Opening the Path

If you stop on the road above my place on the way out to the ridge road, looking south, you will see this view of Plaskett Ridge. 

Between your vantage point and the ridge are miles of rugged terrain with only the smallest trails along the way.  The deer and other wild animals know their way around here quite well.  Coming around the corner, there may be a deer or a young lion in the road, dashing into what appears to be an impenetrable mass of brush, knowing exactly which way to go.  Some of the trails that do exist are passable by humans, but most are not.  The standing dead trees in the middle of the picture bear witness to what the forest looked like in years past, before the fires of 1996 and of 2008.  Now, the immature growth is so thick that the whole character of the area has changed. 

As spring is now just around the corner, signs of new growth are appearing everywhere.  This year has been wetter than any for at least a decade.  It's been a challenge to handle the many closures of Highway One, the staying indoors with the hammering of the rain and the howling of the wind.  It's been good for creativity, for ingenuity, and for developing a stronger sense of mission.  I am grateful for all of it.  

The beginnings of a new book are making themselves felt.  New ideas are popping up everywhere!  It's time to clear the garden, open up the path, let go of the old so the new can grow.  I am excited about what the new season will be like.  The wildflowers are going to be out of this world!

Now, I am planning to open up my hospitality offerings for the season, and I am reaching out to those who would make the most of it.   

My studio fills up quickly, and before it does, I want to offer you a great opportunity.

Do you have a writing project that you are committed to, and find that making the time to make it a reality is hard to do?  Would you like another set of eyes, another mind, to help you round it up?

I am happy to offer the support that can give you the energy to make your project come to life.  

Join me for an exclusive retreat here on the mountain, where we will focus on what you want to accomplish, nourishing your spirit and putting together the bones of your 

book, short story, blog or newsletter.

Craft a plan, work on your drafts, get feedback that can make your writing have greater depth and be more engaging.  Relax in the country and take time to enjoy yourself.

 I am offering:

 One on one support, focusing on YOU and your project, so that you can reach your writing goals.  

Here's what you can accomplish: 

Learn the best ways to

Capture your audience's attention.

Put together your information so that it makes sense to 

you and your reader.

Tap into your deep creative energy and open the flow

Get resources to get your work out in the best way

Follow through on your promise to yourself!  

Reserve your spot NOW.

Only two of these exclusive retreats will be offered in 2017.

Get in touch with me now, to reserve your spot.  You will be glad you did!

You're as Big As You Think You Are

This conjunction of the planets took place some time ago, during the summer months when life seems easy and times feel relaxing.

Not like how it feels this winter in the mountains!  

It's good to remember, right about now, that winter doesn't last forever.  There has been more rain here in Big Sur than we have seen for a number of years, and the challenges of mountain life are many.  High winds and massive rainfall have downed trees and closed roads.  There is a need to conserve resources, as conditions feel uncertain.  There is no telling what lies around the corner on that mountain road!  It could be a pile of rocks, or a fallen tree, or a wild animal, or possibly just a stretch of open road, with no drama at all.

When going out, I carry with me what I may need in case the unexpected comes up.  It's a time of recognizing the dominance of Nature and the power of allowing for the unknown.  

The voice of the wind, the chill in the air, all contribute to a mental atmosphere that squeezes the mind and emotions like ripened fruit to reveal the creative force that brought it all into being.  The season calls for writing!  As I contemplate the life of the elements which is so expressive at this season, I wonder how this feeling that winter brings, the feeling of being small, is helping me grow.  

I wonder how I used to do this back in the day when there were not the options to communicate that I have now.  
Surely I am a different person from the one I was during those years.   

Even so, as I look back at things I wrote, things I made, earlier in life, there is a common thread of brightness that runs through all the ways I have expressed my truths.  That is the feeling that I want to grow more of in my life, reaching out into the world, and also taking this time, this sacred season of nourishment and rest, into my soul, letting things become what they are meant to be.  

I am only a small human in a vast wilderness, and yet I have a whole Universe that allows me to see and feel as much of it as I can grasp.  How important it is to grow and to become as much as possible in life.  This gift of life that we have is meant to be shared, cherished, communicated.  So as I am feeling the smallness of being, that is so apparent here in the wild, I feel a hugeness around me that whispers, "Be ready when the moment comes, to arise, to become, and go out to meet the bright place, show it, become it.  Tell others what you feel.  Reach out and find the connections, and grow them."

That's what I call the Voice of the Mountains. You can never be alone.  There is no such thing.  There is a story in each life.
Each moment holds a treasure.  Each person is a unique expression of the great love that we call life.  Your life is a gift.  How will you share it with others?  What is your story?

Are you ready to step out and share your wisdom?  

Hit the link above and schedule a time to talk with me about how I can support you in bringing out your story and making it shine. 

Many blessings!

Betty

Stretch Into It

Here's what it looks like when it snows on the mountain...a lovely enhancement to the colors of the sunset.

These days, it doesn't snow as much as it did in earlier years.  It makes it a bit easier to navigate the middle of winter, when everything gets stretched.  It's a time of quiet, of reflection, of challenge.  How long is it going to stay cold?  

