Bold

When I found this beautiful poster sent by my colleague, Evan Robb, I knew that it would be the entry into a blog post to mark the end of the March 2016 Slice of Life Challenge and Spiritual Journey Thursday's one word commentaries. When we live our story we make a bold statement on how our vision intersects life as we know it. We can positively accept the realities of life, rather than fantasizing on what could be or dwelling on what should not have happened. This leads us on to a journey of positivity, faith, and belief in the good rather than the negative. 

We give 

ourselves 

permission 

to take risks  

without regret

and so, we live

our story positively, 

showcase our successes,

move beyond our missteps. 

We walk our daily walk with joy, 

lifting our voices with others, as we 

hope for continued blessings along the way.
©CVarsalona, 2016 

Today, the Spiritual Journey Thursday community under the leadership of Holly Mueller is reflecting on fellow slicer, Donna Smith's one word bold. Bold is a word that speaks of determination to live life fully with mindful intent. Please spend 21 seconds looking at this short video I created last Easter. The word boldly is the focal point. You can access the video here and then go on to read other SJT blogs on Donna's word bold.  

On the day I called, You answered me; 

You made me bold with strength in my soul. 

Psalm 138:3

This marks the thirty-first poem of my Clearing a Path series for the Two Writing Teachers' March 2016 Slice of Life Story Challenge-Day 31. It has been an amazing journey in which I  boldly reflected on life while purposefully clearing a path to springtime. 

To join the collective chorus of cheering voices visit Day 31 of Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Challenge here. Thank you, Anna, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Stacey, and Tara for filling this month with inspiration.

Seeking Balance

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony."

~Thomas Merton

Currently Celebrating:

Clearing a path to a balanced life

    During a week of creating

and learning,

I felt the urge to seek balance.

Finding quiet time was needed

amidst a flurry of technical difficulties

and creative projects.

Inspired by World Poetry Day 

and the launch of Wonderopolis' Wonder Ground,

I sought a balanced ground.

Then, in the yoga studio, 

balance was the focus.

Breathe was the force; 

recognizing the inner spirit's

urgings was the result.

Today, Good Friday service's

quiet time was powerful.

The celebration of the cross

provided a strong message: 

hope exists 

at the foot of the cross.

Balance is in the belief.

...and so tonight I leave behind the complexities of the week, to seek the art of balance in a quiet practice. Thoughts drift to a grandmother and mother who in their simple daily practices, found balance in the art of baking. 

The kitchen is the foundation of the home. 

Balance is the underpinning of life. 

May you seek the balance you need in your life as I will do so to level mine.

Today Ruth Ayres asks us to gather to Celebrate This Week. You can access the site here. Ruth is celebrating the final stages of creating a free eBook.

This post marks the twenty-seventh one of my Clearing a Path series for Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Story Challenge-Day 27. Please read what the other slicers are commenting on.

From Winter to Spring

Winter has been quite the fashionista this season as she garbed herself in dramatic grey and white hues. She even sported bright florals colors in locales other than Long Island. Being the diva that she is, winter took center stage on the runway many a time. She created quite a stir with her blizzard line and what did you think about her diamond-studded hailstone ensembles? Snowsun opened her show on many a day with the deep tones of black making an appearance for evening wear. Throughout the season, Mr. Moon was sporting his new glowing attire. 

Now, there is a new show in town. Spring is giddy with her bright colors. Daffodil yellow is making a comeback and green is sprouting a new shade. What's on the horizon in the world of fashion is yet to be told for each day the transitional season brings a new look to its wardrobe. Afterall, Mother Nature is directing the gala entrances and we all know how temperamental she can be.   

If you are wishing for a seasonal lift, 

pause and reflect on nature's beauty.

Its coat of many colors

is a creation in itself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I work on the design of my upcoming gallery, Winter Wanderings, I notice the variety of looks of winter. Stay tuned. The winter collection will be unveiled soon. In the meantime, you can see a  sneak peek of the gallery.

Poetry Friday is being hosted by Heidi Mordhorst who has a Poetry-Music Match-Up with a delightful, original bird poem and a Bob Marley song. You can access the Round-Up here.

This post marks the twenty-fifth one of my Clearing a Path series for Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Challenge (Day 25).

In Between Seasons

"Mother Nature does not care what the calendar says."

~CeFaan Kim, Channel 7 Reporter

-Yes, I did hear that correctly on the news Sunday night.- 

It may be the start of spring but Mother Nature has not let go of winter. On Monday, the first day of spring, she waved her wand and sprinkled Long Island with a fine white powder. By Tuesday, there was no trace of the snow left.  

Is Mother Nature playing with us? Does she want a last hurrah before she has to gently exit March?

While I personally enjoy a soft dusting on the trees and lawn, most people think differently at this time of year.  "Enough is enough," has been the outcry. 

To capture this feeling of discontent, I created a digital composition of the snowy white scene that I photographed on Monday.

