What acrylic paints are teaching me about abundance #mondaymeditation

Alexander and I are gearing up to launch a collaborative art adventure. In doing so, we're focusing on our power words as a muse for the project. For 2013 he chose viral mindfulness and I chose abundance. I can point to a few scattered posts about abundance since the year started, but probably none as direct as the "I'm wearing pink lace panties" post. And yet, even though I haven't written a lot about abundance directly, it's been an overarching theme that's guiding my quest to regain creative mojo.

In preparation to start working with Alexander, I've reflected on my first-ever painting adventure. I realize now that although it was very joyful and very creative, it was not very abundant. To explain what I mean, I'll contrast it to a painting experience I had last night. I went to Paint Mixer in Park City with my friend Meg. This was the second time ever I've put paint to canvas, and it was entirely different from my first experience.

For whatever reason(s), my first painting experience felt loaded with expectations. I started with the end in mind and I painted toward it. I was scared to mix colors because I thought I'd mess it up. I got all precious with each layer and felt attached to each little brush stroke. I went in thinking I wanted a thousand layers of stuff, only to stop myself short because I was painting with a scarcity mindset. My experience in the class last night was exactly the opposite and I sustained an abundant mindset throughout. Meaning: I ditched the teacher's template about two minutes in and just made it up as I went. I layered and layered and had no idea how it would end up looking. I rocked out to the music, sang along, marveled at Meg's talents (she's an actual painter), and had very little investment in the end product. I mean, I paid for the Groupon months ago, so whatever, right?

So. Painting. Abundance. Life Lesson. 

The Dalai Lama said, "Attachment is the origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering." A scarcity mindset is the very definition of attachment. It holds on to everything because it's afraid to lose, it's afraid it will never get another shot at this, it's afraid to trust any sort of process. It's an illusion of control. An abundant mindset is detached in the sense that each moment is what it is, the end result is something that's sorted out through the nature of the process, the focus is on the flow of it all. As I enter my collaboration with Alexander, I'm going to promise myself no less than 10 layers of stuff on that canvas. I'm going to paint little bits at a time and leave it. Walk away. I'm going to allow my mind to let go of each layer, trusting that another equally beautiful layer is coming right on top of it. I will trust that there is no "messing it up" because at that point, that just is what the painting is. It just is what it is. And it's beautiful.

Love and layers,
me

Link Love Friday

Here are some of the most interesting bits of internet I stumbled upon this week:

"I want to be a travel writer…" Okay, great. What the hell does that mean? This article talks about how real life travel bloggers bring home the bacon.

Ever since I discovered the Fearful Adventurer blog - through the book tour I participated in by posting about my own fearful adventure of conquering Denmark - I've fallen deeper and deeper in love. Not only is the design of the site total perfection and inspiring, the content is stellar. I suggest reading all the posts submitted for Torre's #myfearfuladventure book tour. It's great stuff.

Speaking of fear, the Your Courageous Life site (and video series) is an excellent find. Love.

Some day I'll end up in Bali, painting with Flora Bowley. Just you wait.

This site is sexy and affirming and so smart. Curves are hot. The end.

This stuff infuriates me. Our culture is so backwards. We're paying all the wrong people to do all the wrong jobs. Take even the title of this article and the implied message: "These careers might make you happy, but fail the tuition ROI test." It's everything that wrong with our rat race. Happiness is secondary so long as you make money and consume. It makes my blood boil. 

An excellent article about street photography. This came from a new friend who's enrolled in the Candela photography course with me. It's been such an inspiring experience to move through that course. The next session starts 07/31. Get on it. 

With the evolution of my Happiness Project and recent meditations on abundance, this struck a cord. Danielle LaPorte explains why self-improvement makes you neurotic. 

In case you live in a cave, DOMA is unconstitutional, by the way. Love always wins. 

On that note, happy surfing. If you're a pinner, my Link Love board on Pinterest is loaded with all these goodies. Share away!

Love and links, 

me

Who am I? #throwbackthursday

For my first Throwback Thursday post, I clicked way back into the archives and selected a post at random. The first post that pulled up was a photo meme that went around the web in the summer of 2008. It was about answering a set of standard questions by selecting a Flickr photo. Your answer was the search term and you picked a photo to represent it. Some of the questions I would answer in exactly the same way. Some I can't even remember how I answered, even when trying to job my memory with the photo. I thought it would be fun to share the 2008 photo and answer the questions again.

