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Last month we asked for input about The Encourager - and told you we'd pick one of the folks who responded to receive a complimentary copy of "Time for Support". SO many of you answered us that we got all excited and decided to have Little Princess pick THREE names out of the hat. Dianne, Janet and Kary were sent their copies of "Time for Support' (you can read about this cool exercise here) - enjoy! Thanks so much to everyone who gave us feedback. |
This month's Encourager title is
"What IS Important?" For our interviewee, artist Wendy Lee Lynds, it's looking
for the "bling" - that's how she describes the feeling she gets when she knows
she's doing what's right for her. In the book reviewed this month, John Izzo's the five secrets you must discover before you die we read that John's research found happiness and meaning to be the important things in life. Call it bling, call it happiness or meaning - whatever YOU call it - it's important to think about - to define for yourself: what IS important? what matters to YOU?
| For me, one important thing is reflection -
something John Izzo mentions in his book and which I see in Wendy's art work.
I wrote a bit more about this in a post called "What do you want on your tombstone?" on the Reflections blog - check it out. |
 request for input about The Encourager that we couldn't pick just one winner! We picked THREE!! (read about it above in "What's New?") |
| Square Peg Spotlight |
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often  for more Square-Peg
musings! | |
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(Excerpts from Wendy Lee Lynds Interview.) Artist Wendy Lee Lynds has been part of the
Square-Peg tribe since our beginning. She was in our first class! Toward the
end of 2007 Wendy and I spoke about an interview. She told me what she'd been up
to with her art - and since I already knew her - I knew she'd have interesting
things to share with Encourager readers.
By the time we got to do the interview things had changed for Wendy. She spoke
of recent deaths in the family, and said - when asked what's been the hardest
for her as a Square-Peg: ...due to the
deaths many family and attachment issues resurfaced...
I was not feeling welcomed to be with the family during this difficult time -
some of my personality traits were the "given reason"... See, Square-Peg traits
aren't welcomed by the world at large... ...right now - I'm not too excited
about anything. At the end of last year I was SO excited. I saw teaching
opportunities... Now I'm back like a 4 year-old asking: 'What am I doing with
the art stuff?' Even though I taught at Coupeville (a famous Whidbey Island
not-for-profit arts center)...'
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One of the things Wendy mentioned, when
asked how she maintains her Square-Pegness in a round-hole world, was listening
to her heart - listening for "the bling", which she describes as:
...all about joy. it's all about finding true
center. it's all about living with purpose and passion. it's all about being
real, being uniquely you..
My theme at the end of last year.."if it doesn't bling I'm not going to do it"
I've spent too much time with my light under a bushel.
Wendy told a great story to illustrate
how she sees herself as a Square-Peg: There's
a lady on the island - she's in her early 70's...
She's extremely gifted in different mediums and she has a spice about her. I
wanted to hang out with her. I was feeling sad one day and I told her I didn't
feel good. I told her I was tired of being me - all these other people have
great jobs - people who do meaningful stuff.
I was thinking: "what a free, incredibly gifted, fun person she is..."
Read the rest of Wendy's story (and see some
of her artwork). And visit her at her two blogs, bada
BLING! | |
| Square-Peg Stacks |
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has a beautiful much-needed NEW book "honor yourself - an offering for those lost in dark places" "if it's dark right now reach for a candle...it matters."
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Excerpts from Square-Peg-People's
review of the five secrets you must discover before you
die: by John Izzo Ph.D.: If you go to your favorite bookstore, grab a copy of John Izzo's the five secrets you must discover before you die, and turn to the "contents" page, you'll find the five "secrets". They are:
You'd miss the stories - John's personal (warts-and-all) stories and those drawn from the couple hundred wise folks (most) over 60 who were interviewed for the book. And, as the author states: "I believe that we become wise by listening to other's stories." Oh, YES! So you wouldn't want to miss the stories.
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Reading just the list of "secrets" won't get you the hows and whys of
putting them to work for you - making use of them. You'd need to spend some time - be willing to reflect (one of the main things the author recommends for a life well lived) - to get the wisdom that's in this book. John tells us: "Knowledge is the accumulation of facts, whereas wisdom is the ability to discern what matters and what does not matter."
He also tells us what he's found
matters to us: "...the two things humans want most are to find happiness
and to find meaning."
Happiness being defined as "...joy and a deep sense of
contentment." And meaning "...is about connection to something outside
ourselves."
A decent portion of the book is devoted to
helping us find ways to incorporate the secrets into our lives. The call to
reflection is one of those ways, and it is woven throughout the book. An example
of this is the "simple technique" of
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Any Square-Peg beaders out there? Bead-artist
Jena Tuntas (interviewed here) let us know that she's mentioned in the April/May 2008
issue of Beadwork Magazine. The piece, in the BeadBuzz section of the magazine,
talks about Jena's "noble beading mission" - raising money for the American
Cancer Society. Because of the BeadBuzz piece Jena met and teamed up with
another bead artist for another way to raise money for the American
Cancer Society and Breast Cancer Research. So Square-Peg beaders, please read
about it (and be PART of it) here. We found a new friend on-line, we love to visit Artist
Janie Mills, at Sacred Art Images.com. Janie's site is dedicated to helping us:
"Imagine finding a way to describe the world within you using an 'Altered Art'
process. Imagine expressing that world without the use of words - discovering an
unspoken language of your soul." |
It's called "Choosing ME! Finding Comfort, Joy and Beauty in the Me I am NOW" -
and it'll include some of the exercises we did on the call plus plenty more:
imagery and easy-to-do ways to get and stay positive about your body
image. We're not exactly sure when it'll hit the shop, but we'll keep you
informed!
In a similar vein, our "Dealing With Body Image Looking forward to seeing you next month!
and the wondrous Square-Peg staff (who request that I inform you that ALL mistakes contained herein are mine, as I - again - am finishing the newsletter at the last possible minute thereby making it impossible to have my ramblings edited...) | Do you feel stirrings to move in a Buy it here
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We had a small
and wonderful telecall about Body Image on the 23rd of April - and we've planned
an mp3 (downloadable recording) around the topic, to be made available soon.