. Each step we take, we leave a mark. The path is created by the steps a person takes while walking it.” 
― Jacqueline Ripstein, The Art of HealingArt: The Keys to Power and Awareness

This is the direct deposit of which I refer to. The legacy that you invest in today. Right now! Will you write it as you live it? How will you describe your current peace of mind? And what do you aspire to? Where is the source of your peace of mind? I have a deep belief that when you journal about your peace, you are investing in it. I believe it gets released to find it's way to others. Can you imagine having plenty to go around? 

On the 'Plenty' platform of Artful Acknowledgment this week, consider Generous Thank You's.

“Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy, thank you for loving me and receiving my love in return. Thank you for the memories I will cherish forever. But most of all, thank you for showing me that there will come a time when I can eventually let you go. ” 
― Nicholas Sparks, Message in a Bottle

Pop quiz: Did you purposefully thank someone this week for some particular thing? (part one) Do you have relationships that will benefit from an unexpected thank you call or note? (part 2) Remember how you felt the last time you got a 'thank you' from someone? (part 3) The only answers that matter are your answers. I ask that perhaps you will, right now, stop what you are doing and put a note in the mail or pick up the phone and risk making someone's day a little brighter! It is important to deliver them N.O.W. (No Opportunity Wasted) Even if it is for something long ago and far way, this simple act packs a big punch each and every time it is sent out.  

The sender always benefits from giving this lasting gift. Everyone wants to be acknowledged. Each relationship is enriched by the contribution. Leave your mark on your legacy with consistent, generous 'Thank You's'. 

When you acknowledge your own wisdom and wonder, you can be truly amazed at what you create.

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.” 
― Jess C. Scott, The Intern


I heard many wise words this past week. I heard words that will bring about change in my life. Do you realize you and your words have unbelievable power? Right now, write down something that someone said to you this past week. Not just something you heard someone say. With the most clarity you can manage, what did someone say to you that you will always remember? And did you say something equally as special, profound and memorable to another person? Creation happens when meaningful dialogue occurs. 

These are treasures that people store. They are spirited word-gifts that are unwrapped in the stillness of another time when they can be savored. Do you wonder how your words were spoken when someone told the story of your conversation? Were they represented with the same potential you spoke into them? Is your legacy of wisdom well-represented in the translation?

Did you take a moment to acknowledge yourself this week? Is your awareness of your own wisdom and wonder growing? It is my heart's desire that you did, and it is. 

I am thankful from the start of each day for my pen and ink. Here is where the creative juices begin to flow. The moment the pen touches the paper, that's when the miracles begin. 

I wanted to explore 'ink'  with you. What follows is my commentary on the information that I gained from wikipedia.

"Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments or dyes and is used to color a surface"…When I write, I chose the words that I use to create or inspire you to create a vivid mental picture of the thoughts on our mind, desires in our hearts, or feelings we are experiencing. Often, this is hard to express in words, and an effort must be made. 

"Ink can be a complex medium, composed of solvents, pigments, dyes, resins, lubricants, solubilizers, surfactants, particulate matter, fluorescers, and other materials"…These ingredients are often translated into the influence of the words, from within and without. As above (spiritual influence) and so below (earthly connections). What is holding the thoughts together (goals) or attempting to separate them(distractions)? Smoothing them over or making them stick together or to something? Shining for attention? Solid in my convictions? I see these ingredients in the flow of finished writing for the day. I am usually amazed at what the words reveal to me about the way I am prepared to face the day, or how the day has influence the words in the similar fashion. I love how the answers motivate the questions.

"The components of inks serve many purposes; the ink’s carrier, colorants, and other additives affect the flow and thickness of the ink and its appearance when dry."…The very foundation of what I hope to inspire is legacy…the 'dry' ink, with all of the history, influence, creativity, hope and peace that writing serves in living your legacy.

For all of the Veterans, I thank you for your service. 

To my sons and husband, your service to my country is appreciated beyond measure from a place deep within my heart. Your legacies live on today.

As I get older, it becomes more important to me to make sure that I say 'thank you' to the men and women who have served and are still serving. No matter the uniform, I shake the hand of those I encounter and thank them, on any given day that I have that privilege. More often than not, the other hand that shakes back is equally as thankful for the recognition. 

Each year I do a query about Veterans Day, I learn something I either didn't know or that somehow resonates within me now. This quote is what seems to say what is on my heart:

It begins with me. And you. The peace process is more than just a couple of doves and a good feeling (consider what is said in finality-Rest in Peace). I don't want to wait that long. In this season leading up to Halloween, we are seeing it everywhere-RIP. I suggest we awaken in peace long before the ending rest. It is more that folks setting around a table coming to agreements. 

