So it's your birthday...big deal

I found myself waking one morning to a frantic phone call from my sister. Her husband had stopped breathing during his sleep and she performed CPR and alerted 911. Her heroic efforts helped give him only 2 weeks to live as he was placed on life support and finally passed only 8 days ago.

I am blessed to have a very stable loving relationship and I was able to purchase a 1-way ticket to fly to be by her side. I watched the doctors grim faces as they updated her daily with reports of his decline until he passed. He crossed over at home with his family and loving dogs by his side.

My spouse has packed up our office and belongings and we have decided to stay with her for the time being. I do not know the length of this stay...I only know that I am needed. As children we dreamed of owning horses and I find myself on a 13 acre farm with horses that need feeding, brushing and stalls that need cleaning. Back home (in the Florida Keys) we travel often on business and I am unable to own a pet dog (I so desire)...and I now find myself surrounded by a mixed dachshund-terrier named Molly and a black lab named Ace that are hurting as their beloved master has passed. We now take long walks together and my steps keep time to their wagging tails.

So many lessons I am learning daily. To understand that I live surrounded by love with a mate who is confident and SOLID in himself allows me to just flow freely. How beautiful and how natural this all feels to me. To be able to cut through the pettiness of daily mundane BS putting aside unnecessary stress to be of use to a fellow human...be it my sister or a neighbor is so rewarding.

There are many holidays, reunions, graduations, birthdays and celebrations - but there is only ONE that trumps them all...death. (And yes, I know his Spirit is all around and I feel his presence, but her pain is raw.) I am starting to see that people take these celebrations with so much focus that they feel hurt if we do not acknowledge or make a fuss... if we do not share in their delight. When you are surrounded by a grieving loved one you realize that celebrations come and go but that the physical existence of THIS day is precious. Yes, we can rejoice with others and send cards and smile, but when you know someone is grieving learn to not take it personal if they cannot raise a toast. We must take stock- give love, embrace love, BE love everyday. This is what I want to breathe in daily.

Meditation has given me this insight. To learn how you can meditate without any CD's or guides for FREE please read How to Begin

Messages of Artists Who Have Crossed Over Part 1

Cliff Sterret's work

For most of my life I have been a professional artist. I have worked with many clients. Some were local backyard mom and pop businesses, some were huge corporations. I am a freelance artist who has designed tv commercials, logos, billboards and graphics of every description. Let's just say I have enjoyed a very diverse career and now find myself embarking on a new twist. I have connected with artists from the other side of the veil.

I designed this cover

In the spring of 2009 I began working with archival newspaper cartoonists of the early 1900's. This was a time in our world when there was no tv, no internet, no ebooks, no iphones...it was a world of radio and newspapers. My work is in the restoration of this beautiful form of art and placing it into volumes of books that readers of today can view and learn from. The artists were masters of their craft, such as Cliff Sterret, (seen here) - using their raw talents of pen and ink without the benefit of cut and paste, undo or save. The source of my work is often found in dusty old attics as a generation fades away and the contents of their treasure chests are brought out into the light. Many people can only glimpse the work of these great artists, as collectors gobble them up on ebay or trade shows hording them away or selling them to the highest bidder. They are precious and some of the price tags on these gems reflect it. I, along with a team of others, scan them and make them into digital files. They are placed in a chronological order so the viewer can read them- just as they were meant to be seen after being picked up from front door stoops and opened every morning. I usually have to digitally clean them to bring them back to life. Often newspaper strips are faded and cracked and I smooth out the wrinkles and erase the dirt they have accumulated (some over 90 years). I have become an expert photo restorationist and my talents are put to good use as I am called upon to add old images of the artist into each book. These photos are collected from all over the world and many are personal images on loan from family members. Looking at these fantastic old family photos of the early teens gives depth to the artist and I somehow feel connected. I never knew just how connected that would become.

My meditations often bring me to a place where I am given messages. I have always journaled my messages and love looking at them months later. It was through this experience that I was given this realization and my gift.
Meditation message:  "Your work is therapuetic and healing to the soul. You were brought into alignment to be able to use your talents to bring forth the work of artists who no longer walk among us. "
This at first sounded like some flowery compliment, but I am beginning to understand that the artists of the books I am working on are watching me. I thought the theraputic and healing was for the many people here on earth who are enjoying reading these collections, but clearly they are truly for the spirits who view their work disintegrating into dust - I am bringing them joy. This has opened my heart to an understanding that they stand at my shoulder cheering me on.

Sterret's Polly and Her Pals ran 1912 - 1958

The newspaper will become a tool of the past, as we are witnessing. The age of the book is uncertain and no one knows where this will lead. Books stores are closing worldwide and libraries are having their budgets cut as I write. So, as you can see, recovering and restoring art from old newspapers is a type of rescue work. This is a new dimension of my career that I had never dreamed of.

In my next blog I will speak of the message I received from a wonderful cartoonist Alex Toth. Part 2 Artists Who Have Crossed Over

To learn how you can meditate read my book Sæ-sii Meditation: How to Find Your Bliss in 15 Minutes a Day