{"id":2393,"date":"2016-06-17T17:14:11","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T17:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/?p=2393"},"modified":"2016-06-18T12:04:22","modified_gmt":"2016-06-18T12:04:22","slug":"summertime-and-living-is-a-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/summertime-and-living-is-a-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Summertime and Living is a…Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just back from a 5 day tree farm retreat. We are off the grid. Lighting is managed by plugging a\u00a0low wattage lamp into an alternator that is connected to a deep cell marine battery. There is a deep cell battery in my small works studio and another in the cabin. From this same set-up we can recharge cell phones and my laptop computer (an appreciated tool in my small works and writing studio). \u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Seven gallon water containers\u00a0are brought from home and used for drinking and cooking. There is a fifty gallon\u00a0rain barrel outside the cabin for showering and outdoor clean ups…like dog baths. We have a separate building which houses\u00a0composting toilet and solar shower hook up. It’s\u00a0a wonderful farm\/camp.<\/span><\/h4>\n

I look forward to being on\u00a0the land; we have space… hiking trails and stars like I’ve never seen other than in New Mexico. At night I have a new\u00a0personal\u00a0reference point for\u00a0“being happy, like a room without a roof.”<\/span><\/h4>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Night Sky Stock Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h4>\n

However I would not say that being on our fifty acre \u2018lab\u2019 is blissful. Rather being this deep into the \u2018calamities\u2019 of nature is often unnerving. This land\u00a0is wild. Wild land is defined by the presence of ticks. We collect ticks, often dozens throughout the day, off of the dogs. The dogs also receive monthly treatments so the ticks die within a short time whether we remove them or not…though the vet says best to pick them as soon as they are seen. There are adult deer, lone star, dog and brown dog\u00a0ticks along with the nymph stage of each. Nymph phase are smaller than the dot of a ball point pen on a sheet of white paper. Far fewer are found on\u00a0ourselves but it’s no fun\u00a0to find any…each one discovered gets wrapped in clear tape (a brilliant way to stop them in their tracks) and put into the tick jars by the doors.<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"DeerTickSpecies_500x\"<\/p>\n

I find bear scat on the creek path in the morning. In the afternoon I think I see adolescent snapping turtles settled into a \u2018puddle pond\u2019 motionless as fossils. I gently tap tap the back of the closest one with my walking stick…off they scuttle, digging down and in disappearing into the oozy mud. <\/span><\/h4>\n

Hopefully most of the hundreds of spermy tadpoles swimming in a frenzy weeks ago were able to morph into frogs before becoming snapper snack food. Snakes regularly cruise among the dozen blue bird houses looking for nestlings. My heart\u00a0skips a beat as wild turkey blasts up from the forest floor heavy bodied yet able to fly easily into the dense undergrowth… out of sight. An unmistakable blurred flash of coyote captured on the wildlife camera. Next frame doe with fawn. Sometimes I don\u2019t want to connect the dots.<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"Doe,Doe and fawn captured on wild life camera June 2016<\/span><\/p>\n

Mostly there\u2019s a bliss element to experiencing \u2018time out of time\u2019. I am in a state of near ecstacy that is hard to put to words. I feel most myself when I am able to be so close to\u00a0the elements. Here is our cozy cabin compound…all mowed to keep the ticks at bay…\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"TreeBlue Bird Gulch Tree Farm, Drozda, June 2016<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

\"BBG_interior_June2016\"Cabin interior, Blue Bird Gulch Tree Farm, June 2016<\/span><\/p>\n

More like\u00a0tent walls than anything else. It\u2019s camping. It\u2019s wild and\u00a0t<\/span>he days unfold in a kind of<\/span><\/h4>\n

S l o w \u00a0m o t i o n <\/span><\/h4>\n

This intro brings us now to the review…our first three steps on the Eastern Pathway: April’s\u00a0Clarity<\/b> leading to May’s\u00a0Wisdom<\/b> opening the mind to June’s\u00a0Illumination <\/b>make up the first quarter of the Natural Year on the art\/life trail ride.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Do Your Review<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

These first 90 days have\u00a0brought ample opportunity for assessing the way that you\u2019re being as you move along the art\/life trail. Remember that for these first three months\u00a0(between spring equinox and summer solstice) the spotlight has been on ME<\/strong>. <\/span><\/h4>\n

ME<\/strong>\u00a0within our art\/life context represents\u00a0an alchemical code-word pointing to the ME part of you that is content to nurture and nourish your brilliance.<\/strong> She is fiercely and divinely feminine and she creates a powerful bridging element as a means to take you into the summer\u2019s full-out active\/creative thrust<\/strong>. She is the relationship expert that reminds you of the bright idea of being true to both your feminine (the focus during fall and winter) and masculine (focus during spring and summer) sides.<\/span><\/h4>\n

This is an excellent time to be sensing into\u00a0your\u00a0courage and willingness to be seen.<\/strong> Recognize, during this last moon\/month of spring, what a humbling walk it is when we permit, even volunteer, to be visible.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Ask yourself:<\/span><\/h4>\n