Left to Right, Top to Bottom.

1. What is your first name?
2008: gail.
2013: still gail.

2. What is your favorite food?
2008: I think I was going for curry?
2013: I still love Indian food.

3. What high school did you go to?
2008: Timpanogos.
2013: No way to change that.

4. What is your favorite color?
2008: Don't know what I was going for there.
2013: Turquoise.

5. Who is your celebrity crush?
2008: Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal. Yes, both.
2013: Ditto, and so many more.

6. Favorite drink?
2008: Some sort of smoothie?
2013: Lots and lots of cold, cold water.

7. Dream vacation?
2008: Paris.
2013: Denmark.

8. Favorite dessert?
2008: Flourless chocolate molten cake with house-made gelato? Sounds like me.
2013: Salted caramel anything and/or berry pie.

9. What you want to be when you grow up?
2008: Now this is fascinating to me. I don't know the exact answer I had, but the fact that it pulled up globes shows me how late I am to this party. I've blogged A LOT recently about my shifting perceptions around success, my career, creativity, etc. I'm slowly owning the fact that I want to write and photograph and travel for real, like for a job, forever. I've always felt that way, but it took until 2013 to realize that may actually be possible sort of maybe to upgrade that from a hobby to a life.
2013: Passionate and tuned in. See above.

10. What do you love most in life?
2008: Travel.
2013: Travel.

11. One Word to describe you.
2008: Did I say balance? Peaceful? Calm? I'm not sure but I also find this fascinating. This post would've been when I was a program coordinator, pre-grad school, and traveling either for work or pleasure every couple weeks or so. Turns out that's more balanced, peaceful, and calm than the tailspin grad school left me in as an executive director who travels whenever she can but it's not nearly enough.
2013: Creative.

12. Your flickr (or other online) name.
2008: fourthirtyam.
2013: fouthirtyam, which I've had since the internet was born + my madeleines since 2007.

Love,
me

Pint it!

I'm following through on a goal I set for myself after attending Alt Summit. Building on the energy of creating my editorial calendar, I also created Pinterest boards associated with each day and/or theme. Check out the revisions I made to the editorial calendar and you'll get all the links you need to re-pin and play along. Because how much do we love Pinterest? So much.

For example, I have a board called Wanderlust where the photos and resources from my Travel Tuesday posts will be pinned. You'll see the photos from yesterday's post on Castine, Maine already pinned and ready to go. Re-pin and spread the love.

There's a board for Denmark research, my Happiness Project, creative feats, link love goodies comin' at you every Friday, my photography, and more, plus the boards I already had before the blog was integrated (i.e. mostly dealing with my interior design obsessions).

The beauty of Pinterest is the collaboration, the community of pins and re-pins. Help spread the word. {click to tweet} #mymadeleines blog is now rocking Pinterest: globetrotting, photography, feats of creativity, design, & food porn! http://bit.ly/13tAnvl

Love and pins,
me

Hike down down down to Penobscot Bay #traveltuesday

Dyce Head Lighthouse | Castine, Maine

Castine, Maine is a quaint fishing village settled in 1613. I'd never heard of it before I spun the proverbial globe and asked a friend where I should take my next vacation. Her mother-in-law summers in Maine (as do many New Yorkers who use "summer" as a verb) and she gushed about the charm of Castine. She specifically recommended the Pentagoet Inn (B&B), which did not disappoint. Sight unseen, tickets were booked and off we went.

Castine is surrounded by the Penobscot River/Bay. Perched on the tip of the peninsula is the Dyce Head Lighthouse. The grounds (private residence) are beautiful, but the real gem is the footpath that leads to the water. First you walk through the rolling green yard, hike through dense woods, and finally pop out onto a steep wooden staircase leading straight into the bright blue water. Well, straight onto a rocky cliff. It's perfect for adventurous souls to climb around and explore, but when the tide comes crashing in it's not for the faint of heart. If you're up for it, it's breathtaking. {click to tweet and share the adventure}

I will never forget the sunset that night on the rocks, water crashing as the tide rose below. Only in the deserts of the Southwestern United States have I ever experienced the deep silence that also surrounded us that night on the cliff in Maine. It was one of most peaceful vacations I've ever had.

Love, 

me


This travel highlight is also featured on AFAR.com. Feel free to add it to your own wanderlist.

These photos are pinned to my wanderlust board. Re-pin and spread the love of adventure!