Similar yet different

Similar yet different.

That's what we all are.

We are all unique, yet we share so much more than we differ in.

Potential and promise

The potential and promise of a new year.

This page didn't start well. It reached a stage where I smeared gesso all over it to cover up the hot mess as nothing seemed to be gelling together. A few more layers and I was much happier with it. Now the deeper layers seem to be shrouded in mist, like the promise and potential of a new year. So many possibilities that I can't quite see yet but are there, waiting.

Happy Christmas!

Sometimes there are no words needed for a page. It feels complete in itself.

So, have a very happy Christmas!

Always hope

There is always hope.

Even if it takes a while for those clouds to break, the sun will shine on through eventually.

Hang on in there.

Tongues of angels

If I speak with the tongues of men and angels but have not love...

I sat with this page for a few days before the black stamping suggested wings to me. Then I noticed that the bit of collage I'd added had a face that just fit with the wings to make an angel. Once the angel was on the page, the quote came (it's from 1 Corinthians 13 - the passage that is often read at weddings). The hearts on the plant remind me that we are supposed to grow in love.

We can shout and make a noise and be heard, but if our hearts are not full of love, if those words tear down instead of building up, what use are they? There is nothing wrong with taking a breath before responding to the things that are said to us. That pause can stop us from reacting from something other than love - from anger, hatred, irritation or the like.

Diversity v Homogeneity

We're more likely to learn from diversity than we are from homogeneity - Seth Godin.

If we only mix with people who are 'like us' then how will we ever learn new things? It is only when we spend time with people who are different - in race, culture, gender, sexuality, career, whatever - that we expand our understanding. There can be a wariness, even fear, of that which we don't understand. When we take the time to gain understanding, we enlarge our hearts.

Best nine of 2019

These are the best nine posts from my instagram post for this year. It seems that people like my canvas work and a good journal flip-through. 

Thank you for all the love this year - 11.4k of likes.

You can find me @sojournertracy

Known

You are known.

Even the hairs on your head are counted.

The water you're swimming in

What's the water you're swimming in?

These shapes at the bottom right became a shoal of fish in my mind. Once they were realised, I saw that they were swimming through a very strange landscape. It made me think about what becomes normal for us. We're not really aware of the air we move through until it becomes scarce or contaminated.

What has become so normal that you're oblivious to it?

Relinquish

Breathe. Relinquish. Repeat.

Not my words, but those of Michele Cushatt on the (in)courage website. Great blogpost. I think the 'relinquish' part is the hardest and the most needed. We often carry way more than we need to or should.

Dimmed

Feeling a little dimmed.

I couldn't get this page to go in a direction I liked. There are so many layers, and each one I was dissatisfied with. Whatever I added didn't work for me. So I took a photo and turned it to black and white (it helps to see the balance). It needed more light around the flower/sparkler motif, but whatever I added didn't brighten it up. The paper just seemed to soak up whatever I added.

Then I realised that this is how I'm feeling at the moment - a little dimmed. I'm not feeling at my brightest. I'm tired. I know all the reasons why this should be so. So I take naps and take it easy and know that this season will pass.