Feeling Piggish

Sometimes life can feel far too serious.

So, as if pre-ordained, I was swathed by a wave of whimsy when I stumbled across this (oh so cute) picture on a Facebook Page called “Animal Story”:

Which reminded me of a t-shirt design I’d created years ago:

And that reminded me of the fun I had making my Pigs That Fly image:

Which reminded me of my favorite pig, drawn by my daughter when she was little:

Which prompted thoughts of when I was little and had carefully drawn this cool character on my school 3-ring binder cover.

And there you have it. Just some pig fun to fatten up the cheerful quotient.
“That’s all folks!”

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A Plethora of P’s / #56: Postcards

proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.

– ♥ –

Postcards! Snippets of our lives captured with a picture and a few friendly words that tell someone we’re thinking of them. Except now… with instant email access from almost anywhere in the world, pictures arriving within seconds on our cell phones and exotic places available daily on tv, handwritten postcards are near extinction, relegated to “nostalgia”.

There was a time when it was a treat to send something in the mail from faraway places ~ maybe India or Paris or Jamaica, or from a child at summer camp “a million miles from home” ~ and just as much a treasure to receive.

Now, we’re home before the card. Or we’ve skyped from Finland. Or we’ve shared our stories on Facebook. The postcard is old news.

But this is also true: there isn’t one of us who doesn’t harbor a secret wish for a real letter in the mail. A real birthday card, a real thank you card, a real postcard. With real words written with a real pen by a real live bona fide human being who took the time to write … to you! There’s nothing that says “I’m thinking of you” more than a hand-written or hand-typed note. If you aren’t convinced, watch the sparkle in the eyes of a kid growing up on electronic communication when they see a real envelope in the real mailbox addressed to their very own name.

So maybe, just maybe, the new beauty of sending a card is actually its “novelty” all over again. And maybe, just maybe, the thoughtful, simple act of writing a note won’t go the way of the dinosaurs, not yet, not 100% completely.

By the way, if you didn’t know, it’s National Postcard Week this week. Every day, all week. So send some love out there!

(Of course, I happen to know about an awesome postcard book…!  [forgive the brazen self-promotion] If you haven’t gotten one yet, my publisher has created an e-card set-up this week in honor of National Postcard Week, so you can send a smile to a friend for free. Nice!)

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52 Weeks of Peace [squared] / Week #66

“Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.”
~  W. Clement Stone

“Peace Moon” / 52 Weeks of Peace [squared]: Week #66 / © Patricia Saxton

Did you know? … In skylore, the full moon of May is called Planting Moon or Milk Moon. But the full moon of May 5, 2012 is also nicknamed a “super moon” because it may seem so close and so enormous that you might think you could reach out and touch it! Why? The moon’s orbit cycle will be at its closest proximity to Earth (in astronomy, this distance is known as lunar perigee), and since this happens to coincide with a full moon, it literally is bigger and brighter to the eye. As long as it’s not overly cloudy, the effect is stunning!

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A Plethora of P’s / #55: Pretty

proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.

– ♥ –

Pretty is a sweet word. Something light and graceful and attractive, maybe even delicate. Pretty is pleasing to the eye, to the ear, to the mind.

We think of “pretty” as feminine, but it’s not for girls only. Sure, we girls like to feel pretty, and I won’t deny that make-up or the right shoes (and definitely the right little black dress!) can give our spirits a lift ~ but one look at a soft pink sunset or a peacock’s feathers, or hearing the sweet song of a flute, or feeling the rhythm of a flowing dance … and I know that we all enjoy the pleasure of pretty.

After all, “pretty” makes the dusty bits of life a little brighter.

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May!

Here’s to May ~ my favorite month of the year. So with a re-posting of 52 Weeks of Peace / Week #35, I lift a virtual glass and say… here’s to springtime! Here’s to new dawns, to growth and rebirth, to bright fertile dreams and the sprouting of fresh possibilities…

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“where in the world is peace?” … hiking canyons, hanging at the beach, back-seat driving!

52 Weeks of Peace recently hiked the Grand Canyon, relaxed by the sea, warmed by a Virginia fire, went to work, and showed up “after the party”.

Thank you so much for these wonderful shots! ~ and helping to share our mission to inspire individual peace in everyday ways.

