My aim here is to recognize and illuminate some of the inner trials that meet a life in pursuit of meaning, that hone a mind grinding its years toward serious expression. I believe such a life is an authentic life, a poetic life. I believe the trail of such pursuit is the poem, whether written down or not. And I deeply believe that the process by which we perceive and express, the process by which we be and mean is a creative process, an essential process, a psychological equivalent of breathing: involuntary, instinctual, unstoppable, unto death. ~Mark Nepo

slipping into a moment that’s divinely open and cogent with life-blood can see us through all the doubt, all the undefined edges, all the creepy-crawly miseries of day-to-day living……this is magic….

Artmaking is a natural endeavor, so very ordinary and so much a birthright for each of us. Tibetan Buddhist Master Pena Chodron writes about spiritual practice, “all of us are eagles who have forgotten how to fly.” I think this also applies to art. We all can make art if we allow ourselves, but the myth that artists are born not made stops many of us from trying. If we can try out our “wings” and make a commitment to pursue this path, we have to grapple with the concept of how an artist fits into our culture. There is a kind of radiance that permeates a great work of art. Talent comes from opening yourself up to being sensitive to experience, making the creative journey, and following that vision. That radiance can be called spirit, the way it takes form is called talent, and each of us has access to it in some form. ~Nancy Azara

no wishy-washy life

I walk through all the thoughts of my shadow,

I walk through my shadow in search of a moment.

~Octavio Paz