Will Mother Nature bid winter goodbye this week to welcome in spring? Remember what the reporter said. "Mother Nature does not care what the calendar says."

This post marks the twenty-third one of my Clearing a Path series for Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life - Day 23.

Wearing of the Green

On a chilled March day, the village of Rockville Centre donned the green as families lined the streets for the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. 

Eager anticipation was seen in the eyes of the children, bundled in thick, cream-colored Irish sweaters or winter jackets, who patiently waited for the fire trucks to appear.

The chilly temperatures did not dissuade those who were eager to watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade come marching into the village. 

Green-garbed folk lined the street.

     A sea of different-sized leprechauns

             flanked the village green and police station.

                      All waited in the chilled afternoon air.

With festivity, 
the marchers appeared. 

politicians smiled, 

shook hands, 

and horse hooves 
clomped on by. 

A spirit of community 
existed on this day of days
as an amazing explosion 

of sights and sounds 

paraded on by. 

Excitement was in the air. 

Camaraderie warmed the day. 
The luck of the Irish
was with all.

My first entry, The Luck of the Irish, paved the way for this retelling of the St. Patrick's Day Parade. 

Please enjoy this short video, Wearing of the Green, that I created in Animoto.

On this day of days in Rockville Centre, 

everyone was Irish and merriment 

felt by all who lined the parade route. 

This post marks the twenty-second one of my Clearing a Path series for the Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Challenge - Day 22. 

Discovery

In my attempt to clear a path this March and savor the single, simple moments of each day, I created a new look for this blog and for my Wonderopolis Wonder Lead Ambassador site. Actually, the computer issue disaster that I experienced earlier this month precipitated the move to create a new identity for Beyond LiteracyLink. 

With the Wonderopolis Wonder Ground launching tomorrow, I was asked to populate my site with content. Wondering what the digital visuals for both Beyond LiteracyLink and my Wonder Lead Ambassador site should be led me to discover the bigger picture of design and the details needed. 

Brainstorming Ideas On What I Vision a Site Should Look Like:

Clean, simple style showing a creative flair 

     with varied, engaging content to share-

     colors and fonts visually appealing

     digital compositions conveying meaning

     and multiple texts worth your reading

Why the Site Needs To Be All of the Above:
When creating a blog site, I feel that matching the site to your identity is key. For my Beyond LiteracyLink blog site, I challenged myself to design a clean, bright screen splashing color across a page, much like voice that rises from within and boldly announces its entry into the world. On some days my mood is quiet and reflective so muted, watercolor-like digital compositions suit me, but on other days a bold expressive approach is important. My Wonder Lead Ambassador site hopes to be a place for educators to find wonder and inspiration.

Reflection:
I feel that the new designs invite "voice" to make its entrance and be received by teacher and colleagues as learners across the world. I would love to hear your comments on whether the styles I chose are ones that capture my thoughts as they splash across a page. 

What Readers Can Discover at the Wonder Ground:
The Wonder Ground is a site to "help educators make the most of Wonderopolis" so the creative team is working diligently to prepare for the launch. They encourage teachers to log in and visit the wonders of Wonderopolis. Once the site goes live, teachers can share lesson plans, blogs, and resources with colleagues and students. The Wonder Ground will be a "valuable portal for educators everywhere" and provide the inspiration to continue to bring children into a world of wonder.

Digital literacy is alive and breathing life into lessons, learnings, and life daily. 

Be Inspired. Create!

Today, I am writing on the topic of discovery for DigiLit Sunday under the leadership of Margaret Simon. In my own journey of discovery, digitally creating meaningful content is important.

This post marks the twentieth one of my Clearing a Path series for the March SOLSC-Day 20. In this piece, I talk about creating new designs to bring a new look to my blog sites. 

Celebrating This Week's Bests

I Am Celebrating:

Something I Accomplished: This week started off with the theme transitions posted by Margaret Simon for DigitLit Sunday. I was delighted to reflect upon that word and how it would affect my week both professionally (transitions are the dabs of glue needed to make the vision connect with the content) and personally (decluttering led to the creation of a sanctuary of tranquility).

Something I Did For Fun: I decided that this blog needed a pick-me-up in keeping with my thoughts on the power of voice and digital change. I transformed my blog site to make it more visually appealing. You can let me know what you think of the the new design.

Almost Wonderful Mini-Trip: We thought that the cherry blossoms were going to pop this weekend so we planned a short trip to Washington, D.C. to see my daughter and son-in-law. Unfortunately, the weather changed and the blossoms will peak next week when my daughter is out of town for a business trip. The photo below from National Cherry Blossom Festival will be the only sighting I will have of the cherry blossoms this year.

Favorite Quote of the Week:
Have words wash over your brain! ~Douglas Fisher

Most Relaxing Activity:

My Gentle Yoga session this week provided the opportunity to stretch, increase my balance, and sink into quiet time.