Friends brought Peace along for their week-long hike in the Grand Canyon

Peace rides shot-gun. (or maybe as a back-seat driver?!)

Chillin' fireside in Virginia

The party's over, but peace carries on...!

Fun in the sun at Florida's Cocoa Beach

Where to next?

ps:  you can see all “where in the world is peace?” images compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Our book is on Amazon, our totes, mugs and things are available here. Send your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com or post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!

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Education & Creativity According to the great Sir Ken Robinson

How did I miss this? It’s wonderful. If you haven’t already seen this terrific piece, I dare you not to enjoy it and take away some inspired thinking (as well as an appreciation for some pretty darn good whiteboard drawing!). If you have seen it, enjoy it again. : )

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Book Hunger

I have loved, dearly, many books, of many genres.

I have felt the deep regret when a favorite book ends, the sad goodbye to wonderful characters that have somehow interlaced in your own space and time. I have rampaged to find any and every other book written by authors that have entranced me. I’ve been uplifted, angered, brought to tears, tension, laughter and joy, fallen in love with the way some authors shape their sentences and finely pluck their words into something superb, marveled at story lines, looked forward with vibrant anticipation to “next books”, learned volumes about different times and places and people, and been grateful for the experience, even if I hated to see it go.

But never have I felt actual withdrawal. Until ~ half reluctantly (because it’s my nature to shy away from any commercialized “hot new thing”) ~ I came across Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series. Ms. Collins just may be a genius.

This is not to say my other favorite authors are not as penetrating, not at all. They are completely remarkable in their own right. But as a series, The Hunger Games captivated me in such a way … I can only think to call it spellbinding.

Now I understand why my daughter and her friends clutched their books WHILE walking into the movie theatre. Of course at the time, I thought, “Girls, girls, aren’t you so cute. It’s wonderful to see you feel so strongly about reading! But you can leave the book in the car, really, it’s ok.”  Now, I know what they felt. (Although I will not be clutching my copies in a movie theatre, I swear!)

The odd thing is, it all ended in a pretty satisfying way. One or two things I might have changed, but it didn’t leave you hanging ~ well, just a tiny bit, but certainly not on a cliff.

It was simply brilliant. Perfectly paced, engagingly written fiction that seemed frighteningly plausible and possible. It was brutal but compassionate. I can’t wait to see the movie… because I haven’t had enough, and that’s all that’s left to do.

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Earth Day Peace

If you’ve been following for a while, or if you have the 52 Weeks of Peace book, you’ll know that Week #34 was created just for this day. :  ) Happy Earth Day! Here’s to Earth’s many blessings, her nourishment and sustenance.

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52 Weeks of Peace [squared] / Week #65

We should love Mother Earth every day, but since we’ve got “Earth Day” designated on the calendar, and it’ll be here tomorrow (April 22), I figured I’d offer a new bit of peace for the occasion, with this thought-wish:

May peace blossom in your world, with luxuriant petals that fall in soft, lovely patterns reminding us that both peace and the planet are endlessly beautiful. Tend them lovingly ~ for if not me and not you, then who will nurture all that is good and glorious in this world?

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Fairy News!

I’m officially excited ~ because my second book, A Book of Fairies, has virtually sold out and is being reprinted!!

A second edition. Wow, I have to admit that feels great.

My heartfelt thanks to my publisher, Shenanigan Books, for believing in me from the start with The Book of Mermaids, and to anyone and everyone who’s bought A Book of Fairies and helped make it this far. It may not have been discovered by the New York Times yet (ha ha!), but to know it’s being enjoyed by thousands of people truly, truly means the world to me. Thank you!

from A Book of Fairies / © Patricia Saxton

from A Book of Fairies / © Patricia Saxton

from A Book of Fairies / © Patricia Saxton

from A Book of Fairies / © Patricia Saxton

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A Plethora of P’s / #54: Purity

proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.

– ♥ –

A perfect rose. A flawless chord. Pure white snow. The softness of a baby’s skin. A child’s laugh. A cherry tomato plucked from the vine. Mountain air.

We all love purity. I think on some level we crave it. And it’s not just a nice concept for optimists, it’s something real and raw, basic and primitive. It’s untouched and genuine. It’s unsullied, honest-to-goodness simplicity.

