....sunday stirrings

hoping you all had a peaceful, blissful, 

"whatever you may have needed" 

type of weekend.  

here is what stirred my soul this past week....

these encouraging words ... courtesy of pinterest

this book FULL of so much yumminess from some

truly amazing women whom i admire.

this awesome article by my 

"parenthood, will ferrell, bob marley loving, amazeballs artist" friend Kelly Barton...

who continues to inspire me EVERY DAY with her SHINE!

(check her out in the latest Somerset Studio Mag)

carving out time to finger paint!

"going under the flap" for the winter session

of SOUL LODGE.  so good for my soul.

thank you to the wise and beautiful Pixie Campbell 

for guiding us through.

and

this song ... their voices together are so beautiful.

hoping you will share what stirred your soul this week.

peaceandlove,

kolleen

on wednesdays and thursdays each week i 

head to the hospital to do volunteer work 

for the program Art for Healing.

i feel so blessed to be able to do this each week ... 

to hopefully make a patient smile, create something with them, laugh, let them know they are seen and heard, 

bring a sense of calm and release from whatever 

has landed them in that hospital bed.

i have had countless patients say things to me 

that will stay with me forever, 

lessons they may have learned, 

realizations they have had.

and i myself have had many realizations 

in my time spent there...  

i have realized as i go from room to room 

in the hospital how easy it is to take

our health for granted.

  i have realized that truly our health is one 

THEE single most important things.   

i have realized that all the material things of this world 

have very little, if no meaning, 

when you are lying in a hospital bed.  

i have realized vanity goes out the door when all 

we want to do is feel better.  

i have realized that if we do not have our health 

we truly cannot enjoy those we love and 

love the way we would like in return.  

i have realized life is short ... 

we never know from one day to the next 

what this life may bring our way.  

i truly have new perspective and a much 

deeper level of gratitude for each day that i wake up 

feeling healthy, no aches, no pains, no sickness.

please share with me ... what have you realized lately?

peaceandlove,

kolleen

say whaaaaaaat wednesday??

happy wednesday friends...

i don't know about you guys but i am struggling a bit

getting back into the groove ... back into "routine"...

so today i would love to know...

what made you happy today??

for me ... many things did, 

but this song in particular worked for me.

i hope you take a listen.

"when the night feels my song,

i'll be home, i'll be home."

peaceandlove,

kolleen

...sunday stirrings

HAPPY SUNDAY!!

each sunday i am going to try to post about a 

few things that stirred my soul this week...
things that moved me. 

making it a time to reflect on what 

brought me smiles, tears, laughter, inspiration, 

deep thought, movement ... love.

the older i get ... every day, i realize this more and more.

vision board i created at a workshop...

really focusing in on my 2012 word

LIBERATE ... such a great exercise ... 

was lost in it.

dinner date with friends ... good conversation,
laughter, love.

(gotta love the silly nose picker!)

this song ... the entire CD ...

LOVE.

walking here ... mama ocean always 

soothes ... always seems to stir things within.

holding this sweet little girl ... she

made my heart burst.

(nope...she's not mine...i already have two big boys...

she's a friends ... her name is Envy)

just a taste of what stirred me this week ...

what caused that for you??


peaceandlove,
kolleen

THEE WORD FOR 2012

....this year it didn't come quite as easily to me as last year's did.
THEE WORD .... the word to carry me through 2012...
the word i would lean on, hold gently, place in my pocket.

 i thought and thought ... pondered ... 

did alot of reading ... to see if anything jumped out at me,

 truly resonated with what i want this year to represent ... 

what i want to carry with me throughout the next 12 months ...

 and then some.

after a long walk on the beach yesterday, 

listening to the pounding of the waves .... it came to me.  

it nestled into my heart and jumped into my pocket.

LIBERATE

liberate - grant freedom to; free from confinement

set free

liberate
free, release, rescue, save, deliver, discharge,
redeem, let out, set free, let loose, untie, emancipate,
unchain, unbind, manumit

so i am ready .... 
ready to liberate from:


any chains that are bound around me

carrying the burden of other people's choices and actions

things i cannot control

worry about what others think of me

unnecessary expectations of myself and others
worry that if i do it ... it could be all wrong
prejudices, negative thoughts, the gremlins
worry of "not being good enough"
jealousies
all the "shoulds" that i lug around day to day...


