Category Archives: Humanitarian efforts and art

Paving the Way for Commerce Westward

Leave a comment

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” ~Warren Buffett

A stroll along The Cliff Walk and Bellevue Avenue was a beautiful place to be last Saturday. Sunny skies and flowering trees added to the charm of Newport, RI, a city filled with mansions from The Guilded Age.

Many of the homes were built with embellishments found in European castles and cathedrals. The structures, fit for kings and royalty, are now museums because they are so expensive to maintain, and they are open to the public for touring. The mansions were once “seaside cottages” for wealthy families who came to Newport, RI, their summer playground. Life by the sea for the Vanderbilt’s, Astor’s, Webb’s and Dupont’s was more glitzy than it is today for most ocean resort dwellers. The families came with a full staff of servants, and house help who helped orchestrate the entertainment of other notables of great wealth and social standing. These prominent society people can be thanked for paving the way for prosperity in the United States. Through their investment in the railroads and steamships, commerce spread westward across America. They were the same individuals who were great patrons of the arts, and invested in magnificent paintings and other art installations, such as sculpture, in their mansions.

Enjoy your tour of Newport, through my photos:

IMAG0416

 Photo above & below: At the start of Cliff Walk in Newport, RI

with my twin sister

IMAG0413

IMAG0414

IMAG0419

The Breakers, Newport, RI

IMAG0420

Another summer cottage by the sea on Cliff Walk

IMAG0422

Graduation Day at Salve Regina University, Newport, RI http://www.salve.edu/

IMAG0424

Tree on Campus of Salve Regina University – Rooted in two different places!

IMAG0426

Another of the Mansions along Cliff Walk

IMAG0435

Dogwoods, Azaleas, and other flowering trees were in bloom

IMAG0397

IMAG0429

IMAG0427

Sue, Jan and my niece, Kara in the middle

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. I  will show you a few more of the sites in Newport, RI from my travels. My trip to Rhode Island was not my first, but I found plenty of fulfilling things I had never seen before. Come back  to see the mansion we toured.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. A Company Specializing in e-Commerce and e-Marketing for Independent Publishers.

Beyond a Working Life

2 Comments

“Pick your passion and pursue it.” Psychologists say it’s good for emotional and mental health to have hobbies. Some people love to travel, others like stamp collecting, knitting, quilting, hunting, cooking, drawing, writing, baseball card collecting. It doesn’t much matter how you like to use your spare time, hobbies contribute to a sense of personal fulfillment .

Finding and making time for our interests is sometimes a challenge. Balance is the solution and this can be tricky for people who work long hours, are raising families and growing careers. If you can incorporate what you love to do into a business, more power to you! It is the best way to feel personally satisfied and work never feels like, well, work.

living-with-passion-and-purpose-quote-maya-angelouPeople are living longer. Nowadays people retire from one career, and then start up a small business which involves their passions. They become more personally satisfied than ever because they love what they are doing, even though they are continuing to work much later in life.

If you are at a crossroads, where you’re near retirement age, but not ready to sit in a recliner and put your feet up, here is an article from Entrepreneur Magazine that gives six tips about Turning your Passion into Profit. http://bit.ly/1496EZG .

If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do for a new career in your “golden years?”

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Film Friday: Inocente

1 Comment

“ Art is not what you see but what you make others see.” ~ Degas 

A life was changed on Academy Award night, when Inocente, a documentary film about a homeless girl and her passion for art, won an Oscar. Indeed, despite a dark and lonely past, Izucar, the subject of this real life story, has created a bright world around herself through her colorful art.  Her unwillingness to give up on life and her belief in sharing her art with others has made for an inspiring story. 

Husband and wife filmmakers, Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine decided to focus on the plight of Inocente Izucar when they met her through their involvement with artist Matt D’Arrigo and founder  ARTS(A Reason to Survive), “a non-profit organization that focuses on using art as a form of therapy and healing, for children and young adults struggling with major life challenges..

According to the National Center on Family Homelessness, 1 out of every 45 children live a transient lifestyle, floating from street to motel to shelters to living out of cars. This number has increased 33% in the past three years alone. http://usat.ly/YtbFoP. 

art of inocenteIzucar is representative of all youth who have discovered that their brightest moments in an hour or a day comes when they are exploring different mediums of art. For many, it is the only thing that gives them a positive reason to live. 

To read more about this inspirational independent  film and the documentary filmmakers, please visit this link
About Inocente and How to Order

Return on Monday to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

A Heart Stuffed with Love

Leave a comment

“A good friend is a connection to life – a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key …~ Lois Whyte

Have you ever known someone whose heart is so stuffed with love that it bursts with joy?

On Tuesday, on All Things Fulfilling, I featured You Are Never Alone Foundation,http://bit.ly/Yr3eZj and it’s founder Salley Gibney. She is a nurse by profession and she understands about compassion and the need for reaching out to others with kindness. Her non-profit organization has challenged communities everywhere to find One Million Acts of Caring by March 28. Take a few minutes to scroll down and read Seeking the Good in the World, or follow this link http://bit.ly/158WVjC.

