The Creativity Is Flowing...

It has been several months since I had been working on my jewelry. I had turned my focus on my family and our few months abroad. I had missed my work but I did not know how much until I prepared my Fall 2012 line. I have had so much fun getting the line together and the creative rush that has come with it.

Being a creative person,  I am always, easily inspired by my surroundings. Living on the West Coast and in the rain forest that is Beautiful British Columbia, I am inspired on a daily basis. The colours, the textures and the essence that is the West Coast can be found in my latest work.

The past few weeks have been so much fun as I have unveiled my line slowly over social media. The response has been overwhelming and it has been so much fun getting to share in the excitement that jewelry often evokes in people. Male or female, jewelry often gets a response from people whether it is emotional or physical. I know when I look at jewelry, my blood pressure rises and I get excited. I feel the same way when I look at other forms of art, also.

I get excited seeing the people around me being bejewelled in my wares, and it creates a platform for people to share in the creative energy that surrounds my work. Other people start acknowledging their own creative ideas and talents and it is just a beautiful thing.

One of my favourite things about being an artist, is being surrounded by other creative spirits. We all have some sort of creativity within us, even if you think you don't, there is a vein of artistry in you, believe me. We all have something we are good at and it may not be a form of art that we see in the mainstream, but trust me, we all own something unique and creative.

Now that my fall line has been launched, I am now focussing on my gift card line which will be on shelves at Thomas Haas Patisseries as of November 15th. I create a custom line of Holiday Cards for Thomas and his wife Lisa to sell. I will also be selling cards off of my website and at my Trunk Shows in the next two months. I love working with paper and my cards are the greatest expression of that.

To see my latest work, please visit my website: www.buddhaandtheraven.com

With all of this excitement going on, please remember to keep my sweet nephew Sean in your prayers. His personal battle with cancer has been nothing less than challenging. Unfortunately, there have been complications and set backs along his way which has kept him from feeling any relief in this journey. We have come along way but we have a long way to go and we cannot make the trip without the love and prayers from family, friends and strangers alike. We need copious amounts of white light to envelope this young spirit and lift him up while he is too weak to lift himself. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming.

I know that there is never a good time to bring up awkward topics, but I would not be speaking my truth if I did not bring up Amanda Todd. Her story has resonated deeply with me and I think that her loss of life has created a platform in which we can use to have those uncomfortable conversations that surround bullying. I know that our schools are discussing bullying as a result of Amanda, but she also needs to be a reminder that we need to be discussing bullying with our young kids.

There is a way to have the conversation while protecting the innocence of childhood ideologies. Even as adults we forget that gossiping is a form of bullying. It is a daily occurrence that perpetuates a negative energy that eventually costs someone their right to privacy and or peace. If we are not speaking from that authentic place of love and good will, then maybe we should not be speaking in that moment. Amanda's loss has made me recheck myself and where I can be a kinder individual. As some one who has experienced bullying both in my childhood and as an adult, I know that the power of intention when speaking is powerful and needs to be thought of when speaking.

I will leave you with love and light and with the prayer for you that everyone that crosses your path, treats you with more kindness than you expect.

xo t.

Gratitude

September has come and gone. Indeed she followed through with her promise of routine and structure and has left in her wake a month of solid sunshine and warmth that has continued into this glorious October. I have refitted the house with autumn colours and have put away the ocean blue accent pillows for yet another year.

There is something sacred about the ritual of honouring the changing of seasons. It feels slightly tribal. I can find deeper meaning in anything, but when fall rolls around it seems that there is just more meaning in most things and it is easier to find depth in daily life. People slow down again, they stop longer to chat on the street, they pick up the phone and connect again with those that summer somehow kept from us.

There are so many things to be grateful for as we close in on the last few months of 2012. This year has been one of many blessings and many profoundly rich reasons to be humbled in gratitude. If you have read any of my previous blog entries you also know that this year has challenged my family at it's core.

In all of the many blessings and challenges, there is a common thread that binds us into the same boat of grace and gratitude and that, has been our family. Whether I look back at our time in Mexico this spring or fast forward to my nephews diagnosis in June... it is the family bond that has cradled our journey in both the bliss and the blinding reality of a life threatening illness. I am not sure that there is anything more beautiful than the love that comes from the deeply bound family unit that I come from.

Growing up I never felt those ties that bind, but this more than ever I feel them, I sew them and I absolutely tend to them. The past 12 months have brought my own immediate family closer and that of my siblings and I. Don't get me wrong, I have always been close to my siblings, but like I said, when you sit in wait, between life and death, your earth bound connections strengthen in a way that is indescribable. Life changes. Important things become more vital, small things cease to exist, the sky gets bigger and your words become kinder, and you somehow learn to be braver.

I am so grateful for all of the goodness that has come my way this year. I am also grateful for the lessons that have come from the more unfortunate occurrences, for those have taught me the most, and again, at the top of that particular list you will find Cancer. I have a couple of friends and my super, awesome, brave nephew that have been battling that bitch. (forgive my french) I have been watching even closer and have seen first hand what true bravery looks like, what real courages acts like and how true grace carries us when we allow it to.

It's no secret that I am turning forty next year. Growing up, I thought that I would have life figured out by now. Instead, what I now understand is that when people say take one day at a time, it really means that we are to slow down, breathe deeply, love unconditionally and live with passion. "Live each day to it's fullest" is not just some passe quote. It really holds value to our human existence. What I have finally figured out is that there is no figuring life out. It is what it is, and our journey will become what it will, in accordance to how we respond to life on a daily basis.

Everyday is a bounty of blessings if we will just allow ourselves the pleasure of seeing the bright side. It is so easy to find the faults and shortcomings that find us in a day. It is also even easier to choose to reside in the light of each moment that is ours to claim. I am not saying that life is rainbows and butterflies, I know better, I know it is also compromise and acceptance. I also know it is exactly what we make if it.

2012 was filled with beauty. As we approach Thanksgiving, I am profoundly grateful for the love and light that has found it's way into my heart by way of family and precious friendships and I wish the same love and light to find you and yours. I hope you have been as blessed as I, and that next Thanksgiving you will have even more in your heart to be grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In Gratitude,
t. xo