field guide

February 1, 2011 free art + printables, on faith

Discrepancies

It’s February, and the month invariably seems to bring our attention to love. It’s inescapable. And while I don’t always buy into the hearts and flowers mentality this time of year, I want my heart to be committed to pursuing and grasping a life characterized by love. A life centered in real and genuine love. A life that rejects the imitations. A life that acts out all the discrepancies love reveals. A life that loves in little things and big things, regardless of distractions.

One of the realities about love I’m continuing to learn as I travel this road toward paying attention is that to love is always to risk. It’s true. Having my children has taught me that lesson more than any other experience, for sometimes even the simple act of letting them out of my sight is an assault on my heart. There is no love without risking myself — risking damage to that core of who I really am, where I live and breathe. Real love always involves opening and exposing myself. Giving myself. Acting outside of myself. And in the face of all the discrepancies inherent in pursuing a life of love, I find myself committed to that openness.

I made a decision in my life a long time ago that having an open heart was important to me. That remaining open despite circumstances was valuable. That exposing my heart to the full weight life (and love) have to offer was the only way to really infuse that life with true meaning, certainly the only way to really see and be moved by the people around me. The only way to distinguish true love from its pale comparisons. Yes, it’s a risky endeavor. Inspite of the risk and even my own disappointments, the opportunity to love is everywhere.

But, love can be a struggle. I don’t know about you, but I’ve experienced those times when the simple opportunities to love those around me were lost in a sea of roles. A sea of expectations — many of which I place on myself. In the day-to-day of life, I’m a parent, a designer, a cook, an organizer, a cleaner, the all-knowing finder of favorite toys and lost clothing, the ever-present referee for playtime games and stories, and the obligatory standard for kind and “loving” behavior.  In the pursuit of love, at times I’ve been a trophy. I’ve been somewhere down someone’s list. I’ve been the caretaker, the mother, the unheard voice of reason. I’ve been the assumption, the provider and the significant “other.” It’s hard not to see myself only as a reflection of those things. And certainly of my choices to continue in whatever roles may stifle me, and even inhibit my ability to love. It’s hard to continually pull myself out of those roles and be generous or giving or creative or whatever else is required to live that open life I mentioned. It’s hard to keep my heart open when it means being able to feel the brunt of those roles and positions head-on. The discrepancies of life and love can be staggering.

Here’s the thing. Love is finding joy. Love is a place of peace and acceptance. Love is hoping and blessing. Love is giving away. And, love is hurting and being disappointed. Love is misunderstanding. Love is trying and sometimes failing. Love is discrepancy.

I want to run from the discrepancy. My soul wants to fly from it as fast as it can go and never look back. My heart wants to close itself up tight and pull the covers over its head. But, it doesn’t. It won’t. For love is far too important a vehicle for experiencing the world. And love is far too important a lifestyle to teach. Real life and real love are about those discrepancies. They are about slippage and imperfections. About disorder and unpredictability. And at the end of the day, they are about hope and faith. The assurances that a life of love is worth it — whatever it takes. Whatever letting go, whatever grasping, whatever denying or embracing, whatever ending or beginning, whatever exposure of myself. A life of love is worth it. It’s worth the full measure of all that I have.

In keeping with that realization, this month’s desktop wallpaper takes its lesson from Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The encouragement is to love both to the full “depth and breadth and height” my soul can achieve as well as back to the simple response of “everyday’s most quiet need.” Yes, that’s a life worthy of pursuing.

[Click the desktop wallpaper version above to download and enjoy with your technology and grab this iphone wallpaper version as well. Happy February!]

January 31, 2011 favorite things

favorite thing . Little Things

I saw this plaque featured in a post about the Patina stores on one of my favorite blogs, Creature Comforts. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of weeks now, and it’s inspired me to begin something new for Plop!. I began Small Pond Graphics last July unexpectedly as a result of unforeseen life changes. Six months or so later, I am still fine-tuning the “story” of the Small Pond. And thinking small is a part of it. No, I don’t mean eschewing the big ideas. I just mean focusing some attention on the small details that so often translate into ripples of impact on the big picture.

Part of my goal in this blog has been to inspire MYSELF to focus on creating a well-designed company with well-designed projects, well-designed relationships and to open myself to the well-designed life all around me. So, I mostly post about things I like, things that interest me or give fuel to my creativity. To that end, the sentiment on this plaque echos my thoughts about daily habits and rituals, and about living a creative life–or about a life lived creatively.

I keep a book beside my desk that I pick up and read snippets of regularly. It’s called Living a Beautiful Life by Alexandra Stoddard, and I’ve probably read it through and through ten times. Still, it never ceases to inspire me. Mrs. Stoddard is an interior designer and how we approach our daily rituals is one of the things she considers in designing the most intimate spaces her clients inhabit. In her book, she talks about the power of elevating the “daily” to something wonderful, about creating beauty in even the most mundane of spaces and activities. She writes…

Daily rituals are personal statements; they fuel our zest for living…. Personal rituals make you a poet–and they can help you feel good about yourself and others. They reinforce the significance of the simple acts we perform repeatedly. While you are fulfilling basic needs, you can make the ordinary quite extraordinary. When you make your everyday rituals–simple things such as bathing, sleeping and eating–meaningful and attractive, they nourish other areas of your life.

Mrs. Stoddard’s thinking has encouraged me to make the ordinary special by savoring those moments, surrounding them and infusing them with what I find beautiful and meaningful–because life is a series of all those moments strung together.

LITTLE THINGS PLAQUE from Patina
My other favorite plaque… COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES 😉

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January 25, 2011 letters + numbers

signs . Greenwood, MS No.1

Greenwood, MS

There is no “sign of life” in Mississippi quite like the signs for bar-be-que. While there may be a discrepancy in how to SPELL bbq, you can scarcely find a small pond that doesn’t have at least one joint devoted to this Southern delicacy. And, invariably, the signs outside are just as lovingly created as the “special” sauces.