Leaving the Poetry in What We Make - embracing wabi-sabi

At its most nakedness, wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and wisdom in nature. It's simple, slow, and uncluttered and above all it reveres authenticity.

It is the gift of time and the thing that can't be rushed.

It is the reason we love real flowers instead of plastic ones, even though we know they will wilt, flea markets instead of big box stores, barnwood instead of pergo. It's the reason those botoxed, un-naturally smooth faces on television make us so uncomfortable.

(and as pretty as Target's colorful little plastic thingie is and how much it is calling my name at times, I can leave it in the store because I know my soul just doesn't embrace this stuff anymore - it has no essence, it has no poetry - I know I will forget all about it 10 minutes after I get it home)

It isn't about laziness or letting things come together or fall apart in a messy or sloppy way. It's kind of the opposite of that. The beauty of the frayed edge of grandmas's quilt can only be appreciated in a clean and unencumbered setting.

(this is why the vintage sellers do so much better with empty space in their photos and clean, simple backgrounds - trust me on this vintage sellers)

I have been thinking about Japan alot these last few days (I know we all have) and this concept stands out to me as one of the most wonderful of all Japanese principles.

And for small maker companies it means not being afraid to show the flaws in ourselves and our work because real is never perfect and that is why people connect with it.

It's OK that we're not perfect - it's more than OK actually.

* Secret Door print by SeaLilyStudio
xo

Self Discipline Part II - making things happen when we'd rather be doing something else

Ok, so back to WCIT.

(see Wednesday's post if you have no idea what I am talking about - you may have to read it two or three times to figure out what the hell I am talking about and when you do please let me know - I'm still confused)

Self discipline is about willpower.

We don't always want to hear this. There are so many commercials trying to sell us something that will take the place of this - something that will replace our own power of will with something fast and easy with a money back guarantee -

that they are pretty much guaranteed we will never take them up on because if we do not have the willpower to do the thing ourselves in the first place, we will be way too lazy to send the thing back when it doesn't work.

People who think willpower doesn't work for them or they have none are probably trying to use it way beyond its capacities to work. Willpower is the original thrust that gets things moving - the first action that sets the other things in motion - the starting point.

Self discipline is about challenging ourselves.

This is the hard work part - the part where we do the thing that we are too tired or too burned out or too lazy or too afraid to do - this is where we do the thing that is hard.

"The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work" - Oprah Winfrey

Self discipline is about industriousness.

(and Webster's is trying to tell me that this is not a word but I think I am just a wee bit smarter than Webster's on this one)

This is the kind of discipline that gets those little tasks done - the tasks that are not hard, but they add up.

This is the little stuff that is cluttered all over top of the big stuff, so the big stuff stays hidden. Maybe it is more comfortable for us to leave the big stuff covered up so we will not have to deal with it, we will not have to see just how amazing our life can really be - maybe this is a reason for our busy-ness and our clutter and our inability to say no when we need to - but we can change that and we can change that in this very moment!

This is the part where we clean up our email and our closets, wrap our thousandth bead, mail the invitations early, clean the tub again, fold the towels again - this is where we pay our dues. This is the place where there are no shortcuts.

Self discipline is about tenacity.

Tenacity is what keeps the action moving forward. This is the part where you keep going even when you just don't feel it anymore.

Now this doesn't mean that we never give up - sometimes giving up is the best thing to do - sometimes we clearly have to let go of things to make room for better things.

Have you ever heard of a company called Traf-O-Data? It was started by Bill Gates and Paul Allen (yes, the Bill Gates and Paul Allen who started Microsoft). It was the thing they let go of in order to make room for something better.

It's not about clinging to the past (if it is then it isn't going to work for us) - it is about moving toward our vision of the future - a vision that is so compelling we will do anything to make it real.

So, WCIT is how we build self discipline. And I think without self discipline all the amazing work we are passionately wanting to create may never end up in the hands of the people who will love it; it may even not ever get made at all.

So, we get clear on what we want - we set our intention - we use willpower to get ourselves going - we challenge ourselves by doing the hard stuff - we challenge ourselves by doing the tedious stuff - we don't give up.

It's really as easy and as difficult as that.

(I need a nap and yes naps are totally allowed and encouraged - there is an absolute balance to this - no one can do it all, not all the time)

Next week I am going back to intention and doing a post on polarity -

(not the locket this time, but the non-content part of our thoughts - the part that makes our thoughts things - the law of attraction stuff that really does work)

this sounds boring now that I write it but it isn't trust me and it is the thing that allows (along with self discipline and passion) Cousin Daisy, uh, I mean Cousin Daisy Mae to manifest all kinds of amazing things and we can, too.

* I Just Ate My Willpower print by persimmonandpink
* be posititve, patient and persistent print by trulyvera

If you are still awake after reading this post check out my interview on Lisa Jacobs blog HERE and my shop critique for Betsy and Bess on the Ecoetsy team blog HERE and Maki from JustBento has put together a great list HERE of ways to help Japan - have a wonderful weekend everyone! xo

Upcycled Tutorial - Leftover Clay Tile and Rubberstamp Chalkboard!