Even in this increasingly technological world, this world of mayhem, madness and convoluted this and that, a world where a drink may say “organic” because one of ten ingredients may have actually been organic, a world that sometimes seems almost tragically impaired by impurities of all kinds ~ purity can still be found.

We find it in the new seed planted in the garden, in the bear hug from a loved one, in the sunrise. The just right cup of tea. The sparrow’s song. The rhythm of a drum. Wit. Wonder. Wisdom. In so many ways, it’s all around us.

Go get some ~ however small, however large ~ and give it your attention, and let purity wash over your spirit like cleansing waves.

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Afterthought to “Beautiful Paintings in an Unexpected Place”

I woke this morning wondering why I’d been so surprised by the artwork at the Air Force chapel.

Art ~ some of the most beautiful art, in fact ~ has been intertwined with faith and patronized by religions for centuries. Stories have been painted for eons. Some quite famously.

And then I reflected that many church structures are architectural works of art themselves, often filled with exquisite artifacts and outstanding craftsmanship.

And then, of course, I was forgetting that so much of art is spiritually inspired to begin with. Not necessarily a religious inspiration, but artists are often moved by spirit. And by that I mean that there is something that happens during the artistic process that transcends the every day “here and now” reality.

Whether the subject matter is divinely inspired, or the physical act of creating a work of art feels almost like an out-of-body experience, there’s always a point (and who knows how long before one becomes aware of it) where you realize it’s not your conscious mind guiding your hand, but more a partnership of heart and spirit. Call it what you will, there is something else going on besides you, the paint and the canvas.

Considering all that, I don’t know why I felt “surprised”. Maybe I expected something less grand because it was a military-based chapel ~ you know, as if it should be sparse, regimented, orderly, practical ~ until I realized that faith and war have also gone hand in hand. Soldiers need a sanctuary, perhaps more than anyone. A God to call upon, an angel or two on their shoulders ~ a way to feel there is something greater, larger, more knowing and filled with light to look to when their own feels dim.

And now that I have this all worked out, I think my reaction was more about the art itself. While biblically based, the art wasn’t what one might think of as typically “churchy”. And maybe the fact that the paintings were framed, much like they might be in a livingroom, made them feel accessible as opposed to otherworldly. Or maybe I just really liked their contemporary style, and their presence in a chapel simply set their reverence apart.

So I guess there really shouldn’t have been any surprise. But there was an unexpected appreciation.

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Beautiful Paintings in an Unexpected Place

I expected to see fighter jets and smartly clad cadets during a recent visit to the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

I didn’t expect an intriguing, architecturally and symbolically impressive chapel, and I definitely didn’t expect art ~ especially the kind that’s inspiring. What a delightful surprise I was in for!

The works below are 7 of the 9 paintings created by Polish born artist Shlomo Katz permanently displayed in the Jewish synagogue area of the Academy’s chapel. (There are individual Protestant, Catholic,  Jewish and Buddhist chapels, all self-contained under one amazing roof of the chapel building).

Katz painted all nine pieces in a 9-month period, which is pretty incredible in and of itself. Each piece tells a biblical story, created with oils over a gold-leaf base. The effect is truly beautiful ~ enhanced by a marvelously rich color palette, wonderful artistic styling and a terrific sense of design.

I guess the only thing that wasn’t a surprise was learning, after the fact, that these pieces of art are considered a national treasure. They really are stunning.

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“where in the world is peace?” … rocky mountains

With a Rocky Mountain backdrop, tall pines and splashes of giant red rock, 52 Weeks of Peace traveled west this week, under the big skies of Colorado’s Front Range. (And a little fun was had setting the stage at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater!)

Mountaintop in the ranching community of Livermore, Colorado

the camera lens was blurred, but the sentiment is clear. 🙂

Red Rocks Amphitheater, near Morrison, Colorado

arranging the bags for a long-distance shot

two more get into the act of arranging

the stage is set!

"Peace on the Rocks"

Northern Colorado. (This bag weathered a bear attack in Pennsylvania before traveling back to Colorado. It's cleaned up, but you can still see a smudge from the bear's paw on the bag's lower right corner!)

Where to next?

ps:  All “where in the world is peace?” images are compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Our book is on Amazon, our totes, mugs and things are available hereSend your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com and we’ll also post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!

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