A neglected work inside us sends out despondent signals like the desire to wail in the middle of the day… They are the flares our soul sends up during overcast nights lost at sea. They remind us to come home. They remind us to eat of the only food that can anwer our strange and relentless hunger. 

We are drowning when we are disregarding the mission within us. The longer we wait, the more we feel that unbearable weight. Yes, sometimes not working is just a call to rest and we really do need the rest. And sometimes it’s a call to incubate bigger dreams or a more startling plan.

But you know what just plain old avoidance feels like… Avoidance likes to tell you that it’s saving you pain by keeping you from the one thing that will make you feel better.

Do the one thing. Face your work. Small deeds build strength. Take the tiniest step you can imagine toward your dream and you’re back on track. Even five minutes can wheel destiny around. Five minutes of devotion equals five minutes of ascendance over pestilence and shame. 

Tama J. Kieves

… self-love could see me through any and every aspect of this journey.

Later, she titled and matted and framed the prints as though they were destined for gallery walls. She labeled them with her biography and vision statement, and distributed them as Christmas presents to family, friends, and some acquaintances. Alice presented her art as art instead of as an apologetic hobby she’d stuffed in her closet and hid from the world’s awaiting embrace.

Tama J. Kieves

Finally finished this book that Lisa gave me, definitely some good thoughts.

"Care for the worn-out part of yourself and that worn-out feeling will move through. Everything that is loved is freed."

Tama J. Kieves

"Discipline means being a disciple to yourself."

Tama J. Kieves

I know of no other way to find and follow your calling than to take the next visible step before you.

With this breath, you know a present action to take, a place to start. 

Then you will know your next step, just as you know the direction to attempt right now. 

I didn’t have the insight to know I was undoing. 

It is this time of “undoing” that requires every ounce of strength, vision, and persistence.

Tama J. Kieves

A mentor offers a mug of herbal tea, an oatmeal cookie, and a warm story for every occasion. She says, “Here, pull up a chair, sit down, tell me what’s going on with you.” She closes the door and opens the chambers of her heart.

Tama J. Kieves

“You know that emptiness you feel at your job. It’s not emptiness. It’s fullness repressed.”

Tama J. Kieves

“The wrong career creates the need for money. Only the repressed turn reckless. The expressed have better things to do.

Live your dream and you will live in balance.”

Tama J. Kieves

“It’s not your answers or ideas that you need to worry about. It’s your resistance to your ideas… Take care of these weeds and the creative seeds will take care of themselves.”

Tama J. Kieves