Blossom: A Pictorial & Poetic Journey In Effortless Being

Project Update 4 ::: Happy Father's Day + What the Flowers & My Dad Have In Common
over 1 year ago – Sun, Jun 18, 2023 at 06:03:04 PM

I know there's a few of you fathers on our backer list, and I want to take a moment to wish you a

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY. 

May you feel loved and appreciated today and always.

I'm thinking about my pops, aka Clancy Buns, who is actually in heaven (or wherever it is that soul's go in between incarnations) and I'm thinking about how my dad and the flowers have a few things in common! Stick with me here, as I know for many of you who knew him, might find this as an unlikely pairing. BUT FIRST:

A CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Friends, we're almost to our initial goal -- we need 7-8 of you to commit to the $70-100 level to bring it over the finish line.  It's SOOOOO close I can almost taste it! Let's bring it on home, shall we?

WHAT MY DAD AND FLOWERS HAVE IN COMMON

I know this seems like a stretch, but I was thinking they actually have a lot in common or at least three things that I can think of: 

1) Be playful. The flowers often show me ways to lighten up. To laugh a little more. To remember that being playful can be fun. This picture here is of my dad, and my cousin, who shortly after this picture was snapped, ran inside to get my dad a brown banana which was immediately put in his mouth. Now I'm pretty sure, that beers were involved in the making of this photo—which the flowers don't necessarily advocate for—but having fun and being silly certainly is! My dad was great at being funny. I could feel this feed full of dozens of silly photos. If you feel inclined, share your silly photos with me if you'd like. The more the merrier!

2) Trust your gut. Gut is the word that my dad would use. The flowers might say trust the flow or your intuition. My dad was a deeply spiritual man, one of big faith. On early summer mornings before harvest, we would sometimes get up and go to the 5 am mass in a little town about 20 minutes from where we lived. These were really special trips for me and what I realize now is that he was helping me set the foundation of getting connected to my spiritual sources/self.  And his recommendation to do a gut check before making decisions was helped me to learn to trust my body for information too (aka the gut). The flower's message isn't really ALL that different.  Our wisdom comes deep from within and we ALWAYS have our answers. Sometimes we just need to be able to get really still and quiet and tune into them. (like 5 am in the morning Catholic mass kind of quiet)

3) Move your body. My dad moved his body everyday. Working on the farm, this was just something that happened naturally. And when not in the fields, sometimes he would dance!  He preferred slow dances to fast ones, but in this pic, you'll see him here with me getting down at a family wedding. His dance style was simple: hop hop land, hop hop land. It was the best form of hip hop that I know of LOL ; )  The flowers often say that moving our bodies helps keep our energy flowing.  Dancing is one of my favorite ways to keep moving. (BTW, yes this is me in a 80's or 90's outfit.  Is anyone else, besides me, GLAD these padded trends are out of style now?)

I'm grateful for my pops and his wisdom that he shared. The flowers remind us that we have a deep innate wisdom within us.  Getting still and tuning in can helps us access it.  

I'm looking forward to sharing more of their messages with you all in BLOSSOM! 

PROJECT UPDATE 3 ::: Celebration of all the Yessses And Nooooo's
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jun 13, 2023 at 01:29:45 PM

Hey y'all! 

As many of you know, I was in Ouray last week.  It was so nourishing to be in mother nature and receive her bountiful,  gorgeous energy! 

There were endless hiking trails and waterfalls, but there was one experience that I wanted to share with you. Believe it or not, it has to do with the BLOSSOM project goal! 

I was driving in my Jeep with my friend Shelly, fellow artist and author of the forthcoming intuitive card deck called "Supposing", and we were headed up an old coal mine road to a place called Yankee Boy Canyon. Well, as you can imagine near a town dubbed the "Little Switzerland of America", the non-paved road was uphill, full of gorgeous rock out croppings and stunning views. The aspen tree leaves were SO glowing and vibrant it almost looked like a green mountain fire! Anyway, as we climbed our way through the canyon, enjoying the views, the road opened up into a spot that looked a little something like this:

And suddenly--just like that--two words flew out of my mouth: "OH HELL NO!" Ok, that's three. I pressed the brakes, sat and just stared. Yes the mountains are stunning and the sky is like SO BLUE, but where the hell does the road go? The longer I stared, the tighter my stomach got. I just could not see my way around that corner and no matter how hard I tried to imagine the other side it, all I could see was the deep dark view of nothingness at the end of the curve. (I'm sure there's more I could unpack here with regard to metaphors on being afraid of the great void or unknown, but for now, we'll just stick with the EMBODIED HELLO NO that I felt.  