Am I hiding my brilliance?<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Am I afraid to be seen?<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The East Gate will be closing as we approach the South Gate at Summer Solstice, Monday, June 20. While this Gemini\/Illumination segment of the wheel spirals up and out you may feel into the ways that you have been able to integrate Clarity<\/strong> & Wisdom<\/strong> into your vision.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Open to the Illumination<\/strong> that comes as you think different and bring change to your mind.<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"Change<\/p>\n

June enlists the element of air as metaphor for opening and ventilating thought processes. This is a natural time to allow in a higher level of relational balance and increase communication skills.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Illumined You<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Accelerated transformation is usually experienced as an \u201cinvoluntary\u201d process resulting from a crisis in one\u2019s outer life\u2026such as the break-up of a cherished relationship, the death of a loved one or a near-death experience. Some people, however, may actually volunteer for the roller- coaster ride to a whole new level of being by consciously choosing to hit bottom\u2026suddenly quitting a job, attending a transformational workshop, and so forth.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

Whatever the case, when we undergo such an all-encompassing change, our inner seasonal birthing process becomes more accelerated. We begin to rapidly experience dramatic death\/rebirth sequences.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

Jacqueline Small<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

Take note of how your life is orchestrating opportunity to help you to change your mind. Open to subtle luminosity.<\/strong> It sometimes arrives like morning light filling up a canyon\u2026slowly, steadily, relentlessly. At other times it comes like a lightning flash in the dark of night.<\/span><\/h4>\n

CREATIVE EXERCISE:<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n


\nThis week notice how easy…or not…it is to shine from your interior. It\u2019s time to engage in a bit of buffing. Note how\u00a0Clarity<\/strong> brought Wisdom<\/strong> that you didn\u2019t have before. Now grab the ring of illuminating\u00a0Brilliance<\/strong>. Feel your radiance as it ebbs and flows all this moon\/month. A lot of what we experience on the art\/life trail has to do with the way that we communicate. This is a grand month to consider your communication skills<\/strong>…be seen and heard for who you are.<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0Ask:<\/span><\/h4>\n

What do I stand for? <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

How do I show support for what I believe in?<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"StormYoung student thank you note to Drozda, 2014<\/span><\/h4>\n

Our word for this entire year \u00a0is: Koyaanisqatsi, which translates to <\/span>life out of balance<\/i><\/b> or <\/span>chaotic life<\/i><\/b>. <\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

Chaos or Compassion?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

This year each one of us can engage in conscious reflection on the ways in which our own life is out of balance and in chaos. I learned many years ago from my first mentor\/coach that chaos is not to be feared. <\/span><\/h4>\n

Chaos represents the first stage in the creation process<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u2026 take all the time you need this year to inventory what is of value: make a list…\u00a0include yourself in your inventory. You are so very brilliant and valuable.\u00a0Then also notice what is no longer valuable to you<\/strong>. Make that list.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Breathe deep ten times inhaling and exhaling. Feel the compassion of a connection to something bigger and greater than self. Notice each inhalation drawing energy toward the direction of expansion. As we move through the South Gate in the three moon\/months ahead the key focus turns from ME<\/strong> to Others<\/strong>. We are relational and these 12 weeks ahead will offer us new ways to navigate our communication with increased trust and organic growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Think compassionate energy. Thank your ability to cultivate empathy. Think of broadening your outlook. Consider philanthropy and volunteering and of all the ways to be generous and generative. Visualize your ability to master and to evolve your creative voice, your heart\/song.<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"BodhichittaBodhichitta Heart, 20\u201dx16\u201d, Drozda 2011\u00a9<\/span><\/h4>\n

See you next week as we\u00a0enter into\u00a0the South Gate of the Natural Calendar continuing our celebration of the brilliance that shines from within.<\/span><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"horseback_stock<\/p>\n

I am a working\u00a0Heartist\u00a0with forty eight years of practice supporting the creative best in each of us to come forth and shine.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Droz-BoBo_2015\"<\/p>\n

Join the art\/life trail ride\u00a0and\u00a0make creative joy the vocation of your mind.<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Art\/Life Trail Ride weekly blog by Donna Iona Drozda, 2016\u00a0\u00a9<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just back from a 5 day tree farm retreat. We are off the grid. Lighting is managed by plugging a\u00a0low wattage lamp into an alternator that is connected to a deep cell marine battery. There is a deep cell battery in my small works studio and another in the cabin. From this same set-up we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[167,36,79,99,166,2,3,183],"tags":[57,37,59,46,22,185,43,49,10,38,16,30,55],"class_list":["post-2393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-act-iii","category-artlife","category-buddhism","category-donna-iona-drozda","category-lifestyle-flow","category-natural-time-management","category-slow-time","category-voluntary-simplicity","tag-art-outside","tag-artlife","tag-children-artoutdoors","tag-cycles","tag-donna-iona-drozda","tag-jacqueline-small","tag-lunar-phases","tag-masculinefeminine-time","tag-natural-time","tag-natural-time-management","tag-slow-time","tag-starting-over","tag-tools-for-change"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6htPT-CB","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2393"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2413,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393\/revisions\/2413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}