What is there to DO???

Over last autumn, I had some visitors who were from the Yukon.  On a cold and blustery day, they told me this was like an August day, for them.  And, they suggested that I should visit their lovely area...Wow, it really is all in the way you look at it! It made me think, what could it be like to be in the winter eight months a year?

Stretching what you are, and what you have, is something you need to do in order to grow.  Staying in a place of snugness is good for nourishing your spirit, and making your heart strong.  However, in order to really be satisfied in life, you will need to do more than you are comfortable doing.  Reaching out to someone who is hard to deal with, making difficult choices...these are the stuff of real soul growth.  

When you are ready to take on the challenge of choosing to be more than you are today, of "taking the road less traveled", as Robert Frost put it, you will find that your life becomes immeasurably richer.  

Think of a possible dream that you may have put aside, thinking it was too difficult to make come true.  What made you decide that?  Are you being true to your own highest good by not giving yourself the chance to find out?  Are you hiding from yourself?

I've done that, and it really doesn't help.  What happened was that I stayed in a place of feeling like less, and kept happiness away.  I'm here to tell you it is worth stepping out, and making a stand for your dreams.  Since I dropped out of my belief in my own pain, and of the idea of the value of loneliness, and showed up for myself, I am far happier than I could have imagined being when I "played it safe, by playing small". 

In invite you to have a chat with me about what you REALLY want, and what is holding you back.  
Stretch yourself....You are worth it!

                Give yourself a chance! 

Yours in service,

Betty 

 

Old Wood and New Fruit

These pears are an example of what happens when everything goes right in the orchard.  Full of juice, smooth of skin, and tasty, they are the result of a happy tree.

To have fruit like this as the result of the season, certain things need to happen. There must be good rain in the winter, and during the dormant season, the tree must be nurtured and given direction.  Old wood needs to be removed so that new and vigorous growth can take place.  New buds are forming, and the energy of the tree is needed to support strong and healthy tissues.

The soil needs to be cultivated and given key minerals.  
A mysterious process of growth begins as soon as the old leaves begin to fall.  The bark of the tree takes on a different color while it is growing the new cells and shedding the old layers to allow for  growth.  A beautiful light green, it has a quality of seeming to be lit from within, showing the vigor of the tree, concealed by the seeming barrenness.

The same kind of process is taking place in human life, although it looks different.  During the winter, evaluating, planning, and enjoying what has been gained in the last season.  The rest of this season gives energy for the hopes and aspirations for the new season ahead, when nature will once again amaze us with her many gifts.  

It's a time of using up what has been set aside, for removing what no longer serves.  It's a time to notice every little thing that is good, as we make the efforts to keep ourselves comfortable.  Staying warm, staying dry, staying fed, these basic needs have much to teach us.

And, it's a time for looking ahead, setting goals and holding up to promises.  In this coming year, I promise to bring as much value as I can to the world, serving the creative spirit.  I am here in support of you, my reader.   Thank you so much for being part of my world.

As I recognize the power of change, and the power of language to create connection and change, I renew my commitment to women who want to make a difference in the world.  Do you have a project or an idea that you want to launch?

                What is it?  Let's talk. 


May your 2017 be filled with meaningful interaction, quiet joys, and rich fruits of the spirit.

Betty
 

Turning the corner

Here's a corner near where I live, a small flat space in the forest that links up to the road into the property.  It's so colorful and lush at this time of year.  It's a perfect illustration of the wealth of nature.

It's been a few weeks since I posted anything on this blog.  The huge fire to the north, the Soberanes Fire, went on for far longer than expected.  IN the end, it was the longest fire ever in Monterey county and the most expensive fire in the history of the United States.  It took its toll on everybody in big Sur.  Business basically went away for about two months or more.  It's been a scramble.  Fire preparations seemed to go on forever, until all that could be said was "well we are about as ready as we could be, if it comes here".  
I lived out of my suitcases for weeks, wondering when and if I would put my stuff in the car and make a break, hoping for the best.  

All of the hopes I had for the summer seemed like distant dreams as I had to turn away guests and face whatever would come.  All of my energy went into the mode of crisis management.  Every resource was used to its maximum, and it didn't feel like enough.

My heart cried, and I still feel the fatigue of adrenal and cortisol over-stimulation.  Slowly, my energy is returning to a level I can recognize.
It's going to be a while.  And I remember this, too...

I know that I have been lucky, since the fire changed direction and didn't come to this watershed.  I feel the blessing of that.  Every day that I wake up and see things more or less as they were, I am astonished.  Because nothing feels the same, and things can never be the same.  

Deep soul-searching and the need to face things as they are, rather than as we would like them to be, has been a part of this season for all of us.  I feel deeply the losses that friends of mine have endured, and cheer them on as they make the efforts to start over. 

Now it is the darkest time of the year, with the sun showing for shorter and shorter intervals each day.  I notice every detail of the quiet time, and I live in hopes for what can happen when the sun will turn.  

