LEANN FORD'S "FEEL FREE MAGAZINE" (WONDERFUL!)

In my stash of collage journaling stuff, this morning I found Vol. 3 of "Feel Free Magazine" by Leanne Ford.  It was in a stack with "The Simple Things" from the UK, "Daphne's Diary" from the Netherlands, and a pile of Stampington back issues filled with collage paper.  On a rainy January day, being inspired to find creativity in nature is just what I need. So, I'm going to share some of the words and ideas that seem so true.  I wish I could share all the lovely photos too.  

Aiming for perfection is fruitless.  And ruthless really.  It's a waste of freedom. Time and freedom we might say.  Ruthless is the perfect word:  hard on ourselves, never-ending.  Thank you "Feel Free" for this reminder. 

The garden is a perfect analogy to life and its messes--always imperfect, but always some beauty in it.  The more it is loved, the more vibrant it becomes and the more it spreads that light. 

When we create, it's our job to know that what we create is good.  We just know in our hearts that we our happy creating and happy with what we created.  That feeling, that confidence, that kindness to ourselves, the lack of judgment to ourselves, that is contagious to those around us.  Yes, happiness is contagious.  And if we're not bound to perfect we can be very happy with what we create.  Creating is freedom.  

Love what you do and let people see you loving what you do.  You will inspire others to find the same joy.  

Create freely.  Trust yourself to make a home and life that looks and feels like it belongs to just you.  Don't you feel like your exact home could never belong to someone else?  In the whole world, it doesn't have a double.  Your vision, your touches, large or small.  Your books or music or paintings.  Your favorite textiles.  What you've saved and treasure.  

The unpredictable brings excitement and intrigue. 

Look to Nature.  It's a free and wonderfully rich source of inspiration.

Sometimes we find a place where life is pure, raw beauty.  [Mostly in Iceland I say to myself.  Or the Scottish Hebrides.  Or when a whale breaches.  Or one morning when every bud on the camellia by my door is in bloom.]

Pull inspiration from everywhere.  It's not copying.  You'll create something new.  

"The universe is real, but you can't see it.  You have to imagine it." --American artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976).  Well, I don't know what this means.  It sounds like something an astronomer would say.  But Calder was an engineer-trained artist.  Many things are real but we can't see them, maybe the things that mean most to us.  

Every day do some of what you love.  

A Garden is literally a Dream come true.  We always see it before it happens, don't we, gardeners? 

Thank your plants for keeping your space green.  

Be brave and follow your heart.  Just believe wholeheartedly in your ability to create.  With words, with chalk or pencil or paint, with fiber, with trowel, with mixing bowl, with herbs and spices, with hammer and nail, with AutoCAD, with heavy equipment . . . .  

With love, Nina Naomi