Messy and Beautiful

I seem to have dozens of things going on all at the same time....but it's hard to think of anything I'd let go. This is my real life. I'm just busy.

So Claudia Cummins' reflection called "Happy Right Now" was just what I needed to read this morning. She talked about how we may be confusing our comfort for happiness. She talked about redefining happiness....and making peace with things just as they are. Not a new concept...but it's good for me to hear it again and again.

"I smile when I consider the possibility of cultivating contentment amid the chaos, not in spite of it. It offers us so much hope. It's mesier, but more beautiful, too. And it feels honest, and quite possibly even do-able. And so very filled with love." Claudia Cummins

There was a full moon last night and I was so tired I forgot to head out and look for it. I actually think I was in bed before it even rose. 

But I did a little experiment today in honor of the full moon....and turned it into a simple card.

The experiment was fairly successful...

but think I could have done better with my plant choice and placement. And there were a couple other missteps.

To make the moon I placed a smaller punched white circle on the prepared paper before I placed the plants and the glass...which means it would stayed white.

After a few minutes of exposure I taped a slightly bigger tissue circle over the moon to create and give the illusion of a halo. (I put a piece of tape on the back to hold it in place)

I should have placed the larger moon sooner than I did so it would have been a lighter blue...the difference is pretty subtle. I also think I should have used a regular piece of paper for the larger circle as the sunlight might have gone through the tissue more than I thought it would.

I'll try it again....but basically the full moon experiment was a success! It's part of my chaos that is both messy...and  beautiful.

I had the idea of placing something on top of the glass as I was reading about how people get layers of leaves in their prints....which I also experimented with today.  Here I placed the first layer of leaves down under glass for just a minute or so in the sun. Then I put another layer of leaves on top of the glass...and added second piece of glass on top. The lighter blue leaves are the prints from the second layer. 

I let the whole thing set in the sun for about 5 more minutes....and this is what it looked like right before and after I rinsed it. It worked pretty well....there's so much potential here!!! 

I have been doing several quiet tasks around our condo association lately. I feel lucky to live here...and I want to feel a sense of pride and participation in tending to things that need attention. This is my home.

I snapped this photo when I put my feet up after weeding at the pool early yesterday morning. And now I realize that I was cultivating contentment amid the chaos for these few quiet minutes.

And then I got to go for a swim. How lucky am I!