Pause – A Desert Wisdom Card

Pause - Desert Wisdom Card

Bench © 2013 Bo Mackison

In the sweet territory of silence we touch the mystery. It’s the place of reflection and contemplation, and it’s the place where we can connect with the deep knowing, to the deep wisdom way.”
~ Angeles Arrien

Pause. Take a deep breath. A deep breath is the ultimate pause.

Ground yourself in the here and now. Quiet the inner critic. Quiet the constant media. Quiet the surroundings. Pause. Take a deep breath. Ground yourself.

There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub. ~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

PAUSE offers questions/reflections for journal writing, an art prompt, and a call to PAUSE:

  • Journal about space. What does space look like in your life? Do you have enough space, too much, or too little?
  • Stop during the day and offer yourself invitations to pause. Allow time to listen to your inner voice.
  • Art Prompt – A labyrinth is a symbol of wholeness, and it has only one path. The labyrinth has a center; this is a place for pause before retracing your way.
    • Make a finger labyrinth. Begin with one or two packages of polymer clay. Flatten the clay into a square, approximately 6″ x 6″ using a rolling-pin. Draw a classic labyrinth pattern on the clay and make the imprint of the labyrinth path using a pencil’s eraser.  Bake as indicated on the polymer clay package.
    • “Walk” the labyrinth using your finger, pausing at the center. Repetition is often beneficial.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a deck of Desert Wisdom Cards for exploration and discovery, using photography, with a Sonoran Desert theme – its myths and stories, cultures and heritage, and the desert’s remarkable natural beauty and resources.

Delight – A Desert Wisdom Card

Torch Cactus Flower

Torch Cactus Flower © 2013 Bo Mackison

We have won a moment in an unfolding universe. Isn’t that worthy of our notice? ~ Hannah Hinchman

The Torch Cactus blossom is guaranteed to delight with bright petals, upright stamens, and its appeal to the senses.

The flower blooms on a rather undistinguished cactus, and each individual flower opens for a single day. But the glory of the torch cacti is its propensity to occasionally bloom en masse. This is a sure opportunity for delight!

There are three tasks that matter in this lifetime. The first task, though not the most important task, is to quiet the busyness in your mind. The second is to find your song. And the third task is to sing your song. ~ Mark Lesser

Delight – it’s a feeling that is transitory, fleeting.

There is no need to prepare for delight – simply be aware. Delight in the flower you see in the garden, the song you hear on the radio, or the soft towel you pull from the dryer. What makes you smile in delight?

Invitations to experience delight are quick and easily accessible. Take up delight’s offer and notice its gift.

The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention. ~ Julia Margaret Cameron

DELIGHT offers questions/reflections for journal writing, art prompts, and calls to action:

  • Delight is a simple gift, easily discovered, a tiny moment. Notice when you smile or laugh in delight.
  • Compose a line poem. Each line consists of a few words about a person, place, thing, or happening that prompts delight. Begin and end the poem with the one word line, “Delight!”
  • Play a game of DELIGHT. Draw a nine square grid, as if you were making a line drawing for a game of tic-tac-toe . Write the word DELIGHT in the center. Each time you notice something that delights you, write a brief description or sketch a picture in one of the squares.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a deck of Desert Wisdom Cards for exploration and discovery, using photography, with a Sonoran Desert theme – its myths and stories, cultures and heritage, and the desert’s remarkable natural beauty and resources.

Courage – A Desert Wisdom Card

Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas

Crossing the Threshold © 2013 Bo Mackison

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face . . . we must do that which we think we cannot. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

When experiencing disappointment or loss, it is natural to seek a counterbalance, a positive action to balance the negative.

The counterbalance of fear is courage. Crossing a threshold into a dark unknown space can evoke fears. But even in the darkest of spaces, we have an ability no one can take away. The choice of how we react, what we think, what we choose to say.

The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource. . . ~Daniel J Boorstin

Even in the darkest of spaces, we can imagine a star-filled universe, the constancy of waves sweeping a sandy beach, a window with a view of a fruit-filled orchard. We can appreciate the light because we have an understanding of the dark.

Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. ~ John Quincy Adams

COURAGE offers questions/reflections for journal, art prompts, and calls to action:

  • Crossing a significant life threshold takes courage. When the choice is happily anticipated, enthusiasm for the change lessens, though doesn’t alleviate, fear of the unknown. When crossing a threshold brings about unwanted or unplanned changes, courage and determination help balance our fears. Consider thresholds you have crossed – a job change, new responsibilities, a birth, a death, a move. How do you respond to changes in your life?
  • Once fear is identified as a limiting factor, action can defuse this emotion. Courage is answering the questions: “Why am I afraid?” “What can I do to face my fear?”
  • Though John Quincy Adam’s refers to the invisible “magical talisman” of courage and perseverance, it is often helpful to have a physical object as a reminder. One of the simplest talismans to create is a small rock inscribed with a message. Examine your environment for small rocks until you find a rock that feels right. Paint it a bright color or leave it natural. Use a permanent marker to inscribe the word COURAGE on its surface. Carry it in your pocket or place in your work area or bed side table as a reminder.
  • Practice courage in small doses by doing an activity that is not routine. Take a different route to work or the store. Shop in a local market rather than your nearby mega-grocery store. Eat a sack lunch on a park bench instead of eating from a fast food drive-through. Say hello to strangers, meet them eye-to-eye, and smile. These small acts may not seem courageous, but by moving out of your comfort zone, you will stretch the muscles that feed your courage.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a deck of Desert Wisdom Cards for self-exploration and discovery using her photography and the Sonoran Desert theme – its myths and stories, cultures and history, and the desert’s remarkable natural beauty and resources.