You are never aloneToday, the purpose of this blog  is to simply say Thank You to You Are Never Alone Foundation, , for the good work they do in the world. They have sent out over 90,000 Caring Coins, around the world as symbols of caring, connection and hope. How is that for inspiring others to reach out and touch others in communities?

Visit us tomorrow, on Valentines Day. We will be sharing information about a newly released “ep” extended play CD from an independent recording artist. You will love his lyrics and the tone of his heartfelt voice.

 This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Seek the Good in the World

Leave a comment

“To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?” ~Katharine Graham 

You’ve heard it time and time again, look for the positive not for the negative. Well, that is exactly what You Are Never Alone Foundation, a Vermont 5013(c) in Dorset, Vermont is focusing on between now and March 28th. The foundation is hoping to have help, around the world, in capturing and writing down ONE MILLION Acts of Caring and every community can participate! 

The idea is so simple. In your home, school, place of work, in your place of worship, or other public spaces in your community, place a “caring box” with pencil and paper in plain view. Every time you witness and catch someone in an act of kindness, write it down and put it in the box. If you see someone sharing a welcoming smile, extending a hand by volunteering to help or any other kind gesture or words that demonstrates caring, acknowledge it. Between now and March 28th focus on finding all the truly good and compassionate people around the world. 

You are never-AloneYou can go to the website for You Are Never Alone Foundation and get the resources you need to start a movement where you live. There are posters/flyers to print out, and a design to wrap around a box, so people will know to drop their testimonies of witnessing kind deeds and acts. http://bit.ly/TPEAEY . 

March 28 is the annual worldwide I Matter…You Matter Day and Salley Gibney, founder of You Are Never Alone Foundation has challenged people everywhere to tally up 1,000,000 caring acts by that date.

One Million Acts of Caring need not end on March 28th. You can engage in caring year round.As Salley says, “Caring is Contagious. We all need to share messages of caring, connection and hope.”  

One great act of caring would be to pass this message along and participate in the challenge!

Visit us tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Exploring Painting through Video

Leave a comment

My heart and soul have been surprised over and over again, with every work of art I explore. ~ Kathleen Carrillo 

ThePaintingExperience.com claims that “if you can hold a brush, you can paint.” Fair enough – you may not be able to create a museum quality piece, but there is no reason why anyone who desires it, can’t try it. 

A short video from http://www.thepaintingexperience.com explores the therapeutic value of “dabbling with art” or experimentation with painting. The video makes a powerful statement for seizing the moment and allowing your heart to lead the way through color, shapes and forms put to canvas. To watch the video, please go to this link.  http://bit.ly/VulI01.  

life paint and passionThinking you’d like to try your hand at some kind of art, is a positive first step. Smart people learn to follow their intuition. Art creation, of any kind, provides a wonderful outlet for our translating our emotions and our thoughts into imagery whether it is through music, film, words, dance, theatre, or any other kind of art or craft. 

Not every community, such as the town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, has imaginative businesses like Splatz Canvas and Wine, providing space, instruction and all the art supplies needed, so you can just dabble. An alternative –  in-home art workshops, brought to you digitally, is also useful. Learn more about www.thepaintingexperience.com through their website. 

artistically speakingThanks to artist Sheryl Allen http://smallbizbiglife.com/ for sending me information for today’s blog. Earlier in the week,  she contacted me as a result of a blog posting on All Things Fulfilling about Splatz Canvas and Wine. She’s been on a blog radio show called, Artistically Speaking http://bit.ly/VocrmJ.

Visit us tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Connected Through a Gesture

Leave a comment

Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. ~Scott Adams

It’s hard to find good news on TV. The other day, I was getting more disturbed by the moment, as I flipped through the TV news channels. Everything I heard was negative and upsetting. I subject myself to that, as little as possible.

Finally, I flipped to Fox News and just happened to catch the story of Laura Schroff & Maurice Mazyck. Have you heard their beautiful story? It is about the power of one person to change the life of another. Although, if you listen to interviews of these two people, whose lives came together many years ago, this is, by no means, a one-sided story.

The tale is about trust, family, hunger, need, rebuilding lives, compassion. One person’s stepping out to help another is now helping to drive the fulfillment of other’s needs throughout the country, through the publishing of this inspirational true to life story. Click here for info and ordering An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny.

Proceeds from this book are being donated to No Kid Hungry, a non-profit organization. http://bit.ly/Wmsej9.

an invisible threadThe story, The Invisible Thread, has become a NY Times Best Selling book. It would make for an outstanding book to film adaptation. I hope it is in the works!

Rather than tell you more, please take the time to visit this website. Be prepared! It will deeply move you, but in a way that is very different than most news stories. http://www.aninvisiblethread.com/

Look forward to visiting with you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling –  where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business; I hope you’ll join us. This blog brought to you from www.cornerstonefulfillmentservice.com.

