Y4 – Day One – Bowie

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

Last night, we lost one great genius of an artist.

“One day, thought it might as well be someday.” Odd this post should be on day one of year four.

Imagine our surprise after watching and listening to his new album in our den while he lay waiting for death’s door on the East coast. I had just read two articles in the LA Times about him and so I opened up I tunes on my laptop and we listened to samples of each track on Black Star.

Everyone who knows us, knows the connection we had with Bowie. He was truly part of our story, ahead of his time and a “cracked actor” till the end. He made sure he went out with a bang. Disturbing as it may be, he staged his farewell with an uncanny precision of macabre magnificence and significance.

Y3 – Day 365 – Twelve Zen Thoughts

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

Three years of consistent if not continuous because I took some days off here and there, today.

Tomorrow will be Year Four.

LAST YEAR WAS ALL ABOUT LETTING GO, PASSION AND COURAGE!

For your pleasure, here are 12 Zen like thoughts I succinctly adapted for you to ponder from Zenhabits.net. Thich Nhat Hanh, famous Buddhist monk and writer who started a peace village in France after being exiled from Vietnam, back in the day, simply states, “Smile, breathe and go slowly.”

Do one thing at a time. Cecilia says, “Stop Multitasking!!!”
Do it slow and deliberate.
Do it completely.
Do less.
Put space between things. Cecilia adds, ” and space between time.”
Develop rituals.
Designate time for certain things. Cecilia suggests, ” Time for self and creativity.”
Devote time to sitting. Cecilia believes in, ” Meditating in the now.”
Smile and serve others.
Let cooking and cleaning become a meditation.
Think about what is necessary. Cecilia specifies, “Find out what your priorities are and focus on them.”
Live simply.I remember reading about Helen Nearing and her husband, Scott and how they epitomized this theory and lived it. They founded the Good Life Center in Maine, a homesteading five acre enclave overlooking Spirit Cove.

This Zen thing is timeless, ageless and divine.

“The business of procuring the necessities of life has been shifted from the wood lot, the garden, the kitchen and the family to the factory and the large-scale enterprise. In our case, we moved our center back to the land.” ― Helen Nearing, The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing’s Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living

NOTICE MY DEVOTION TO COLOR, BEAUTY AND BALANCE THIS YEAR!

INSIDE AND OUT.

Y3 – Day 364 – A Queen vs. A Goddess

Posted on January 9, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

A queen wears a tiara. A goddess wears a halo.

A queen rules her subjects. A goddess nurtures everything, everyone and herself.

A queen mandates order, expects allegiance no matter what, is domineering and knows it all. A goddess learns, teaches, guides and is interdependent.

A queen acts better than and expects to be treated like royalty. A goddess is humble, wise, gains respect by her right action, thoughts and words for the highest good of all.

Are you a queen or a goddess?

Y3 – Day 363 – January Red Roses

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

My first bouquet of the New Year!

I love placing flowers in front of mirrors so you can see the reflection. Using this trick doubles the majesty, hue and delicacy of roses, especially. Here, I have placed a fairy tale mirror on the wall above the entry black desk where we keep dog leashes and paraphernalia, a variety of keys and the like, stashed away.

You can easily see the swatches of color on the stairway wall that I slathered on in patches so I could pick a color. We ended up using Maison by SW (Sherwin Williams) as depicted on the mirrored wall but not yet applied to the opposite walls. It is a warm white. You can also catch a glimpse of the new black wrought iron work, banister and pillar for the stairs.

The roses are Hot Princess from South America. They are celebrated for their extra large blooms and deep magenta color. I am loving the burst of rouge and will enjoy these every day as I pass in or out the front door and glance at myself and ask who is the fairest one of all?

Why the roses of course!

Y3 – Day 362 – Coloring

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

Love to color. Love colors. Love to color with colors!

For Christmas, My true love gave to me, 48 coloring pencils, already sharpened and a Asian Motif adult coloring book (sung to the 12 days of Christmas tune). I immediately went to town and the first page I tackled was a mandala.