For me, the solstice is a time of fortitude, and of hope.  The celestial bodies have important things to say to us.  The forest feels quiet, in anticipation of new growth.  The stars have a special shine in the cold air.  A meteor appears, pink or green or orange, and quickly vanishes.  The moon hangs wisely above, saying "Wait and listen.  Good things are coming."

I am planning new projects and ways to share the beauty and wisdom of nature in the coming year. Inspiration is appearing from new places. Outside my door, the loquat tree is blooming fragrantly, and it is visited by hummingbirds even in the dark.  The quail are fat with fresh grass.

Hop over to the Writer's Launchpad and see more of what I am doing lately.


I wish you all the best during this season, and always. 

Growing Light from Within: What it Took

At the left is a drawing I made a few years ago of an oak tree on Nacimiento Road.  

I called this tree the Fortitude Oak, because it stretched out over the roadside pullout in such a way as to suggest vast power and inner knowing.  


It's good that I drew it when I did, for now it is only a memory when I drive past.  It was a casualty of the fire that came through the canyon, weakening it so that it broke in the winds over the winter.  Now, the drawing is the expression of what the tree meant to me.

This tree reminds me of times when standing firm was the only option.

As I learned what it was to be a mother and a pioneer, growing food, living with only the most basic necessities, a lot of my former ideas about life faded away, and I lived from one day to the next, with most days following a rhythm that went like this:  

Wake up, light a fire, look after the children.  Make food, get them dressed, find out what else they need.

Milk the goats, feed the chickens, gather the eggs.  Go out into the garden and plant, weed, water, or whatever else was needed.  Maybe cut firewood, maybe not.  Lunchtime.  Make food. Clean the house.  Do the laundry, start making dinner.  If there is time, do something creative like make clothing.

The family shows up, and instead of saying "Hi Mom!" they ask, "What's for dinner?"  Can't blame them for that, they were hungry. 
Have dinner, clear the table.  Talk about what needs to be done next, or answer to some concern of a family member. 
Wash up, get ready for bed.  Repeat.  

Time for creative activities was almost nonexistent at first.  Who I was, as a person, never came up!  It was enough to just keep things going.

Gradually I learned to find moments, bits and pieces of time, when I could make something, or write something.  Poems sometimes appeared in my mind, and I would scramble to write them down before they disappeared.  

Every once in a while I could write out a few pages of something that I felt I needed to express, even though nobody was reading it.  I kept my faith in my heart, and listened to the voices of nature telling me to keep going.

As this life continued, year after year, I got better at managing my time.  Things started to open up as the kids didn't need me quite so much.  They were getting more independent, and although I was still important to them, it was clear that life was going to keep on shifting.  Little by little, things were getting a bit easier.  It was slow going!

Just when I was saying "Does this go on forever?" I found that it was almost over.  Larger chunks of time were appearing, and the needs of my family changed.

I became able to start small businesses.  First it was selling eggs and small crafts; then selling cheese, and somewhat larger crafts, then honey was added to the list.  Bit by bit, I became more able to reclaim my identity as a person and not just a service provider.

I got into fashion expression, making lovely items that I was very proud to present to the world.  My idea of what I could do with my life grew.

It became possible to find new avenues of expression, and I got back into writing.  Eventually, I wrote my book "Prevail" and found a sense of mission, as I realized my experiences had value beyond my own life, and found ways to express that realization, that they could be useful to others in making their own lives better.

The journey for meaning and creative expression continues now, as I  am able to offer support for writers.  I am so grateful for the light that I guarded and kept within me, and for the way that it is growing now.  I cherish every bit of what I learned along the way, no matter how I learned it.

Do you want to find more time for your creative expression?

Learn how to build creativity into your day in a completely natural way, that supports the life you already have.

May your path always be lit!

Best wishes,

Betty

Your thoughts are the seeds of your life

The ferns at left are just emerging under the avocado tree. they are bracken ferns, which can get up to three feet tall, depending on how much rain falls in the year.

I have been told that they can be cured using wood ashes and made into snacks, marinated in oil.  I never did get around to trying that one.

I did learn a lot about the wild greens growing around the woods...with really cool names, like miner's lettuce, shooting stars, johnny jumpups.  all of these have edible greens high in vitamin C.  Many walks around the pthways also produced mushrooms for the rice, rose hips for he tea, and other wild medicines and teas that grow in abundance here.

As I learned more about the way Nature has of providing nutrients, I often marveled at how I seemed to be living the same life that people had lived here thousands of years ago, and yet, it was a modern age.  This, in a time when I had no phone and very little contact with the outside world!  

As I look at that time now, I see how the seeds of today were planted through noticing the beauties of nature, and the treasure of time in the quiet parts of the world.  Too much quiet, at times!  I felt at times like there was no other place in the world.  When a car came into the canyon, I could hear it from miles away, and know exactly where it was on the world.

I learned hard truths about life at a young age.  This has served me by making me resilient, and in knowing the power of the imagination to transform, to create new meanings out of raw experience, I have become far more than I ever could have imagined during those times. 

What seeds of your life do you want to grow?