This is another easy-peasy reuse tutorial. We always have a leftover tile or two when we do tile work

(you can also purchase individual tiles super cheap at tile shops or home improvement stores)

and since I know from writing on them with chalk when we are laying them out that they make great chalkboards I thought why not make some tile/chalkboards for little places that you would like to leave a little note or message.

You can also use large tiles and tile edging as your chalk holder (see step by step pictures for a picture of this)

what you need -

tile (test chalk on it first - it must have a matte finish), epoxy, hangers, rubber stamp or ceramic edge tile

1. If using a rubber stamp for your chalk ledge - peel off rubber (you can glue this on some scrap wood so you don't lose your stamp!) 2. Sand off any leftover glue 3. glue the 'ledge' near the bottom of your tile 4. Add your hangers (there are probably better hangers for this project, but I already had these - they are supposed to attach to the wall, but since they are fabric and flexible they worked very well on the ridged back of the tile)- I needed some hoops to hang them, but I had something handy for that, too 5. Write something!

Why Passion Without Self Discipline Might Never Make Us Rich (or even pay our cable bill which is actually the same thing, now that I look at my cable bill) - Part I

Self discipline is our ability to take action regardless of whether or not we feel like taking action.

(imagine the amazingness we could create if we could just get ourselves to follow through on our best intentions no matter what)

I have a relative (we'll just call her Cousin Daisy) who manifests just about everything she sets out to manifest. When she tells us she is going to do something (and these somethings are often very unusual somethings) - we listen. She doesn't have alot of money and doesn't seem to focus on manifesting that.

But the thing she wants (and want is the wrong word here); the thing that most of us would assume you need money to have - well, she doesn't assume - she just skips the step of wanting (wrong word again) the money and goes directly to manifesting the thing.

Now, there are a couple things that I think she has working for her here and one of them is 'Polarity'. Yes, that's right polarity and I have a post or two next week about that.

(before polarity was a totally amazing locket it was playing a huge part in how the law of attraction really works - the secret within the secret so to speak)

The other thing she has going for her is self-discipline.

Cousin Daisy never does things half-assed. When she made the decision to eat a macrobiotic diet (this is just the first thing that popped into my head- it is not a manifesting thing, but it is a self discipline thing) - she just did it; cleared out her fridge and cabinets, bought 2 cookbooks, made a trip to the grocers and then proceeded to follow through for the next, oh, I don't know, 10 years.

She didn't think about how this was going to effect her lifestyle or say - let me try a meatless Monday or let me try this for a month - she just did it.

And it was easy for her because she already had this self-discipline thing down. Some people are just born this way I think and my family is filled with industrious folks who 'get the job done'.

I like to think I am self disciplined but sometimes have to admit I may be more disciplined by external things - other-self disciplined you might call it. I will get the job done for my customers - the making and the shipping of orders - no matter what it takes. In the weeks before Christmas I was getting up at 3am to get my orders made and out, but ....

the stuff that I am not held so accountable for by external circumstances, mostly personal stuff like laundry and cleaning and exercising, but even the business things like bookkeeping and marketing ... well ... sometimes they get done when they get done.

I can guarantee you that Daisy would not have a sinkful of dishes or a filthy car (yes, I will use the "f" word for this) or a half-assed bookeeping system - if she didn't have time for this stuff, she would either find the time or find someone else to do it and she would manifest that person without even thinking about how she was going to pay them and it would all work out perfectly. I am totally serious about this - I have seen her do it ... many times.

For free-spirited makers self discipline can feel a little too much like being told what to do, even when we are the ones doing the telling. It just feels rigid and planned and not very passion inspiring.

this is a test, this is only a test ...

(and yes, grades will be tallied, report cards mailed to parents and there will be no make-ups or incompletes given due to lack of self discipline)

I found this little self discipline quiz last year which I promptly failed.

•Do you get up at the same time every day?
•Do you have any addictions (caffeine, nicotine, sugar) you’d like to break but haven’t?
•Is your email inbox empty - are old emails you are saving in folders?
•Is your studio and home neat and organized?
•How much time do you spend watching tv or trolling the web every day?
•Could you fast for one day?
•How much sleep do you get each night?
•How often do you exercise?
•Do you usually eat foods based on their healthfulness or their taste?
•If you make a promise to someone, what’s the % chance you’ll keep it?
•If you make a promise to yourself, what’s the % chance you’ll keep it?
•When was the last time you consciously adopted a positive new habit or quit a bad habit?
•What’s the greatest physical challenge you’ve ever faced, and how long ago was it?

