The marvel that you are
You are the beauty you see.
It was one of those mornings where you just want to stay in bed. Even my dog, whose favorite thing in the world is to go for a ride in the car, opted for the covers when I left to drop my daughter off at school.
And my dog missed it. It’s been raining the last two days (can you believe it?) - our California skies blanketed in gray cloud. Water rushing down sewers. Water pooling on sides of road with nowhere to go. The sound of cars driving through puddles.
Man, I love that sound.
But this morning—oh, this morning! Blue sky and snow capped mountain and 42 degrees cold. A crisp unveiling. Everything still wet with rain but now also with sun, reflecting. Shining and alive, calm and bright, as I drove back from school drop-off.
We live in a beautiful world. The beauty we see and experience in the world is also in us. In the storm, in the chaos we can feel disconnected from our source. I’m so thankful for the moments I’m able to click back in. Into the aliveness, the shining, the calm.
Finding beauty is a way through. This, too, belongs.
Gratitude is a way through. Thank you, thank you.
Stillness is a way through. Let go, listen up.
Art is a way through. Hello, self. Hello, world.
Remembering the marvel that you are is a way through. You are the beauty you see.
May you always remember!
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Noam Chomsky: "Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so. If you assume there is no hope, you guarantee there will be no hope."
Rebecca Soltnit” “To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.”
Mary Oliver: “Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled — to cast aside the weight of facts and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world. I want to believe I am looking into the white fire of a great mystery. I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing — that the light is everything — that it is more than the sum of each flawed blossom rising and falling. And I do.”
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Enjoyed an art making workshop this weekend with Paris Collage Collective and Art Therapy Labs. Art Therapy Lab creates opportunities to experience art therapy within a virtual space via therapeutic art groups, sessions, workshops, and collaborative projects. Check out their offerings.
Putting together a zine swap for December with Sarah Mirk. Stay tuned for that if you are local to Ojai and in the meantime, check out her Color Pencil Bolo Tie Kit. Very fun.
Visited Santa Barbara Museum of Art to see the Marshall Brown exhibit: The Architecture of Collage. Really enjoyed the way he described collage as similar to a DJ who remixes music. Collage is remixing images.
Wondering: Is Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta” the best lyrics to song ever? Please reply with your thoughts or let’s discuss in the subscriber chat 💭
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Jump + Pray,
Joce
Email : joce@misslujo.com or reply to this email
Mailing Address : 509 N Ventura Street, Ojai, CA 93023
“You Are” is beautiful, thank you for sharing. Inspiring words on a cold and dark morning as a parent (metaphorical as well).