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Heart Leaps

Today’s Quest2015 prompt from author Pam Houston asks us to consider what makes our hearts leap.

Sit quietly and ask yourself, what in the last day or week or month has made your heart leap up? Not what should, or might or always had, but what did. Make that list. Be honest, even if it surprises you. Keep the list with you this month. Add to it when it happens. Train yourself to notice. Then ask your self today, how can I arrange my life to get more of those heart leaps in it?

The list is longer than I expected, which shouldn’t surprise me. I have a lot of different interests.

  • Holding the finished 7 Blessings quilt top up to the light and watching it glow like stained glass
  • Having a fellow quester compare 7 Blessings to an Australian Opal
  • Finding, watching, and sharing Apocalypse Rhyme on Apocalypse Garden and on Facebook
  • Dreaming the future shape of the Apocalypse Garden
  • My near perfect Apocalypse Garden blogging streak (only one day missed since I started the blog on 9/30/14)
  • The Friends of the Library book sale and all its treasures, especially finding a $1 copy of the Book Lover’s Journal and a mint condition copy of The Handmaid’s Tale
  • Discovering, browsing, holding, sharing, reading books of all kinds, but especially having them in my space–more than anything else, they are my security blanket, my inspiration, my solace, and my joy
  • Finishing CS Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet (and sci-fi lit in general)
  • Watching some amazing, original, risk-taking movies, including Birdman, Twilight Angel, and an old favorite, Strictly Ballroom
  • Poetry class taught by Tony Hoagland (and his amazing reading last month)
  • Sharing and discussing poetry with my two poet cousins, MJ and Suzanne Marie. whose work and interests are uncannily similar to mine
  • Making connections with some amazing fellow questers
  • Napping in my casita’s only comfy chair with the man I love
  • The koala painting in my bathroom–every time I see it

So how can I arrange my life to get more heart leaps?

Spend more time in the bathroom? But seriously, the answer is simple–prioritize what’s important:

  • Quilting
  • Poetry
  • Books and writing (let’s just call this stories to keep it simple)
  • Movies (also stories)
  • Art
  • People
  • My blog (which is set to include all of the items on this list, plus prepping, my favorite OCD obsession)

And stop trying to second-guess what I’ve already decided to focus on in 2015–the Apocalypse Garden. Instead, I should spend my energy this month sorting out just how all that will manifest.

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LLP Marketplace and Quest2015

November has been a busy month of sewing, selling, working the day job, and setting up an online marketplace for which I am still sewing despite the fact that it launched today. And December doesn’t look any slower. Still, as my friends all keep telling me, “busy is a good thing.” What would make it a better thing: Sharing December’s exciting projects with all of you.

LLP MarketplaceAn offshoot of the Liberated Life Project, the second annual LLP Marketplace gives graduates of founder Maia Duerr’s Fall in Love with Your Work course a chance to put what they learn about creating right livelihood into practice. This year’s Marketplace includes:

  • “Buddha and the Six Supports” — a high-quality giclee print of an original Tibetan thanghka created by Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo (of Threads of Awakening)
  • Beautiful note cards featuring original haiku and photography from artist Katya Lesher (of Pausing Turtle)
  • Coaching sessions from Ursula Jorch (of WorkAlchemy.com), drawing on intuitive and practical wisdom, to help you create the business (and life) you want

And maybe even my quilted journal covers if I can get my sewing done. Give it a look. Your purchase supports artists, coaches, musicians, writers, and others trying to make the leap from day jobs to dream lives.

Quest 2015

The newest offering from Jeffrey Davis, founder of Tracking Wonder, Quest 2015 promises to help participants “gain a fresh way to envision your best 12 months far beyond ineffective resolutions, goal-setting, and vision boards.”

Also concerned with right livelihood, Jeffery focuses on transforming artists, writers, coaches, and social-preneurs from dreamers to Business Artists. And although I have a full schedule and miles to go before I sleep, I just couldn’t turn down this opportunity to get help and inspiration in honing my focus for 2015, and hopefully with finally finding a way to spread some of that busy throughout the year instead of saving it all for the least three months.