Ellen Inspires

Barry wrote the songs that made the whole world sing!   In honor of  words I launched the challenge to focus on the power of the words we choose to sing in our own individual melody of “my life is my song”.  I enlisted my dear friend Ellen, to leave the much cooler state of Indiana, and help me explore the magic of words on canvas.  Ellen is an artist using the canvas as a way to express her words.    Ellen’s style is more blunt and straightforward while I too have chosen to use words in my expression, however slight and hidden beneath the layers.  Which reminds me of this guy who quietly softly mumbled through our first conversation.  It felt so hard to hear or make out what he was saying as if he didn’t own his own thoughts or gave any significance to what he spoke.  I challenged him then the same way I challenge you and take the challenge myself….stop being careful what you wish for!  Start speaking each word as if your mouth is a launch pad of your dreams and your words are the vehicle to which your destination will be arrived!

Wanda

Cari Ray "She Likes It Rough"

I found out recently my sing-song writer friend wrote a song about a story I told.  What I realized is that I was speaking about this guy I had a conversation with and then she wrote a song about our life together before I lived it.  Wow!  I was already telling the tale, no matter how tired and sorry it seemed, and then I lived it, walked right into my words and I painted through it and I created it!  Thank goodness for derailment….I woke up one day looked in the mirror and saw a girl who hadn’t taken her own words with significance and had allowed my thoughts to be flimsy and my story to be something a sad song sings.  Is it true the only real thing I have that can’t be taken away is my word?  If that’s the case I must take better care of these life forms I call my words, especially the four-legged ones!

Sandi

Next destination…..Passion, aliveness and freedom.  Try on these words for a couple of days,  see how they fit?  If you talk to me this month I’ll be singing a different tune one that’s more refined with a clear message…..It’s about passion, aliveness and freedom.  I might need a friend to help me flip that switch to reclaim my creativity through passion.  I may find myself driving down the back alleys feeling alive as I sing with the Peas…”Tonights The Night”.  So friend until we meet again let’s play with our words.  Own and honor them be true to your word.    I tell my children their mouths are connected to their heart and my ears are connected to my heart and when they speak, their words are the bridge that connects their heart to mine.    Get rid of the heavy listless ones that speak about rough times and sing out the ones that give back freedom.   I’m heading into studio this week to get it all out on canvas.  Symbols and images of mumbling cowboys, red shoes and champagne.  Roads to expansion when we courageously claim what has always been inside us and use our words as the key to unlock that which is ready to be exposed.  Word up!