Vision

Somewhere there is something incredible waiting to be known. ~ Carl Sagan

Change

Winners must learn to relish change with the same enthusiasm and energy that we have resisted it in the past. ~ Tom Peters

Possibiliby

Dwell in possibility. ~ Emily Dickinson

Becoming

Find the seed at the bottom of your heart! Bring forth a flower. ~ Shigenori Kameoka

Patience is a Virtue....

In The Mummy (first one), Rachel Weisz' character, while trying to decipher some ancient Egyptian is prodded along by her brother. Amidst the chaos of his "hurry up" chatter, she says "Patience is a Virtue" in her British accent and a sing-song voice.

Now perhaps I should be quoting the bible rather than Rachel Weisz, but whenever I am frustrated and start to tell myself to relax, breathe, and have patience, her sing-song voice comes into my head...and it makes me smile.

Today I have been so frustrated, her sing-song voice has been in my head ALL DAY! Luckily I am not sick of it yet....because I've certainly needed that constant reminder.

Patience and I have had a very troubled relationship over the years. Some days, weeks, months, I am just fine and we get along swimmingly. Other times....well not so much. Those are the times when I contemplate physical violence with cartoon ferocity and then I suck in my breath and look for that good old inner strength to sustain me through the moments.

Neuroscience will tell you that when you are stressed blood flow to the frontal cortex is limited...and the frontal cortex is responsible for those reasonable and rational thoughts that we can all be capable of. As the blood is restricted we rely on our mammalian brain....that part nearer the brain stem that tells us to freeze, fight or flee. Apparently I am in the fighting mode!!

Thank goodness there is still some blood flow at the front of my brain or all hell would break lose!!

Just writing about this has brought my blood pressure down and my face out of its grimace... Patience also looks much prettier.

What do you do to stay patient?

The Dance of Life

I've taken a bit of a break for a number of months...not posting regularly. I had a bunch of quotes waiting to be used someday, so I set those up and wandered away.

However, blog or not, life and its lessons have definitely continued. I've had lots of changes in my life these past few months and became frustrated on Saturday when I felt like I'd taken some steps backward in my journey.

I've been mulling the idea of taking steps backward for the last two days...mostly with some frustration. But it just hit me.

Life is like a dance....at least my life. Sometimes I lead, sometimes I am led. Sometimes I don't feel the rhythm of the theme song of the day, other days whatever that 'song' is, my day just goes. I've finally realized that it is ok to take some steps back. Good dancers aren't always stepping forward, after all, that is what makes it a dance.

I like lessons that I discover myself.

Off to dance some more.....

Lisa

Innovation

The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why. ~ Albert Einstein

Leadership

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. ~ Confucius

Integrity

"I look for three things in hiring people. The first is personal integrity, the second is intelligence, and the third is a high energy level. But, if you don't have the first, the other two will kill you." ~ Warren Buffett, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

Leadership

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. ~ John Quincy Adams

Leadership

Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it. ~ Marian Anderson

Leadership

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. ~ General George S. Patton

Active Leadership

Leadership is action, not position. ~Donald H. McGannon

Proactivity

People who let events and circumstances dictate their lives are living reactively. That means that they don't act on life, they only react to it. ~ Stedman Graham

Vision

If you observe well, your own heart will answer. ~ Schmaller de Lubicz

VIsion

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. ~ Michelangelo

Choice

The amount of people that fail is directly proportionate to the amount of people that give up. ~ Joseph McClendon III

The Learning Leader

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Success

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which have been overcome while trying to succeed. ~ Booker T. Washington

Leadership

We grow great by our dreams. ~ Woodrow Wilson

Success

"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: try to please everybody." ~ Herbert Bayard Swope

 

Principle

In matters of style, swim with the current;
In matters of principle, stand like a rock.
~Thomas Jefferson

 

Leadership

The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves. ~ Ray Kroc

 

Vision

Somewhere there is something incredible waiting to be known. ~ Carl Sagan

 

Inspiration

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. ~ John Quincy Adams

Intricate Beauty By Design

Intricate Beauty By Design, a talk by Marian Bantjes, graphic artist.

Thanks to my friends at the Saskatchwan Chapter of the Canadian Book Binders and Book Artist Guild (CBBAG) for sharing this!

Click the link to hear Marian Bantjes speak on TED. There are some great pictures, too!
 Marian Bantjes Intricate Beauty By Design

Japanese Stab Binding

My recent endeavours into bookbinding have included learning Japanese stab binding. You can make a variety of patterns with your thread. These books have the the hemp leaf pattern.

The books are about 3" x 6" with blank paper inside. I borrowed my husband's drill to make the holes right through the covers and paper. I am hoping to get a dremel sometime soon to do more of this fine work.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the finished products!

Influence

Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing. ~ Albert Schweitzer

Clay Covers

 Recently I've been trying books with clay covers. These books were made the last couple of weeks and utilize polymer clay.

The clay provides an interesting cover and allows me to sew them up with a coptic binding. I wrote about this type of binding in a past post. I've learned a lot more about this type of binding since I made the original books and will likely post about them in the future.

In the meantime, these are pictures of the polymer clay books!