Above is the link to the fourth week of my Journal Writing e-class. We are exploring our contributions to the process of peace in our daily life. That state of harmony we all aspire to is well with our reach, and even closer than that. It is in our hearts first. That is where it lives.

Like all other aspects of our existence, it must be fed, watered, used and shared. When adequately nurtured, it becomes plenty to share with others. At sufficient levels, it contributes to our overall wellness. Nothing is more powerful than our awareness of the power of our own peace on our lives and the lives of others around us. So many pieces to the process of peace. Small beginnings, where peace can be planted, will benefit many. Tended by loving hands and hearts, peace is a gifting that although unseen and uneventful, is felt purely and in the deepest parts of our lives. 

This e-class will prepare you for the giving season. The harvest is almost in. What will you share? I encourage you to begin by writing about 'Peace' as suggested in the complimentary PDF you can download with the bar above this post. It is a process, if you want more. Peace is as unlimited as love, but you must claim it. Recognize it for what it represents now, what it can be in your life and where your heart's desire is for it from a universal perspective. A powerful force that is pure love, when all is said and done. What we think about it, we become. I want to be a bigger contributor. Receiving comes from giving peace. Something we all have and could develop more. I want peace to weigh heavily in my legacy.

I am currently working on a project that uses 'old school' pencil and paper to help  get it out of my mind and onto the page. Often I only have an idea that consists of very few words actually. I have to sit at my table with bright yellow paper and a mechanical pencil to call the words out. I can 'see' this idea in motion and putting it in words is a challenge. Occasionally only a single word or thought can go on a paper that I move from place to place in the order of things. Often there are a bunch of X's and O's where future words will be. Squiggle lines, plus and minus signs, and my all time favorite arrow move me through creating something that I can very clearly see in my mind to a journal calendar, e-class, or blog post that hopefully make sense to someone else.

I find the familiarity of paper and pencil calming and allowing in the first phases of creating something. The whole process eventually moves to the high tech gear that enables creative presentation, artistic images that help convey the thoughts and ideas. And when finally rendered, the end result looks nothing like the first yellow pages. Similar to the way bacon looks after cooking it, in no way does it resemble the source from which it came.

I keep all of my 'old school' musings, starts and stops. It could be that a halt in the development is for learning the 'next' things, just like in school, as we grew into the students of life, full of wonder and amazement. X's and O's contributing to the  really big picture and leaving strokes of genius with graphite. Legacy left for a future treasure hunt.

Earlier this year my husband and I traveled to Cozumel, Mexico. We toured the San Gervasio Ruins. This was possible, due in no small part to some one who intentionally began to record information about this place. The Wikipedia link references go back to 1518 when the island was discovered by the Spanish. A mere 495 years ago.Originally not recorded in my language, but I can find the information and reference it to other important people, places and things, very simply put.

Since the moment my foot struck the cautiously navigable stones here, a beating in my chest about #legacy continues. My calling as a #journal coach for the purposes of awareness, wellness, plenty and peace was made concrete during this visit. I feel pressed to create an urgency for the discovery of your stories, and the intentional literary legacy that your life and your life's work represents.

I am alarmed at how some things are rapidly disappearing from out collective human nature. Scrapbooking is barely alive, almost a subculture of folks that know the power of having a physical, well-thought-out compilation of memories that can be passed between people. Held in their hands and shared around the coffee table when they get together, they recall other times, other people, and things. There are great new scrapbooking tools that allow for greater creativity and encourage the common sharing of the most simple treasured photos to milestones achieved over the course of time.

Then along comes the sweet treats and all the 'villes, and for the time spent doing these things, memories could be recorded on the same device. Record your memories for the purpose of sharing them with someone the next time you see them. For instance, write your children a story based on a memory from your childhood. Recall your favorite date with your lover for your next anniversary celebration. Buy a card and send it to someone just to say hello!

We are becoming more disconnected from each other by the minute, if we continue to be 'numbed-down' by the rewards of points, levels, and aquisition. Things that have no real physical value. Things that only exist in the 'bank of time spent' that we can never get back. I encourage you to make your moments count by leaving your mark on the world, for your family or for a purpose larger than yourself. Give a gift that continues to give. Something that others will treasure and hold dear. Your own awareness matters to others when you embrace it literally! Create through #journaling literacy legacy that shows where your footprints are.

The big rocks in the forefront of this photo are symbolic to me personally. Just getting to the house was a struggle. This culture made the best of what was a rocky situation. At these ruins, we saw hand prints on what is left of the buildings that were thought to be homes. They left their mark. Intentionally. And the literary legacy began. Something to write home about.