Holiday Encouragement

This video says it all. Take it to heart and have a wonderful week, everyone.

Appreciating What You DO Have Instead of Trying to Change What You've Got!

Here's my weekly video for the FreEDomFighters collaboration on YouTube. This week's topic is: Appreciating what you DO have instead of trying to change what you've got!

As always, just click to view on YouTube, as embedding is disabled.

Show & Tell: "222"

Here's the next piece of art in my Calling All Art! Show & Tell and Giveaway. This piece is by Rache and she calls it her "222 Collage."

I'm posting several photos of this collage, because it's large and cannot be shown in its entirety unless posted in increments.

[click for larger images]

Rachel writes:

"Ok, 222 - what I have to say about this collage is that it's about things being as they should be, basically. It's like a recipe to proceed, with that as the first ingredient. 222 has become a number symbolic with synchronicity in my life, and collages themselves, the way they seem to assemble before my eyes and reflect back at me what I didn't even know I was feeling or dealing with, have come to have that similar significance of...everything in its right place, making sense. This collage is not light, it has longing in it and pain and terror and ambivalence. But it has radical acceptance. I was in treatment when I made it, mostly out of photographs I have taken. So it's about accepting myself as much as it's about accepting life. It is a call to arms to act, knowing what I do about myself and the world I live in and the one I believed myself to be trapped in. This is my chance."

Well done, Rache! What I like about this collage is that it's REAL with a capital R. It shows so much of Rachel's soul and it shows promise of a great future. I especially like the words "We need a revolution." Simple statement, yet HUGE. I think it's so cool that she used her own photographs to create this piece of art, but what she did is compile pieces of herself, of her journey, and of her acceptance. She says it's about accepting herself, and I can definitely see that. Thanks for sharing your art with us, Rachel. Look for your piece on the sidebar of my blog for the next month and consider yourself entered in the Giveaway.

Last Call

I will be posting more art, as well as getting back to all your questions. I have a few more in the lineup that readers have sent in and I will get to them all at some point. BUT before I go back to the art and the questions and my usual videos, I wanted to shamelessly remind you all that there are only TWO more days left to vote for my blog in the Wellsphere Blogger Awards. If you'd like to vote, please do it soon! You can click here to do so (it takes you to an earlier post of mine where there's a badge to click on to place your vote). Or you can simply click on the badge on the left sidebar of my page to vote for me. It takes just a couple of seconds to make your vote count, and I would so appreciate it. ;)

I hope you are all starting the week off right and taking care of yourselves. Keep the questions coming. :)

Dealing with Your Eating Disorder & Parents as an ADULT

This week's video is in two parts, because what I had to say took a bit longer than 10 minutes. :) The topic of the video is: Dealing with your eating disorder & your parents as an ADULT --'cause let's face it, they affect us even when we're grown or we carry issues with us.

As usual, the embedding feature is not enabled, so just click to view on YouTube. :)

PART ONE



Be sure to watch the second part or it won't make much sense. :) The next video is very short - only about 3 minutes.

PART TWO


Only 5 more days to vote for my blog. Please take a second to vote. :) I really appreciate it.

Show & Tell: "The Healing Room"

Here is the fifth piece of art in my Calling All Art! Show & Tell and Giveaway. This piece is by Shawna Atkins aka. Ghost Girl and is called "The Healing Room."

[click for larger image]

Shawna writes:

"The Healing Room is watercolor, watercolor pencil, ink, marker and charcoal on paper.

It is about letting go of the behavior that keeps you trapped and tied to your disorder...

The fingertips are outlined in red to represent the individual (no too fingerprints are alike) because although there are similarities, everyones recovery is personal and unique.

The mismatched butterflies are to show that imperfections can be okay. The Perfect Specimen ideal that we have in our heads and that we observe in the media is usually unreal. The truth is that each person is a patchwork of various experiences, hopes, and struggles that come together to make a one in a million beautiful imperfect individual.

Opening the window and letting go is the theme of this, even though it can be interpreted in different ways. I hope that anyone who may see it can make it have a positive meaning for them."


Can I just tell you how much I love this? Yes, actually, I can, because it's my blog. Well-freakin'-done, Shawna. This piece has SO much going on--in a very good way. It's bright, it's beautiful, and it's achingly artistic, yet it's so much more. It's full of feeling. I can sense the "letting go" and I totally get the message of this. I'm happy to see that the pain of this piece gets transformed into something positive, something freeing. The butterflies are beautiful symbolism and the words scrawled all over are the icing on the cake. Thanks again, Shawna (Atkins)/Ghost Girl - it's fantastic. You rose to the challenge. Look for your piece on the sidebar of my blog for the next month and consider yourself entered in the Giveaway. Here's the link to Shawna's blog: http://stellarscar.blogspot.com/.

There's still more art to come, so stay tuned. :)

Alternative Therapies

Here's my Wednesday video. This week's topic: Alternative Therapies - art, writing, dance, etc.

As always, click to view on YouTube, as embedding is not available.:)

Time's Running Out...

Thank you, everyone, for all the kind words and for all your votes for my blog. I'm still in the Top 20 and...

There are only 2 weeks left to vote for my blog!

You can vote only until Dec. 15th, so please cast your vote for me now, if you haven't already. I truly appreciate all the support. If you watch my videos, read my posts, and like the art/writing/ideas/suggestions/recovery-oriented advice you find here, help me make it to the top of the Wellsphere Blogger Awards.

You can click on the badge below to place your vote. (Or use the badge located on my sidebar.) To make your vote count, it will ask you to create a username, but Wellsphere only sends one initial email and no more. You will not be bombarded with emails you don't want to receive, so don't worry. Please help! Take a second to vote! Thank you!!!

Arielle B. http://tearstowords.blogspot.com/

Love to all.