Friday, November 1, 2013

Gratitude ... Day One


Gratitude Day One
The Love of Family

I am starting my 30 day Gratitude Project today

for there is so much in this life
to be grateful for!

I took the time to quietly list thirty things
I was grateful for during this month of November,
I cut them up and put in my favorite pottery bowl,
each day I will pick a gratitude moment out.
I decided I would post each day on my facebook page
my thoughts on gratitude.
I will also share my own personal photography,
(for I am truly grateful every time I have my camera in my hand)
you can find me here each day
https://www.facebook.com/donna.z.wynn

I am also participating in Louise Gale's
30 Days of Gratitude
check it out here
She is such a beautiful soul!
I have learned so many things from Louise.
It's not too late to begin.

The love of family
is such a precious gift.
Cherished times with
extended family is awesome,
and always never enough time to be together.

How blessed am I
to have such an incredible
family life,
and recently the birth of my
precious new grand daughter!
For she is another extension of this gift.
For there are truly no words
to describe how I feel.

Love and family is a precious gift
for that I am truly grateful.

Donna Lee

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Serendipity for a Day

Beach treasures and my chosen word

This year I wasn't able to attend the full Serendipity Retreat
in the Outer Banks
because my daughter n law's due date
was at the exact time the retreat was happening. 
But as luck would have it,
Annabelle was born two weeks early ...
So I was able to come for the day and take one class,
fellowship with cherished friends
and have a tiny Serendipity experience,
it was a most perfect day!

There is always something so magical
about the Outer Banks,
but add in the retreat experience
and it becomes hard to put feelings into words.
I took a writing class with Amy Tingle and Maya Stein,

Writing the Collective:
Transcending Creative Solitude

It was a small intimate group
and I so enjoyed spending the day
with kindred writers,
being motivated to write from the heart,
to share my feelings,
being inspired to write
for the entire day.

I remember thinking to myself
I could have been working,
instead I am in this magical place
writing all day long!

This class was a gift in so many ways,
it opened up feelings I had kept buried deep inside,
for they found their way onto the page.
It is sometimes difficult to write
the hard stuff
all the while so good for you
 to share with others sitting in a room
feeling safe and secure.

One of the exercises we did
was to walk the beach,
find three white objects
and return to the room.
We were to then write
a word or phrase on each item,
we put them in a collective bowl
and we were to pick from the items,
not our own ...
I chose Amy's word
Fortunate
We then found a corner outside
and wrote and wrote and wrote
using our chosen word.
We then shared our writing out loud
with each other
and it was awesome!


Thank you Amy and Maya
for showing me how to express
myself in different ways.
For guiding me to reach inward 
and to write deeply.
You two are amazing
and inspire so many of us,
you always have my heart.

Thank you Michelle and Jen
for creating such a beautiful 
retreat environment.
I am sure those who attended the
four days
were filled beyond measure
You are both beauty and light!
We need your insights and love.

How Fortunate am I
to live in such a creative circle,
to have wonderful
friends and peers along the way.
Serendipity was a gift for me,
if only for a day.
I am filled and refreshed, 
I am hopeful
and I am truly inspired
to keep walking gently each day.

I attended my first retreat
four years ago in the OBX,
it truly changed my life for the better.
While driving home 
from Serendipity the other day,
I realized just how far I had come
in that time, 
how much I had grown,
all I had accomplished artistically,
how I still cherished the friendships
 that were built then.
I knew just how much I liked who I had become
and for that I am truly grateful!


Donna Lee