“Learn to accept the possibility that the universe is helping you with what you are doing.” Julie Cameron, The Artist’s Way
Just when I was wishing I knew somebody familiar with my blog software (WordPress), my son’s First Grade teacher dropped out of the sky to help me. It had been a decade since my eldest had been a student of his, but here Paul was, making a difference in our lives once again.
I don’t pray to a separate, external deity, but I do trust fully that the universe is programmed to help me out as long as I’m listening and doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Today the universe sent me Paul, who is not only a gifted teacher, but also the web master of a fantastic blog, Virginia Wine Time. The two hours we spent at my kitchen table this morning resulted in the new look you see here (more changes are sure to come down the road).
The universe also helped me out today by bumping the temperatures up to 104 degrees. I had a vision for my book cover and blog header that required a pretty wide patch of sand, a rake, and a soccer ball. Since I hadn’t come up with the idea yet when we were at the beach a few weeks ago, I needed a sandbox. And I needed it to be empty, since I would be raking designs in the sand. (I ignored my younger son’s admonition to “Just Photoshop it, Mom!”)
I headed to the park we frequented when the boys were tiny. My hunch was right — the steamy playground was empty save for one mother talking on her cell phone while her son scooted around in an overheated Playschool car. The sandbox was empty.
Not surprisingly, the mother kept her son at a distance from me as I raked my sand designs to set up the photo for the new blog header. “Lunatic” must have crossed the minds of more than one driver when they passed me, sweat dripping down my temples and soaking through my t-shirt.
Today’s final product is in the blog’s header image. It’s not perfect (I wondered if Buddhist monks had to pick out a lot of twigs and leaves and pieces of bark from their sand gardens). But I’m over perfection, after being a slave to it for so many years. I could have kept sifting through debris and re-raking that sand the rest of the day. But I didn’t. I let go and told myself “good enough,” a new skill I’m still honing.
What do you think of the new look?
Katherine says
Love the new look, Martha! And I believe you are right, people come into our lives for a reason…sometimes for a short while, sometimes for a lifetime. And sometimes the other harried mom you see occasionally at day care pick-up becomes your friend and, 15 years later, inspires you to get back to writing :-)
Martha says
How true, Katherine. I am so grateful that we were harried working moms in need of daycare at the same juncture so long ago! Who would have thought we would be supporting each other’s creative writing endeavors 15 years later (this morning, in fact)? Thanks for your encouragement–and for inspiring me to write a book of my own after hearing you read your beautiful work in progress at our monthly writers group gathering.
Paul says
Martha! I think the design looks great. The new header photo is perfect…just like we talked about! I’m glad I was able to help out a little. If you need any more help, I’m glad to help out. Just let me know. Thanks for the shout out!
Martha says
Thanks so much, Paul! I can’t tell you how appreciative I am of your time and patience. Glad you like the new photo! I was tempted to go out and buy new perfect sand, but I got ahold of myself and went for “real” instead of “perfect”. Same goes for the dirty soccer ball. Good luck with Virginia Wine Time!
Barbara says
Good Morning Martha, still in my nighty sitting under a deep grey German sky reading your sunny blog, what a treat. And yes you are right people come for reasons, my friend Pam a poodle owner and lover supported me with my dogmania. My new poodle puppy is the best dog in my entire life, giving me all the love she has! And you…. I will accept what you wrote, “good enough” difficult for me but… !!
I read ….you may laugh…. in a tiny TV program magazin’s horoskope: Pisces : there is no need to change your life, just change the position. Yeah I am working on that!
Love from rainy & “unsweaty” Germany , Babs
Martha says
Your poodle must be very special, Babs, to be the best dog in your entire life (you have raised and rescued a lot of them)! I have a book recommendation for you: Guardians of Being: Spiritual Teachings from Our Dogs and Cats. A well-known American cartoonist, Patrick McDonnell, took Eckhart Tolle quotes and illustrated them. It’s a delightful book that I know you will relate to. You can get it on Amazon if you don’t find it in German stores (but I imagine it’s there waiting for you).
Mia Gardiner says
Hi Martha…….You did a wonderful job of creating the vision of what you would want to have as your book cover, and as the blog header. The photo accompanies the book title, and the thought behind it, so perfectly. And, as usual, you not only were creative with how you went about making your idea a reality, but also managed to create a good story to go with it !
Martha says
Thanks, Mia! I’m having fun with the different creative outlets the blog offers. Glad you like the image!
caroline Eppinger says
Hi Martha,
a dirty ball is so much more meaningful! It has memories. For sure a great deal of Sundays along the soccer fields encouraging your boys!!!
The waves are also so meaningful; life is made of ups and downs…. I will always remember the carefully raked sand in the Japanese gardens of Kyoto: They irradiate and force you to be quiet and meditate…. about your life…..
Keep writing Martha !
Martha says
So glad to connect with you here, Caroline! Everyone’s wonderful comments on my mother’s post have shown me that I am getting too tied down with the semantics in the title. Whether it’s at the beach or in the sand gardens in Kyoto, “raking sand” seems to evoke the same calming, introspective effect on people. Thanks for adding your voice to the conversation!