It's so easy to give our artistic power away to oblige our partners or console our families. But if the choices we make rob us of too much of our private time, if they deprive us of our joy or our inner peace or prevent us from expressing our creative gifts, then ultimately they are violations we are perpetrating against our own souls. These violations do not affect just us in negative ways, they affect all those around us. When we don't take care of ourselves because we are trying to make others happy, we build up resentment toward the very people we are trying to please.
The Right Question "Am I standing in my power or am I trying to please another?" allows us to stand in our power and to be clear about our priorities. If I choose to ignore myself when I am in desperate need of my own attention, I will resent those I have deemed more important than me. Even though I might spend the day trying to be happy and pleasant, underneath I will feel angry because I have made a choice that depleted me. This underlying resentment will inevitably come out no matter how hard I try to deny what I feel.
We set ourselves up to lose every time we give away our power and minimize the importance of our own needs. Many people I work with truly believe that they don't matter. They think it's okay to abandon themselves as long as they are making someone else happy. They tell themselves that they are strong enough to withstand the neglect as long as it's in the name of making someone else happy. Or they tell themselves that it's their job to be the sacrificial lamb. This is often what we were taught when we were young, and it sets us up to violate ourselves and play the part of the martyr. Each time we ignore our own needs to please another, we disconnect from our own ability to love and nurture ourselves. Please remember that pleasing another is not the same as caring for another. The important thing to realize is that we can't really care for another if we do not first care for ourselves. By consulting ourselves to see whether the choices we make come from a place of standing in our power or one of needing to please another, we are forced to confront the subtle and not so subtle ways in which we violate ourselves.
This Right Question will support you in reclaiming your power in every aspect of your life. You may feel that you have your power in some areas of your life, but certain people and situations are bound to come along that will temporarily blindside you. It is precisely at those moments that I invite you to remember to breathe deeply, check in with yourself, and ask yourself this important question: Am I standing in my power or am I trying to please another?  From my teacher, Debbie Ford.

Water overcomes the stone;
Without substance it requires no opening;
This is the benefit of taking no action.

Yet benefit without action,
And experience without abstraction,
Are practiced by very few.

It doesn't matter who we are -- how rich, famous, talented, or educated. At some point each of us will face the choice of claiming our power or giving it away by trying to please someone else.
Pleasing others is a habit that some of us developed when we were young. We learned that if we did something special -- if we were cute, danced, used good manners, or received good grades in school -- we would gain the affection and the approval we desired. Some of us learned that we had to forsake our own needs to fit in with our families. We kept our opinions to ourselves. We stayed silent, even when we longed to share our views. We followed along with the crowd rather than making waves. For most of us, this pattern of behavior began in our interactions with our parents. Now this habit is embedded deep in our psyches. We've learned to give away our power for the approval of others. We deny ourselves the gift of our voice, our opinions, and our authentic expression. Obligations, "shoulds", and guilt become the dictators of our actions.  From my friend, Debbie Ford.

We must live with hope, yet we cannot live by hope. It is fine to hope for the best. Yet, that is not enough. We cannot just hope, we must take action.

It is sad how many things are tolerated in the hope that they will improve. Hoping for the best won't do anything. Working and taking action, with hope in your heart, will bring about results. That's a powerful combination. Hope works in your favor only as long as it is accompanied by action and commitment.

Hope cannot replace action. Do what needs to be done, hope or no hope. Hope for the best, and do everything in your power to make it happen. To me this is hope. Things will get better -- when you make them better.

Start each day with hope and maybe some coffee, then get busy working. Let your hope inspire you, rather than console you. Hope for the best, and then do whatever it takes.

Even when you are thoroughly committed to staying positively focused, life can get in the way. Though you may have the best of intentions, there will be times when you veer off course as a result of your own actions.

When that happens, don't beat yourself up about it. Just recognize it, accept it, learn from it, and get moving again in a positive direction.

Winners and losers will both stumble. The difference is, winners have learned to quickly get back up.

If you make a mistake, or lose your temper, or allow yourself to become distracted, it's normal and natural, and not the end of the world. Though it is painful when you've disappointed yourself, you have the opportunity to make something positive out of that pain.

