Living in the White Space
I’ve been thinking a lot about “white space” lately. Specifically, how to create more of it in my life and the many benefits of “living life in the white space.” Having grown up in a family of artists and graphic designers, I often heard reference to the term, “white space,” in discussions about creating “good design.” Simply put, in the context of art and design, “white space” is blank, empty space, devoid of any design elements (images and text). White space provides a place for the eyes to rest, which our human eyes like. Often referred to as “negative space,” it is considered an important element of design. The proper use of white space brings our eyes and attention to the “positive space” — that of the images and text. The balance between the positive and negative space is the key to creating a harmonious, aesthetic design composition. In college journalism courses, I learned the same basic principles. It is undesirable to clutter every inch of paper with images and text. In fact, it makes the text difficult to read. The human eye needs blank space. White space promotes better legibility, as well as mental comprehension. And, as a website designer, I apply this same principle to the websites I design. White space is critical for good design online. In the field of interior design, white space is also highly desirable. It is the blank space in our home, in our office, a store, a museum, any place that is free of clutter. In our physical environment, it is more than a space for our eyes to rest. It...
The Courage to Change
A few years ago, I made a very courageous change in my life. I moved from the city of Los Angeles, where I had lived my entire life, to a lovely little soulful town in Southern Oregon. I simply packed up my car, drove and didn’t look back. Well, that may be oversimplifying the move just a bit, but it was definitely, by far, the most liberating and courageous thing I have done in my life. What gave me the courage to make this move? It was the deep, unfaltering faith and knowing in my heart that something wonderful was waiting for me in Oregon – beauty, nature, peace – all things that my soul had craved for many, many years. Albeit, I was scared to death to make this change – to step into the unknown. I trusted my heart, my Higher Self, with all fortitude, and let it lead my way, bravely, into my new life. Today, I am seated at my desk, writing this essay, in a small cottage, nestled high up in the lush forested hills of Ashland, Oregon. I’m gazing out a picturesque window, at a gorgeous purple sunset settling over the mountains to the north, while a woodpecker is pecking away on a tree outside, serenading me and my cats, who are gathered, to glimpse a group of five antlered deer stroll by. For me, life does not get better than this. It is hard to believe that only six months ago, I was living my life in the same, familiar, “status quo” fashion that I had known for the last thirty-something years....
Your Unique Brilliance
An Unexpected Gift from the Sea I was living a few blocks from the ocean last summer when I was gifted with an unexpected surprise from the sea – a starfish! It had apparently gotten swept up into my garden, during a severe wind and rain storm. (Or, so I thought at the time… I would later learn that a young girl had lovingly placed it there.) When I found this precious creature, it was dried up and deceased, but nonetheless, a lovely gift for me. Those who know me well know that I enjoy living life with a child’s wonder and find immense joy in discovering symbolism and deep meaning in everyday life. I seek out such symbolism. I believe deeply that we are all connected in our vast and miraculous Universe. I absolutely live for synchronicity and signs of the miraculousness of it all. I researched the symbolism and significance of starfish and was delighted to discover that they represent spiritual truths, guidance, vigilance, inspiration, intuition, and brilliance. I couldn’t have received a more meaningful and treasured gift, if I’d wished upon a star! I like to think of my website, SoulfulLiving.com, as my inspiration, my light, my unique brilliance. So, this gift was very special to me. I felt like I had received a “gold star” from the Universe. “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and...
Living Your Truth
While I was growing up, my father often said, “The Truth cannot be told.” This was one of his favorite expressions, and it brought me to one of my own: “Your Truth cannot be told.” Why not? you ask, and I reply, Because our Truth is our Highest Good, our Heart, our authentic inner knowing. It is unique to each of us. It is our special gift, our Light, the reason we are here. Our Truth is not a Truth that “can be told” to us by another. It is a Truth that we each must find for ourselves. Several months after my father’s death, I heard my own Truth—the wisdom in my Heart—calling me. I found myself spending every free moment, day and night, dreaming of and creating a web site community focused on spirituality and personal growth. It was to be called SoulfulLiving.com. My soul had been “called.” It was one of those things that I knew I could not not do. Two years later, my mother suffered a very serious stroke and died eight months later. It was at this time that it became clear to me that life is too short to do anything less in life than what you are most passionate about. I found the courage to leave my full-time job, an eight-year career in marketing and public relations in the shopping center industry, and devote myself full-time to SoulfulLiving.com. It hasn’t always been a smooth journey. There were times when people close to me were critical of the work I’ve chosen to do. They said I was crazy for leaving my comfortable,...
Easter Basket
My artist father “lived for” finding the meaning, messages, and symbolism hidden in his favorite artists’ work and in his own art, as well. He was a graphic designer by trade, but by night, he “painted from the right side of his brain” and often stayed up till the early hours of the morning, exploring his unconscious mind with the soft boar bristles of his acrylic paint paintbrush. He kept journals filled with the insights and meaning he found in his paintings, and in his dreams, too, and often filled an entire book with the analysis of just a few key paintings or dreams. His journals are a great treasure to me. They are filled with much wisdom and insight. My father considered his creativity to be “answered prayer,” art to be “a Glimpse of God,” and painting, “Angel Consciousness.” After he died in 1998, I found great comfort and solace in his paintings and his writings, as I was better able to understand the man he was and the “deeper meaning” that he spent his life so desperately seeking. I myself do nothing. The Holy Spirit accomplishes all through me. –William Blake (1757-1827) I believe he found his “deeper meaning” in his last painting, entitled, “Easter Basket,” painted just three weeks before his fatal heart attack, when he collapsed on a sidewalk, fell into a coma, and stopped breathing on Easter Day. The painting depicts the figure of a basketball player (an important symbol in my father’s life, as he was an avid UCLA basketball fan), sinking a ball into an eye-shaped “basket.” With one foot off the...Our Sponsor
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