Category Archives: Art

Thirsty Thursday: Footloose

Leave a comment

If you want to be happy, be! ~ Leo Tolstoy

I love that quotation! It reminds me that we can be anything we decide we want to be.

It’s good for the spirit to let loose and have fun. Sometimes enjoyment comes while living vicariously and sometimes it means being the active participant! Watch this video and you’ll be ready to join in on the joy!

And see you back here tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling!

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

 

Son Shine Today

2 Comments

“Today you are you! It is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-are than you! ~ Dr. Seuss

I’m continuing on yesterday’s topics of children, memories and mindfulness. Today is a day of celebration and I am blogging from New Mexico. Rather than spend time writing, I’ve taken the easy way out by posting some old photographs from of my memory box.

Twenty-seven (27!!!! ) years ago today, my husband and I received the most precious gift of all – our beloved son was born. Nineteen eighty-eight is a fun year to remember. But it was not a year just to BE! There were three sets of very busy parents in our family. Our son is pictured below at age three, with a two of his cousins who were all  born in 1988, within 10 months of each other.

What I want to know is how can that BE? How could 27 yrs have gone by me so quickly?

cousins and bday party

Happy Birthday, Marc!

“You are my sonshine.”  ~Author Unknown

This blog is brought to you by the author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

State of Being

Leave a comment

Have you ever noticed how people tend to rationalize everything? I‘ve been known to do that.

My son, who has always been, from a very young age, very astute about human nature said to me one day when he was about nine or ten “Mom, why do you do that?”

“Do what?” I said.

“Try to figure out the reason for everything?”

“What did just I do?” I asked, not knowing what I had said or done to bring up these questions.

“You just said you are cold.”

“So, what’s wrong with that?” I asked my son, shivering and rubbing my hands together to warm up.

“Then you went on to say all the reasons why you might be cold. Did  you ever think that you might just BE?”

“No,” I replied, “I’ll have to think about that!”

There is no doubt about it I do tend to try to figure out the reason for everything. And what’s more, I go to great lengths to explain things in writing on All Things Fulfilling! Ah well, what can I say? I’ll have to remind myself:

Not everything in life makes sense

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard.

 

 

 

Lettuce Thank Them

3 Comments

“We are all one Energy Stream, but what makes the separations or distinguishes the differences is perspective. You are a unique and individual perspective.” ~ Abraham-Hicks

We all know people who even as young children have “marched to the sound of a different drummer” or “keep a different pace than their peers” or perhaps it could be said “they go their own sweet way.”

Some people have a greater tolerance and understanding for deviations in personalities  than others. Thankfully “creative spirit” is not frowned upon in children as much as when I was growing up. People have grown to appreciate and celebrate creative thinking more, and the gifts unique perspectives bring to the world.

color inside the lines

When I saw this image below, I couldn’t help but ponder what extraordinary thinking and perspective!  It’s really cool couture! Yep, it’s a composition made with lettuce and etching.

very creative couture

Today  we are celebrating creative thinking and creative spirits on All Things Fulfilling.

If the energy is positively channeled, sometimes magnificent things become of children who go along looking at life a little differently. It is what makes life interesting!

See you tomorrow we will have more to say on ways to BE!

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honoring Black History Month

Leave a comment

Frederick Douglass taught that literacy is the path from slavery to freedom. There are many kinds of slavery and many kinds of freedom, but reading is still the path.  ― Carl Sagan

February is Black History Month. I recently read a book about the Underground Railroad which helped me to understand more deeply about period of history when the movement to free slaves began. The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier is a departure from the historical art fiction that I’d come to know this author by. Her hugely successful book The Girl with the Pearl Earring was my first foray into Chevalier.

As with all of Chevalier’s other books, the writing is beautifully rendered and The Last Runaway did not disappoint. My journey into this period of history through Chevalier’s publication has made me want to read even more about the Underground Railroad.  As suggested by the docent at the Harriet Tubman Educational Center and Museum, A Song Unsung will be my next push into learning more about the Underground Railroad.

My interest in black history began in earnest last fall when I visited the Harriet Tubman Educational Center last in Cambridge, Maryland. Tubman was one of the most notable figures in history who was a catalyst for change in her people and in our country’s story about slavery.

underground railroad map

Celebrate Black History Month by doing some reading on the subject.

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard. See you on Monday.

Thirsty Thursday: Made Especially for You

Leave a comment

“Nothing can make you feel peace but yourself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

lillian-weber3-sewing-machineHave you heard the story about the 99 year old woman who sews a dress every single day for an African girl so each child will have something beautiful to add to her meager wardrobe? The sewer is not far from hitting the 1,000th dress landmark –which means she has been sewing for 1,000 days in a row.