It is indeed a good thing to realize that what you have just done was not the best choice. For now you can move forward with a renewed and stronger determination

at Victory Park.  He was pretty cool, and had an interview with

Cedric the Entertainer!  If you find yourself home and bored,

on a Saturday night, it's a pretty funny 30 minutes of fun.

WFAA - 8 Dallas

^{_{I'm not a great writer, so bear with me on this.  I have to wonder as an artist, of course, why in the world people in the art world are so misdirected.  Why they, for the sake of their own little paychecks, or lack thereof, get so crucially ugly - cheat, lie, and even steal to make it.  They steal ideas, they steal opportunities, and the bottom line is they try to steal joy.  But what I find so interesting about this group of people is that they have no talent.   They do not understand their Purpose from God.  They do not paint.  They do not create.  They do not play a guitar, a piano, or a trumpet.   They call themselves important.  But they don't know the first thing about the art of performance.  They can only copy or emulate.   Now those who can say they passed 12th grade Latin with me can tell you that the Latin word for emulate is aemulatis, meaning to strive, to equal, or to excel.     What they miss, however, is that they are sitting on the outside wishing for some joy. They indeed are empty on the inside.   Their knowledge, training,  and experience only carries them so far, and far worse, they truly believe they hold your destiny.   They seem to hardly be able to stand themselves and  have to soothe the pain with some type of self medication.  Sometimes it is with a deep level of insecurity, even though they are playing smooth on the outside.   And so rather than blast them, talk hatefully about them, or even judge them, I would rather challenge them:  paint a painting, play a guitar, sing a song.   Then find the place that you truly belong.  We all know where we belong.  That's why we paint, or play guitars, or sing. If they dare to ever look at you and flippantly diss your passion and joy,  just remember they just want to be full of joy like you.  And when they predict your fate with art, I always just think to myself: Phooey on the fortune tellers.}} 

When You Believe Lyrics

Many nights we've prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood

Now we are not afraid
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains long
Before we knew we could


There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe


In this time of fear
When prayers so often prove in vain
Hope seems like the summer birds
To swiftly flown away

Yet now I'm standing here
My heart's so full I can't explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I'd say

There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe


They don't always happen when you ask
(Oh)
And it's easy to give in to your fears
(Oh...Ohhhh)
But when you're blinded by your pain
Can't see your way straight throught the rain
Small but still, resilient voice
Says love is the relief
(Ohhh)

There can be miracles
(Miracles)
When you believe
(Lord, when you believe)
Though hope is frail
(Though hope is frail)
It's hard to kill
(Hard to kill, Ohhh)
Who know what miracles,you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will(somehow,somehow)
somehow you will
You will when you believe

You will when you believe
You will when you believe
Just believe...just believe
You will when you believe

A very celebrated artist whom I adore wrote something incredible on his blog today....he is Jim Frederick ( http://www.jimfrederickstudios.com )  and so I just wanted to share it with you.   Jim is an awesome artist and an awesome human being.

In his own words:

I've been doing this thing of dividing ambition and patience...I've been trying to put it into words since the first of this year...seems like as soon as I think I get close, something happens...so, before anything happens let me share...

Ambition and patience make a powerful team. Ambition gives you the drive and the enthusiasm to get things started, and patience sees them through.

Without ambition, you would never get going. Without patience, you would give up long before the goal was reached.

When you choose to develop and activate both your ambition and your patience, you've created a relentless combination. For not only will you be effective, that effectiveness will continue to be applied over time.

With enough ambition, you can make just about anything happen, but not right away. The most effective effort is continuing effort, and that is what patience makes possible.

You never have to choose between ambition and patience. You can live with them both at the same time, and when you do, great things will happen.

Success comes to those who know when to push and when to wait. Balance ambitious effort with a deep, underlying patience, and the results you achieve will be truly amazing.

And so the tag this year of I can only do what I can do...combined with past tags, makes for a pretty powerful daily statement for me...I forget that at times, but it's always in me...just like it's in everyone else...you just have to acknowledge it...

is very little.

Except that faith, loving art, and a good friend make it all okay.

Few words.
Lots of meaning.

Faith. Art. And a good friend. Seasons.