Stephanie's Studio

O is for Open Air I don't know about you, but I find being cooped up, in confined spaces constrains my creativity. Further, just taking a walk--cold, hot, rainy, whatever the weather conditions may be, changes the perspective and sometimes allows new thoughts to come to light, even though you didn't think it was possible. These photographs were taken by my husband Damian, of me working en plein air/open air at the Emily Oaks Nature Center in Skokie, IL. At first I dreaded the idea of working outside, as a part of an open air public event, even though I'd volunteered for it. But gradually, as the morning went on, and the sun brought the surrounding environs to shimmering life, I grew to love it! from www.mscareergirl.com Typing outside is equally refreshing to tired old thoughts. The wind on the face and varied sights, with sounds of the outdoors, easily increases the flow of creative thoughts. You need not go camping to do this, or head to a bucolic...

Last night I had the pleasure of hearing the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, play. My husband and I watched and listened intently to them performing the Brandenburg Concertos. I have always been deeply touched by hearing those concertos but haven't seen them played live in ages. These concertos seem to have the ability to reach deep into my heart and go past that, touching my soul. The Chamber Music Society  features many gifted musicians who aptly interpret and play the various concertos beautifully. The artists are various ages--each lending a unique quality to the music, which seems to stem from their age for example vibrancy, ambition, wisdom and mastery. Each of the artists exhibited a tremendous joy, drawn from their mastery over their chosen instrument. Their joy was infectious, resulting in numerous standing ovations. Now, if only I could come close in my lifetime to composing a piece of literature, painting or combination of the two, approaching the genius...

Well, obviously, I'm not taking my own medicine, at least not as diligently as I should be. I have continued to blog and work on my novel, though I have the flu. Healers are ornery--many are their own worse patients. Be that what it may, I woke up this morning thinking about the A to Z April Blogger's Challenge and knew that for the letter "H" I wanted to write about health, healing and happiness. I thought about my journey. How did I get here and what inspired me to take on healing? I recognize that the most outstanding inspiration was my environment, where I grew up, immersed in nature. It was also the people around me--relatives and family friends who were self-determined, doing things for themselves, and by hand. As a teenager we lived very close to the land. My Dad hunted and fished, my mother, aunts and us kids gardened, harvested, canned and then cooked those home grown foods all winter, taking them out little by little from the deep freezer. Then too, the...