Wonderful Conference I Attended:

Ann Weiss of McGraw-Hill Education brought Douglas Fisher to Long Island for a morning workshop. I am a huge fan and was delighted to hear Doug speak about purpose-driven learning. Take-Aways from the presentation: 

• Teach why and what we are learning.
• Teaching isolated strategies does not raise comprehension levels. 
• Teacher modeling should be punctuated with student talk.

Best Gift:

A copy of Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher's book, Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Text.

Wonderful Chat of the Week: 

This week I co-moderated #NYEDChat with Dan McCabe and guest moderator, Connie Hamilton of #TMchat. The topic was instructional leadership. The conversation was engaging and lively. Connie provided many thinking maps on the topic. One of her quotes that resonated with me is: "Vertical alignment and coherence are KEY!"

What I Look Forward To: 

• Palm Sunday Mass when are Cathedral will reopen. 
• The launch of Wonderopolis' Wonder Ground on March 21st. I have been uploading material to my Wonder Lead Ambassador blog site but hit a snag tonight when my password did not work. 
• Reading the posts from Ruth Ayres' Celebrate This Week bloggers and those from Two Writing Teachers' March SOLSC. (Please visit those sites to enjoy the celebrations and slices of life.)

Transitions have been a major part of my week and these have helped me clear a path to simplifying my life as I wrote in my Spiritual Journey Thursday blog. This post today marks the nineteenth one of my series, Clearing a Path. 

Simplify Life

WARNING: 

When you are eager to simplify life, do not spend time juggling several balls.

LESSON LEARNED:

An early spring cleaning spree has helped me clear a path to a non-cluttered approach to writing and life, but wanting to get as much done in a given day may not be a thoughtful plan. Unless you are mindful of each moment too many plans may lead to error, as I well know. I opened this draft today and realized that in the midst of juggling several balls I dropped one. My completed draft to this post was sent into cyberspace with no way to retrieve it. Having only a few thoughts facing me left me speechless or should I say writerless.

RESULT:

I turned to the wisdom of Mother Theresa, who in her saintly way started with what is possible. With simplicity and grace, she brought about change through a simple life of self-sacrifice and service. She exemplified the mantra, "Less is More."

While I am not saying that each of us needs to change the world, we do need to live a mindful life, savoring each moment to benefit ourselves and impact others. 

LIVING LIFE MANTRA:

-ACTION PLAN-
STEPS TO SIMPLIFY LIFE:

Awaken a mindful spirit.
Be present in the moment.
Delight in the beauty of nature.
Admire what is surrounding you.
Believe in a faith-filled and intentful journey.
Wait with bold wonder until the light of love and peace shines forth. 

Then, pause and reflect, before moving on.
SELAH!

“The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service and the fruit of service is peace.” 
~Mother Theresa, A Simple Path

You can listen and read a sample of Mother Theresa's book, A Simple Life here. 

The Spiritual Journey Thursday (SJT) community under the direction of Holly Mueller is examining the spiritual side of each of our one words that guide our journeys. This week, Linda Kulp's One Word, simplify, is the topic of discussion. My Steps to Simplify Life Plan contains all of the one words in italics that we have or will examine. You can access the SJT site here.

Today marks the seventeeth post of my Clearing a Path series for Two Writing Teachers' March SOLSC - Day 17. Please visit the site here to read what other small moments slicers are writing about. 

Quiet Nook

Reflection

Come find me in a quiet corner of the house. 

I am a newly configured quiet nook, standing in sharp contrast to a lower level, messy office. 

I am a sanctuary of tranquility. 

For the past months in the midst of de-clutttering winter decorations from the living and dining rooms, I became a storage area. That was unacceptable, so a great exodus of winter items to the pull-down attic began. Slowly, my space was transformed. 

I am a peaceful writing place to slip into in the early morning hours. 

Styled in the fashion of a bed and breakfast room, serenity and simplicity exist in my space. 

I am a safe haven where time passes slowly but in my sacred sanctuary alone time is not lonely. 

I am a place that the muse visits; whispers her soft tune as the world unfolds each day. 

From the outside world, I hear the birds chirp. I imagine an array of thoughts floating out through the window and connecting with nature. In this flow, words circle back finding a home at my desk.  

I am a reading and writing corner, a cherished space for reflection and wonder. 

Come find me when the quietness of the house settles.

I am always here for you.

Is there not a better way to start the day than to be alone in my quiet corner of the house? 

No constraints or tasks exists here in my quiet space.

I am your place of tranquility. 

Where do you go to still the chatter, find quiet,

and invite the muse into your life? 

(Slicer Bonnie Kaplan is capturing all of the different writing corners to showcase them at Two Writing Teachers. I sent in the above photo without the poem.)

Today marks the sixteenth post of my Clearing a Path series for Two Writing Teachers' March SOLSC. Please visit the site here to read what other small moments slicers are writing about.