Be the light ...

“Light is to darkness what love is to fear; in the presence of one, the other disappears.

 Marianne Williamson

I have posted this collage on my P.O.P. site (society6 and Redbubble) and I will donate the entirety of my portion of the sale of this print, 'be the light ... ' to UNICEF to help the children in the Ukraine.  

print on society 6:

https://society6.com/product/be-the-light6628744_print?sku=s6-23296111p4a1v45

Print on redbubble: 

https://www.redbubble.com/i/art-print/be-the-light-by-Virginiacreate/103391524.1G4ZT?asc=u

Click here to go directly to UNICEF's site to donate directly:

www.unicefusa.org

When I sat down yesterday to create this month's collage for my #virginiacreates monthly calendar - this collage came quite clearly to me.  I didn't struggle with it or question it, which usually happens with most of my work.  But this piece seemed to flow. 

 I was listening to an interview with the lovely and talented Anne Lamott (see link below) and she was speaking about the importance of being the light - especially for creatives - and so I named this collage, 'be the light ...'  However as I was putting together my March calendar page I started seeing that this piece speaks to the heart-breaking situation in the Ukraine.  

As I do with many of my collages I cut shapes from  pages of different foreign text.  I am always picking up foreign books when I see them!! Unknowingly I used pages from one of my book that is in a Slavic language.  This particular book seems to be about Walt Disney and is in some East Slavic language though I am not sure which language. I love to use text in my work and especially text using different alphabets.  I find lettering/text/language so inspiring and beautiful of many levels.  

 

Also when I first sat down to make this collage I felt the need to stamp a peace sign, something that I don't always do, but yesterday it felt important.

I mention all this because I really wasn't consciously thinking about the Ukraine crisis, but as I look at the finished collage I feel like it speaks to the crisis, peace & light with a slavic text sprinkled around.  And this is an idea that Anne Lamott talks about, that we, as creatives, need to be open so that we are receptors of the world and that it what feeds our work.

A Conversation with Anne Lamott - 2007:

Best-selling author Anne Lamott returns to San Diego with more hilarious tales of her life as a mother, daughter and writer who is drawn to the struggles of imperfect characters. The humor of host Dean Nelson puts the normally reclusive Lamott at ease and the two keep the audience laughing throughout this edition of the 2007 Writer’s Symposium by the Sea, sponsored by Point Loma Nazarene University. [4/2007] [Show ID: 12220]

https://youtu.be/PhP5GmybvPM

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may this dress remind us to be brilliant

below is a short bio and links to read more:

Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed lecturer, activist and author of four #1 New York times bestselling books. She has been one of America’s most well known public voices for more than three decades. Seven of her twelve published books have been New York Times best sellers and Marianne has been a popular guest on television programs such as Oprah, Good Morning America, and Bill Maher. A quote from the mega best seller A Return to Love, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” is considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers.

Marianne is a native of Houston, Texas. In 1989, she founded Project Angel Food, a meals-on-wheels program that serves homebound people with AIDS in the Los Angeles area. To date, Project Angel Food has served over 11 million meals. Marianne also co-founded the Peace Alliance.

https://marianne.com

and she is running for president, adding meaning and spiritual dialogue to the political rhetoric.

Marianne Williamson adds ‘meaning’ to Democratic presidential field with quixotic ‘inner’ campaign; her rivals are noticing

By Douglas Perry | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Williamson is a thoughtful and engaging speaker -- and she’s offering an overarching message that many Americans seem eager to embrace.

“We need a moral and spiritual awakening in this country,” the 66-year-old Texas native told The Oregonian. “That’s how we change our political dysfunction. It’s not about going to the left or to the right. It’s about going higher.”

“The crisis we’re facing,” she added, “is a crisis of meaning.”

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2019/03/marianne-williamson-adds-meaning-to-democratic-presidential-field-with-quixotic-inner-campaign-her-rivals-are-noticing.html

Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952)^[1] is an American spiritual teacher, author, lecturer, entrepreneur, and activist. She has written 13 books,^[2] including four New York Times number one bestsellers.^[3] She is the founder of Project Angel Food, a volunteer food delivery program that serves home-bound people with AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses.^[4] She is also the co-founder of The Peace Alliance, a nonprofit grassroots education and advocacy organization supporting peace-building projects.^[5]

In 2014, as an Independent, Williamson ran unsuccessfully for the seat of California's 33rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives elections in California. On January 29, 2019, she announced her campaign to seek the Democratic nomination for the 2020 United States presidential election.^[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Williamson

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” 

― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

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today may we trust the unfolding ....

I’ve come to trust not that events will always unfold exactly as I want, 

but that I will be fine either way. 

The challenges we face in life are always lessons

 that serve our soul’s growth.