The senior citizen from Iowa incorporates unique trim, buttons, bows or what have you to give it a custom-made “especially made for you” look. She puts her own heart-felt creativity into each dress so the little African girls will feel they have gotten something special, custom-made for them.

dresses-for-needy-children-lillian-weber-1

lilian weber2

Take tme To read the full story. It’s always good news when we read about inspiring women who are more interested in serving others through their creativity than worrying about aging. That is all for this Thirsty Thursday.

This blog is brought to you by the award winning author of Gift of Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

Fulfilling Things in a Memory Box

Leave a comment

“Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” — Napoleon Hill.


I am so grateful that we have a historian among my college girlfriends. She’s saved everything from those years, right down to swizzle sticks and paper cocktail napkins from our favorite haunts.

It gives me great pleasure to go visit her because that’s when all the memorabilia from those years come out. We have a heyday recalling the stories that go with each of the tokens she’s stashed away in her memory box.  Having souvenirs of the past are a great way to trigger those memories we had forgotten about.

Admittedly, I’m not that much of a saver of things. I have a rule on clothing. If I don’t wear it after two or three years, it gets passed along. Why? Because I don’t like to move things that I don’t actively use. I try to keep my accumulations to a minimum, as hard as that is.

Although I do have a few boxes of things of sentimental value that I cling to, and will never give away,  memoir writing allows me hold dear to memories that are special without having to amass boxes of “things.”

As we age, baby boomers, it is important to write things down before those memories disappear forever.

Do you have a memory box or have you ever thought about making a memory box? Here are just a few photos that I keep in mine.

collage of family pics from when marc was young 25% enlarged

This blog is brought to you by the  author Sue Batton Leonard, who has won three awards for her award-winning memoir, an anthology of short stories.

Grounded, Even at Sea

2 Comments

“Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.” ~ Pablo Picasso

Taylor Batton 1Something completely different was planned for today’s blog but I just got wind of some  developing news, so I’ve changed my story!

On February 14, 2013, two years ago, I posted a blog called Songs, Taylor Made. The first time I featured young musician, songwriter and vocal artist, Taylor Batton on All Things Fulfilling, he was a student at Maine Maritime Academy. He has since graduated and he’s now navigating waters in places around the world piloting tremendous seafaring vessels – tugboats and such.

Batton uses his times of solitude to come to understand himself better and the world around him. His thoughts are used to create narratives through his music. As he says of his nautical life “You get a really strong sense of loneliness. At the same time, you feel a really strong and strange power. All of that kind of ties into how I go about writing the music. I just try and capture that feeling. ” Listen In.

portland tug taylor

I’m so proud of this young man. Taylor Batton recently signed with Goldship Records of Bristol, TN and his first full length album will soon be released.

taylor Batton 2

His journey has not always been easy. Yet he’s stared down adversity  and has attained each one of his goals,  all the while keeping his eye on what he’s been passionate about (maritime life and music) and not given up.

I look forward to learning more about the release of your new record label and the company who has signed you, Taylor. Hearty Congratulations!

This blog is penned by the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

Of All Things! A Mustard Seed?

3 Comments

From a small seed a mighty trunk might grow ~ Aeschylus

The other day, a memory came to me as I stood in the line at the grocery store. I saw an elderly woman who had a beautiful silver watch on her wrist. It was unlike the kind of watch that you see in this day and age, and it reminded me of my Grandmother. Back in her day, watches were made like fine art – the work that went into crafting them was apparent.

mustard seedMy grandmother always wore a lovely watch with a little bauble that hung from it, just like in this image. What really intrigued me was the seed inside the bauble. I thought it was kind of intriguing but, I couldn’t imagine why would anyone carry around a seed hanging from their watch.

My grandmother told me it was a mustard seed but never told me of the seed’s significance. Perhaps it was just one of those things she wanted me to discover for myself as I grew up.

Did you know there is a full story behind  the meaning of the mustard seed? Skip down to the third paragraph of the article, that really gets to the heart of the matter.

Mustard Seed Faith

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

 

 

 

Thirsty Thursday: Grow Happiness

Leave a comment

Ok! I’ll admit it, I like sappy, happy stories.   Yes, I do! It’s a relief to read something uplifting and positive because it gives balance to what is typically shown in the media.

One of the best ways to remove yourself from being inundated with negativity is to simply shut the TV off. As simple as that.

Negative influences can affect our entire demeanor. As people who can exercise our own free will, it’s up to us to decide who we want to hang with and what kind of energy is the most healthy to be around. 

Positive energy breeds positive energy, so keep this in mind. Find your positive energy name and let yourself be surrounded by all things fulfilling in your life that helps you live up to it.

Positive Energy Name

That’s all for today from Extraordinary Surprise Bringer. (aka the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.)