A few minutes (but felt like hours) later, I  told Shelly that I just couldn't feel safe going around that corner.  She was so supportive and kind with honoring  my no. "I get it." she said gently with eyes of compassion. So I said YES to listening to that clear inner voice and backed the F down the hill to the nearest turn around.  

I think "No" is a sacred word.  One to ALWAYS be honored. 

Sometimes in my coaching work with clients (and actually in my life too), when someone says "No", I say, "thank you for your no."  Because, as a recovering people pleaser, I know the power of saying no. I used to say the easier "Yes ," instead of the more uncomfortable no.

No draws a clear line and boundary of what I'm willing/not willing to do and although I've heard no several heard this week as I reached out to people for support, I'm ever so grateful for the "no's" also as they have reminded me that: 

No gives the opportunity to keep leaning into trust--that if this is a no, there's a yes maybe not around the corner but down the hill

No helps me practice my "believing muscle".

No makes me recover from that incessant loop in my mind that says I'm being rejected when I hear no. 

No helps me remember that magic can drop in any moment.

No helps me remember that my body speaks truth too 

No is to be honored, not convinced.

If you're still here reading, thank you. I've done what all good writers shouldn't do: I've buried the lead. The GOOD NEWS is that I have received ~30 YESSSSSes! And that make my heart sign like Maria Von Trapp in the Sound of Music. We are officially HALF WAY TO OUR FIRST CAMPAIGN GOAL.  

I do want to take a moment to thank all of you who said NO and to also give gratitude to ALL OF YOU HERE who said YES. Let's keep this journey going. Onward and upward. (Or should I say, backward for safety reasons?) JK. 

PROJECT UPDATE 2 ::: Flower Love
over 1 year ago – Fri, Jun 09, 2023 at 08:55:11 AM

Hi Kickstarters! 

'Twas a slow day for the campaign yesterday but a productive one for the BLOSSOM book overall! I found many new flower friends here in Ouray to add to the book. (There's a fun story about these flowers that I will share in the book and it's quite playful how they came to be.) In the meantime, I'm dropping some samples of these botanical beauties below for your viewing pleasure. Here's hoping you experience some of that love, beauty and magic that I did while photographing them.  

Cheers,

DD

PROJECT UPDATE 1::: Slow & Steady + The Truth About the Wicked Witch of the East
over 1 year ago – Thu, Jun 08, 2023 at 11:11:47 AM

Hi, Kickstarter Friends! Good morning from Ouray, CO—also known as the little Switzerland of the US—where I’ve just spotted the Wicked Witch of the East. I thought I’d snap a quick picture to share with you all and set the records straight—it turns out that witch wasn’t in OZ but rather Ouray, CO all along. Who knew?! God rest her soul. I actually LOVE all witches and am thinking about putting a flower there in her memory. I have not yet seen her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, YET but I’m pretty sure she must be around town here somewhere. I’ll let you know if I see her too!

Anyway…onto the REAL story. I’m here in Ouray with a friend with whom I GO WAYYYY back. We’re surrounded by mother nature and all her awesome glory; with colorful majestic rock cliffs, a rushing river, and stunning alpine forests. The environment feels so supportive and inspiring—just the perfect place to do some writing on the BLOSSOM book.

Speaking of BLOSSOM...I wanted to provide a quick project update to say THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU who have contributed to the campaign so far! I’m thrilled to report that we’re just about ⅓ of our way there toward our initial goal of $6k (or more!). YAYYYY! 

Kickstarter says the number of contributors joining on the first day can be an indicator of project success—some projects are funded within the first few hours—but I’m hopeful that BLOSSOM is here to show them that slow can win the race too. I don’t know about you, but I like SLOW—it's so much MORE effortless and relaxing for my nervous system.  In fact, it's one of the main reasons I want to publish this book. We all could use more reminders and prompts to slow down. If you have a moment today and feel inclined, would you share this project with someone else who might need a gentle reminder to slow down? I promise, the flowers (in Blossom) will deliver. More soon....