Marianne Williamson

love, mom

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today remember to be BIG and SHINE!!!

from my dailydress journal

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 

Our deepest fear is that we are 

powerful beyond measure. 

It is our light, not our darkness 

that most frightens us. 

We ask ourselves, 

'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' 

Actually, who are you not to be? 

You are a child of God. 

Your playing small does not serve the world. 

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking 

so that other people won't 

feel insecure around you. 

We are all meant to shine, as children do. 

We were born to make manifest 

the glory of God that is within us. 

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. 

And as we let our own light shine, 

we unconsciously give other people

permission to do the same. 

As we are liberated from our own fear, 

our presence automatically liberates others.”

marianne williamson

This is one of my favorite quotes, and one I need to remind myself on a daily, if not hourly basis!! 

It is OK to do our best, to be good at something, to shine! 

And I SO want to tell you, my girls, to remember ~ do NOT play small! or play down the things that you do well!!!  PLAY BIG!!! xxx

One of the messages that women and girls get is to be demure and small,  'it is more lady-like'. BLAH! those rules no longer apply!! 

You are meant to SHINE!! show the world your brilliance, your talents, your beauty, inside and out!!! Not only will you be helping others to be liberated; you, my dear ones, will feel much lighter and at peace.  So let's all go out and shine our own unique and beautiful light!!

love, mom

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Day9: believe in yourself

Maya, Believe in yourself!! I do and so many people do!! You are amazing!!

You are a dynamo in so many ways!!! Embrace that knowledge and let yourself shine, fly, blaze!!! 

This quote by Marianne Williamson encourages us all to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous!!  This is one of those quotes that I hold close to my heart, and look to when I am feeling lost or down. 

Her suggestion that it is more fear of success that holds us back, not fear of failure, rings true to me.  

I LOVE how she asks us, who are we NOT to be the best person that we can be?!? How she reminds us that there is no place for us playing small.  We have been put on this earth to give and share our gifts, so there is no reason to hide yourself or your gifts!! 

And then my favorite part of this quote is when she suggested that when we do shine and share our brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous selves, we give others the permission to do the same.  I see it as she has given me permission to SHINE

So Maya, here is your permission to go out into the world and SHINE!! 

love, Mom 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

 Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

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May this dress remind us to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous!!!

"We ask ourselves, 

who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous? 

Actually, who are you not to be?” 

Marianne Williamson

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Today, let our energy be peaceful ... happy friday!!!!

photo taken in vermont - #vermontlove

"Everything we do is infused with the energy with which we do it. 

If we're frantic, life will be frantic. 

If we're peaceful, life will be peaceful."

Marianne Williamson

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May this dress accompany and comfort us on our journey of self discovery . . .

“It takes courage...to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.”

― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

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may this dress remind us of the wisdom of our heart!!

'wired' (2008), wire, crystals, chicken wire

"When heart chatter replaces mind chatter 

the power of love flows with full force."

Marianne Williamson

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may this dress help you to live in the present!!

We do not heal the past by dwelling there; 

we heal the past by living fully in the present.

Marianne Williamson

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 thank you & peace 

may this dress bring PEACE!!!

Make me an instrument of your peace. 

Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love. 

Where there is injury . . . pardon. 

Where there is doubt . . . faith. 

Where there is despair . . . hope. 

Where there is darkness . . . light. 

Where there is sadness . . . joy. 

Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1181 - 1226)

IT IS TIME NOW TO PRAY. 

ALL TOGETHER 

AND 

FOR THE SAME THING. 

Global Collective Prayer Initiative

Today there is going to be a 

Global Collective Prayer Initiative, 

hosted by two inspirational writers and activists,

Marianne Williamson and Neale Donald Walsch.

When I first saw this event announced I was intrigued. 

Once I read about it, I was committed.

The idea of having a group of people, from all over the world 

(thanks to the internet),

praying for, asking for, thinking about

PEACE ~

it could be profound!!

as the famous Margaret Mead 

quote reminds us:

Never doubt that a 

small group of thoughtful,

committed citizens 

can change the world;

indeed, it's the only thing 

that ever has.

I hope you can join us ~ 

PEACE 

To read more about the Global Prayer Initiative

click here 

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 click here to visit the entire blog, thank you & peace 

may this dress help you SHINE!!!!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 

Our deepest fear is that we are 

powerful beyond measure. 

It is our light, not our darkness 

that most frightens us. 

We ask ourselves, 

'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' 

Actually, who are you not to be? 

You are a child of God. 

Your playing small does not serve the world. 

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking 

so that other people won't 

feel insecure around you. 

We are all meant to shine, as children do. 

We were born to make manifest 

the glory of God that is within us. 

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. 

And as we let our own light shine, 

we unconsciously give other people

 permission to do the same. 

As we are liberated from our own fear, 

our presence automatically liberates others.”
marianne williamson

this is one of my touchstone quotes~enjoy