You get the idea. Self discipline is a powerful tool. It can wipe out addictions, procrastination, chaos and unhealthiness - it's all about Willpower (concentration of force), Facing Challenges (doing the thing we don't want to do but know we should), Industriousness (putting in the time) and Tenacity (sticking with it).

(so WCIT, it's all about WCIT - yeah, WCIT)

Back on Friday with Part II - MAKING THIS HAPPEN aka OK, so I see I need to be more self disciplined and less other-self disciplined, so how can I make this happen if I don't have the Cousin Daisy gene (which I don't because she is a married-into-the-family Cousin Daisy).

(wait, I think I will call her Daisy Mae, I like that better ... plus she will hate it and the more I think about how effortless she makes things look, I really want to annoy her a little)

* test screen necklace by bRainbowshop

we are all Japanese now ...

our only planet and its people - our brothers and sisters - are hurting.

I remember the days after the Three Mile Island explosion when we thought the reactor could meltdown and no one knew what would happen (they still don't) and how scared we were and my family trying to figure out what to do and where we should go. Although I was a kid, my eco-leanings truly formed around that time period and the little knot of fear that formed around the words 'nuclear energy' never really unraveled.

Sending white healing light, love and strength to the amazing people of Japan - there is truly only one of us here.

GIVEAWAY - Hand Embroidered Secret Message Necklace by love, maude - CLOSED

CLOSED - WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED FRIDAY!

"love, maude" is the amazing hand embroidered accessories shop of Sandie from Indianapolis, which she named after her grandmother.

I fell in love with her work at first sight and know you will, too!

I also fell in love with her profile which reads:

"I like pretty. Just because it's pretty. I like kind words and happy people. I adore manners.

I like traditions. Using my grandma's blue willow dishes for special occasions and looking through boxes of holiday decorations carried down from the attic year after year warms my heart.

I like red lipstick. Even though I am quite tall, I love to wear heels. I prefer to wear skirts and dresses. I'm just more comfortable in them.

I love to sew. I have a chinz, overstuffed chair in the corner of my living room that I call "my stitching chair". Curled up in my chair with a needle in hand, coffee on the table and stories in my mind makes a perfect afternoon."

Don't we love that!

We are so lucky to have one of her gorgeous pieces for this week's giveaway!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive love, maude's gorgeous hand embroidered secret message necklace!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below and be sure to check out love, maude's shop - what gorgeous Mother's Day gifts!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone. CLOSED

when a hug isn't really a hug ....

I recently had a conversation about Facebook with my brother. He believes that Facebook represents the time we are living in and is not something a business person desiring 'personal' connections with people can just skip.

This is where my problem comes in becomes I can't totally silence the little voice in the back of my head

(the little voice that is often right)

that tells me something is not quite right about all of this.

I once read something like - you’re an introvert if you recharge your batteries while being alone and you’re an extrovert if you recharge in the company of others - and most people are somewhere in the middle and can do both.

When my daughter was little and I had a job in a place outside of my house, a place with other people, I definitely recharged from time spent alone.

Now, that I am alone alot - pretty much the opposite is true - I need the company of others more and more often to recharge.

Now, sometimes this 'company of others' takes place on Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr or wherever ... and these things do fill us; for a little while - the feeling just doesn't last though.

(kind of like eating Chinese food)

There's a great deal of talk about the business value of social networking.

I can't help noticing that alot of this talk is circulated by people trying to make money from it. But taking advice about how the fish are biting from the girl selling you the bait is not the best idea.

(this advice is kind of like the sellers on Etsy with ebooks about how to make money selling on Etsy who have never sold anything other than ebooks about how to make money selling on Etsy - now if this person wants to tell me how to make money selling ebooks on Etsy, well then, I'm listening ... but otherwise not so much)

Anyhoo, back to Facebook. Yes, it is happening right now. Yes, I am a part of this world, right now. Yes, I do not want the world to pass me by ...

(well, except for maybe that honeysuckle color that is Pantone's color of the year - I am just not feeling it, that can pass me by, I think, and Charlie Sheen he can pass me by, too)

but maybe there are ways to raise our visibility without always raising our accessibility. I just don't think this is all sustainable.

For now, I continue to update my Facebook and tweet once in a while - I am not about to jump completely out of these fast moving waters because it may be very hard to find my stroke if I have to jump back in.

(did anyone see that guy on Dr. Phil who gets off work at 3 and then runs until 6, all the while photographing his run and then spends every night after dinner updating his Facebook or blog about his run ... while his wife goes crazy with the kids and his entire life falls away from him and he doesn't even notice)

But, I think it is time for me to challenge myself socially and get out there in the real world because I don't want those muscles - that were never exactly Linda Hamilton in Terminator II anyway - to weaken to the point where upon meeting new people I immediately become their 'friend', give them a hug and a friendly poke (not too friendly) and a great big thumbs up.

(so today it's back to the library and off my Nook - a little face to face time with other readers and I think our librarians have been missing us ... baby steps)

* print #17 from HappyTownUSA