Art EveryDay - EveryWhere in EveryWay

Here I am in day 29 of the Art Everyday Month Challenge. It has been amazing, in both subtle and obvious ways. I feel infused with a soulful creative expression that is pure delight. I feel humbled, touched and boosted by the living practices of Life as Art, Love as Art and Art as Meditation. Here are written and visual snapshots of the final week of Art Everyday Nuggets.

• The Art of Visioning: I see a flourishing, functional, thriving Ecovillage, with beautiful green/solar/wind powered facilities, including homes, guest cottages, retreat center, dance/event space, school, ropes course, sweat lodge, permaculture gardens, goats, chickens, wild spaces, art spaces, zen gardens, sanctuary, aligned community and home. Did I mention it has a river running through the property and is perpetually financially fueled by a multimillion dollar endowment? You get the picture. Visioning is an Art. Dare to vision into the miraculous.

• The Art of Family Reunion: Thanksgiving week found us rejoicing with family in town from CA, AZ and FL. Surrendering to the joy of kids bouncing off walls and running down halls, tracking 3 or 4 conversations at once, and 'tai chi-ing' the needs, preferences and rhythms of many people for several days - was true art. We had a blast, and stayed committed to real connection & love.
  

• The Art Of Nature: The natural world is rich with inspiring masterpieces of art. Today as we hiked the gorgeous canyons of the Sonoran desert, I found myself creating pujas of earth sculpture and mandala prayers. Autumn kissed leaves danced around circles of stones glistening with mica specs. Rock balancing meditations, and fairy houses constructed of twigs and golden grasses were embraced within the backdrop of striking mountains and vast blue sky. Mother nature, the original Earth Artist is a potent teacher of impermanence and eternal beauty all at once.
  

• The Art Of Collage: Some of you already know that I am a serious collage junkie. It has been a heart practice of mine for many moons. I love how bits of paper of people, places, images and color somehow come together, effortlessly to express a depth that words cannot touch. As cards, prayers, full/new moon vision boards and beyond, collage art rocks!

• The Art of Movement: Running through foothills trails like a bounding deer, my heart pumps and leaps with the joie de vivre. Wind in my hair, sun shine on my face-I am not dreaming of heaven, I am living it. Followed by a yoga asana set on my front patio amidst full moon and big top sky, I am refreshed, chakras flowing with life force, body supple, mind clear, heart open.
  

• The Art of Soul Dance: A sister to The Art of Movement, the soul dance is informed by an authentic impulse to express freedom from the inside out. I love ecstatic dance. It is medicine. Flowing, rhythmic and provocative music, a dance floor, and the sacred space to ignite and shake it all loose is bliss to me. Soul dance is a practice of love, a devotion, a prayer, a joy, a healing salve, elixir and most definitely an art.
  

• The Art Of Zen Homemaking: Simply caring for home, cooking, cleaning and doing laundry can be regenerative and enjoyable. Today, Kenya, Talia and I blended our chores with crafting and art-making all day long. My sense of relaxation, gratitude and love shifted my tasks from suffering to sanctuary. Check out my greatest inspiration of Zen Homemaking, Karen Maezen Miller. She says, "The kitchen is not only the heart of a home, it can also be the heart of our mindfulness practice. In cooking and cleaning, we move beyond ourselves and into compassionate care of everything and everyone around us."
  

This concludes my 4 part series on Art Everyday. Honorable mention also goes to The Art of Tickling, Wrestling, Relating, Goofing and Doing Nothing. I am eternally grateful for the meditation, exploration, and experiment this month has been. I see clearly that the spirit of soulful, creative expression is everywhere! Life as art really is art everyday in every way. Thanks for coming along on the ride and please comment to this post and let me know what you have learned about your life as art this month!
All Love, Gabriela

Wake Up To Life-The Love Generation

"Buddhahood is your birthright. You claim it every time you wake up to the present moment."
Karen Maezen Miller

My daughter, Talia, is a Buddha. She is a master of living in the now. She savors life. She delights in simplicity. She is devoted to playing, dancing, giggling and exploring her world. She loves all that sparkles. She loves being silly, making up rhymes and singing songs. Though at the core of all of her high energy and life discovery, she is a lover, an awakener. It is not lost on us that she is offering constant opportunities to be present, to let go of rigid adult agendas that at times blind us to real connection, and to the miracle of life happening before our eyes, every moment.

Last week, she said "Mama, let's go play our violins." (She has a ukulele and I have a guitar, but for short sometimes she just calls them "violins.")

"Mama, let's sing about love 'n generation," she said.
"OK," I said, "You start and then give me the signal to come in and we'll duet."

She sang, "We are love 'n generation. We love to sing, dance and play. We love ourselves and we love each other. We are healthy and free. We are the love generation."

Then she gave me the thumbs up (my cue to sing). We continued to sing, strum and laugh in timelessness. Dropping into the sweet spot of creativity and communion with my 3 year old is ecstasy. And on this day her lyrical improvisation was especially touching.

Naturally, I have a bias. I think my kid is channeling the genius of her generation...The LOVE GENERATION... and why not? We have had the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and now, the "Love Generation." Their time has come. They are reminding us of what is most important...offering ourselves as love in a life giving way. One definition of generation that I love is Genesis: a coming into being. I extend the invitation to you. Come into being LOVE. BE the generation of LOVE. That is the message I'll take from my child oracle. I give thanks for her effortless modeling of what it is to be truly alive.

"The miracle is not walking on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive."
Thich Nhat Hanh