Being Thankful for Orange...

Getting ready for a show always narrows my focus.  I get fixated on tiny details, scatter floss and other kit parts about the house in various piles and get slightly short with my family over the silliest things.  Then I go away to teach and they miss me, so they are glad when I come home again.

This year, I am at least more away of trying to live Creatively and adapt to changing situations.  My dad is coming for a visit all the way from Tulsa, but called this morning to say they’d run into more traffic than they anticipated on the drive past New York City.  So, they will be here tomorrow instead of tonight.  I’d planned the turkey meal for Monday just in case...

I got our table ready anyway, since this is the Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  Guess what colours I used to fill the two bowls around the candles?  Oranges, yellows and browns.  I even found a package of little plastic acorn shapes in those 3 colours on sale at Michael's for 70% off.

This year, I am actually thankful for the colour Orange... among many other things.

INHALE: It is easy to get busy in our crazy, hectic world.  Finding time for yourself to follow a path like this can be REALLY tricky!  But there are always lots of moments to think that I considered a “waste” before; in lines, waiting for someone, standing in the shower, drifting off to sleep, stirring a pot on the stove... all moments to THINK about creative challenges or possibilities.  Instead of overlooking those tiny moments, gather them up like grains of sand.   You just might be surprised at how fast they can add up to a sand castle!

EXHALE:  Find a bowl to use as a centerpiece and fill it will things in the colour or colours that you were wrestling with.  You can use bits of fabric, yarn, paper or anything that grabs your fancy, as long as it includes the colours you feel most challenged about.  Take a picture of the bowl.  Live with it on your table for a few days and see if you don’t become rather fond of how it looks.  You may actually miss the centerpiece when you finally change it.