....i could go on and on


but i am doing it ...


i am liberating baby!!!!!

wanna join me?!?!


peaceandlove,
kolleen

...friday thoughts

... i can hardly believe another year has come and gone.  

it seems the older i get, 

the quicker the time goes and the more i am trying to 

hold on to each little, tender moment.

this is a time of reflection for me (as i know it is for most of us)... looking back, remembering, 

writing down intentions for the upcoming year, 

things i want to release and let go of, 

focusing on that which i want to bring into my life.

my dear friend Londa posted a question today ... 

asking for ONE word to define this past year ... 

so tell me, what's yours??  

What is your ONE word to sum up 2011??

peaceandlove always ... 

blessings upon the new year ahead ... 

let us keep seeking the good and striving for the better.

kolleen

...winter solstice RELEASE!!!

it isn't too late ... 

to create bundles of all that you may want

 TO RELEASE...TO LET GO OF...

TO NO LONGER CARRY...

 during the winter solstice. 

(and if you don't want to create a bundle...

write it on a slip of paper ... and release it...burn it...let it go)

the amazing, intuitive, keeper of ceremony, earth mama, 

wise beyond her years, Pixie Campbell 

(who is a gift to me in so many ways)

is heading up 

"The Mother of All Releasings Ceremony" ... 

the video below is pure magic ... 

women circling together is so powerful, so necessary...

and even more so, releasing all that we carry

that is just far too heavy and unnecessary

to let it weigh us down any longer.

It is time to 

RELEASE IT...DROP IT...LET IT GO.

thank you Pixie, thank you ... for the gift that is YOU.

(i adore you.)

Mother of All Releasings Ceremony: Winter Solstice, 2012 from Pixie Campbell on Vimeo.

....friday thought

(Sydnie on her 9th birthday)

"WHERE THERE IS MUCH LIGHT, 

THE SHADOW IS DEEP."

                              -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

wishing you all a beautifully 

magical weekend.

peaceandlove

kolleen

say whaaaaaat wednesday??

(my work in progress ... more to come)

Gathering:  an assembly or meeting,

to cause to come together; convene;

to bring together into one group, collection or place

today i have been sitting here thinking 

about the beauty of "gathering"...
the necessity of it

gathering around a table to break bread 

and share laughter, tears, conversation, friendship;

gathering around a campfire to tell stories and sing;

gathering around a friend that may 

need to be lifted up, supported, heard, held;

gathering with my littles to show them 

love and comfort and safety;

gathering in a circle to look at one another,

pray, send out positive vibes, embrace;

gathering with others to share dreams and aspirations;

gathering with family and loved ones to 

create traditions and make memories.

what is a way in which you love to gather??


would love to hear...
peaceandlove,
kolleen

....fly

"LEAP AND THE NET WILL APPEAR."

                       - Zen Saying




so...who's going to jump???!!




peaceandlove,
kolleen

...the heART exchange

(handmade wrapping paper!!)

i have had so much fun participating in 

The heART Exchange 

sponsored by the oh so lovely Louise Gale.

i am such a lover of all things handmade 

and making something from my heart to someone else's ...

well,

its the best!

And what was even better was that my 

sweet scarf sister Kate is my partner in this exchange!!

I had so much fun packing up her goodies....

and shipping them off to her!!

I hope they arrive safely from my heart to hers!!

Happy Monday friends and here's a song for

Monday Music....such talent...gives me the goosebumps.

"and i'll fall on my knees."

ooxx
peaceandlove
kolleen

i believe....say whaaaaaaat???

i believe in truth.

i believe in being kind and treating others 

as you would want to be treated.

i believe there is extraordinary in the ordinary.

i believe there is beauty EVERYWHERE...

STOP.  RIGHT NOW.  LOOK.  
(you found it, didn't you?!?!)

i believe art, creating, music are healing and 

the best therapy there is.

i believe in community and connection.

i believe in honesty and compassion and non judgment.

i believe in surrendering to all that is beyond our control.  

(and i believe this is easier said than done)

i believe in God ... He is IN everyone and everything.

i believe we ALL matter.

i believe in light breaking through any darkness there is.

i believe in dreams.

i believe in showing ourselves kindness and 

giving ourselves a break.

i believe guilt and shame are powerful if you LET them be.

i believe in service to others.

i believe each and every one of us has a calling on our lives.

i believe in soul whispers.

i believe in heart whispers.

i believe children are AMAZING teachers.


i believe in miracles.

i believe YOU are enough.

i believe LOVE IS THE ANSWER.

and i believe this list is no where near being finished!!

so tell me...

what do you believe in??


peaceandlove
kolleen