Y3 – Day 361 – Dining Table ReDo

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

Instead of buying a new table, I have decided to upcycle our old wood and black glass wood table.

It took a while to get the painter’s tape straight.

And then I could enjoy the table and painting it. With each stroke of the brush, crawling under the top, swirling color over rounded corners, I invested my energy and the piece spoke back to me. After seven coats of color and washes, I stepped back and allowed the heavy, strong and well built table to talk to me.

Meanwhile, the painters applied the colors I chose for the accent wall (Sherwin Williams Slate Violet), the adjoining wall (Sherwin Williams China), the trim (white semigloss) and the ceiling (Sherwin Williams Ibis White).

I was trying to match the finish to the bureau I tackled a few weeks ago. And I believe I accomplished that. It took another gray wash and a final two coats of shimmer semi gloss white. Notice the bureau in the mirror. I can’t wait to really stage it, add wall art and dine in our new dining room.

Y3 – Day 360 – RAIN

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

It’s so wonderful to have rain wash down and quench the thirst of our trees and grass, cleaning over the streets and leaves and skyline, changing into snow above so we can be in awe of the white topped mountain landscapes from different perspectives and clearly defined from many views.

It didn’t stop us from walking and catching up, the mall was open and available but when Home Goods opened its doors and we passed it several times, we had to go in and check everything out!!

Thankfully, I left my credit card at home.

Y3 – Day 359 – Honor

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

“Honor your feelings and don’t try to be something you are not,” my wise friend B said. Work on self. Be true to self with self-awareness.

Your integrity is your reputation. Self esteem and self approval come with knowing the whole of you; warts, flaws, errors and shortcomings, too.

Celebrate self and praise yourself. “Stop, Cancel, Change” when you have a negative, ugly thought, an instructor told me.

Take contrary action. You get better results to your negative thoughts when you take positive action.

Your intention and your passion for change causes the shift. Praise, acknowledgement and sincerity brings joy to those who honor themselves consistently.

Y3 – Day 358 – What To Work On

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

As I filled my Harmony Wheel, so I could deduce what I needed to work on for the next six months, I realized my top three areas were in Spirituality, Meaningful Contribution and Health.

What is a Harmony Wheel you may ask? Here is how you make your own and how to use it:

Get out a blank piece of printer paper. Draw a huge circle and divide the pie into eight even slices. Name each section: Prosperity/Finances, Health, Fun/Creativity, Home/Living Environment, Spirituality/Meaningful Contribution, Significant Other/Relationship, Family/Friends and Career/Meaningful Contribution.

Now, on a scale from 0 – 10, 10 being the best and zero, non-existent, go with your initial gut response and rate each piece of your life. I like to color each section in a different hue after drawing a line in each section. Zero is dead center and ten is the outer circle. This way, I have a colorful visual.

Pick your top three places in your life you need to work on by observing where your inner impulses lead you. Usually, these are your lowest scoring areas.

Thank you to Dana Conley for the creation of this helpful tool and check her out at www.CreatePositiveChange.com

Y3 – Day 357 – What To Let Go Of

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Cecilia Steger

In the latter half of 2015, I started to accept and wrap my head around letting go of stuff and seriously start decluttering. As a consequence, my creativity and energy came back.

Here’s five ideas of what to let go of to get you started too:

Anything you find no joy in anymore – just stash it away if you are emotionally attached to it – till you can release it.
Anything truly ugly in your eyes now even though you adored it once or your late, great-grandmother gave it to you as a wedding present. Take a picture.
Anything that doesn’t represent who you are to yourself today. It just doesn’t fit your style or stage of life anymore. Stay authentic to your new self as you evolve.
Anything outdated like that boombox or cd walkman or even projects you know you will never really finish because the passion for it is just gone.
Anything broken, unless you love it and can repurpose, re-use it or re-build it.

It’s ok to leave a wall, a corner or a part of your floor, blank. It allows your imagination to spin and keep you open.

Cecilia B. Steger

Monthly Archives: January 2016