.

Color and Creativity

Leave a comment

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of it’s thoughts.” ~ Marcus Aurelius 

I’ve often wondered what life looks like through the eyes of the colorblind.  So many aspects of our lives require making color choices.

Color choices even affects our attitudes and dispositions, helping us to feel as if we can conquer the world or not. Try wearing all black one day and the next day wear fuchsia, orange or brilliant red. Wearing bright colors puts extra spring in our steps. 

Colors of LifeI know two men who are color blind. Evidently, the male chromosome make-up is more susceptible to this condition. Here is an article explaining why this is so. http://bit.ly/ZSMqRL. 

Are the brains of color-challenged people wired with enhanced creative thinking skills to make up for their inability to see color? Or are their  imaginations stymied because they can not see color? I came across this interesting article about being a color-blind artist.http://bit.ly/Zx2Cag.

The Huffington Post cites green as a color that “sparks inventiveness.” http://huff.to/Wjc5v2 . Perhaps the reason the Green Mountains of Vermont draws their fare share of artists and writers. Gorgeous, lush green, including the most wonderful perennial gardens, provide inspiration from nature. 

But, let’s face it, beautiful landscapes whether they are forests, seashores, wide open vistas in the plains, craggy rocks and other unique earth formations provide artistic stimulation. 

What colors and sights bring the greatest fulfillment to your eyes and spirit?

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

The Color of Life

Leave a comment

To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts – such is the duty of the artist. ~Schumann

Have you ever noticed how some people like to look at things through rose colored glasses and others through dark shades?

Our perspectives on life are often a reflection of our experiences, or a response to our day to day existence. As we open ourselves up to new ways of being, we add color to our journeys and our attitudes.

I received some interesting feedback from the annual blog report of All Things Fulfilling the other day.  Glassworks Inspired by Nature was the second most popular blog I have ever written in 1,013 posts. If you missed it, here is a link. http://bit.ly/12WopI6.

Why was this blog so significant? I think there could be a number of reasons why people found that blog post fulfilling:

    • They liked reading about Louis Comfort Tiffany’s art
    • The book, Clara and Mr. Tiffany, was interesting to learn about Click here for info & ordering
  • People wanted to know something more about stained glass and it’s history. http://bit.ly/Wj0YlQ
  • The life of an artist who saw life through a full spectrum of colors and through the love of his craft , is inspiring.

You can look through a kaleidoscope of colors in your own life by exposing yourself to an interesting mix of people, food, culture, faith and art. Or you can also enter into places of worship to look at stained glass windows, which will show you a full spectrum of colors in a different, equally fulfilling way.

tiffany-windows_05These are my reflections for today. We all have our own independent thoughts, words and views on life. Thanks for visiting this site; I’m grateful for an audience.

Note: The image is a Tiffany Studios creation of beauty.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Spreading the Joy in Indie Publishing

Leave a comment

“Joy isn’t in things, money or positions. It is IN us. And we need to bring it with us and SHARE it!” ~ Unknown 

Day Two of 2013!  My resolution this year is to do something a little different each month, to promote our growing population of independent publishers here in Routt County, Colorado. 

snowboarding tricksWhy? Because I believe greatly in each one of our We Write Steamboat, independent publishers. They are a creative and well-educated group of people, male and female. Many of them are award-winning authors with award-winning books! Each of them is a healer of mind, body and spirit! They have career knowledge in all sorts of fields. Our members include teachers, physicians, life consultants,a chef, holistic health consultants, experts on our natural environment,  just to name a few. All with valuable experience in life to write about. Our group also includes young people and retirees who like to spin yarns just for the fun of it! (Of course, they don’t object to selling their books, also!) 

In my opinion, all writers are helpers and healers of mind, body and spirit! After all, we publish books to educate, inspire others, entertain,and inform readers. Could there be better reasons? I don’t think so. In fact, writing is as therapeutic for the author as well as the reader. It gives us a way to share our thoughts, emotions, experiences and our imaginations. http://bit.ly/ZSk0Yc.

A networking group of independent publishers, She Writes Steamboat, that I began almost two years ago, has grown, and as of January 1, 2013 we have changed our name to We Write Steamboat. From the very first meeting, we have had male writers attend, and we don’t want them to feel slighted! We’ve welcomed them and have been delighted to have them part of the group from our inception.

We, independent publishers here in Ski Town, USA and Routt County, Colorado, come together and meet monthly. In a nutshell, because producing independent books, films and music is a win-win for the artist creating the work as well as for the audience who so enjoys it! Our mission is to provide networking opportunity and to promote success of independent publishing. Our affiliation with the Colorado Independent Publishers Association www.cipabooks.com , also fosters our growth as award-winning writers and publishers.  

If you wish to learn more about starting up an independent publishing networking group in your area, contact me through this blog.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com, a company specializing in e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers!