Words can pack a punch. Words can deliver a soft, sweet blow. Words can be a weapon or a gift. Sometimes we give someone words delivered from the heart…it can be difficult to put your heart & pride on the line with your words. I feel words delivered with emotion & then ignored hurt. That hurt can be absorbed & infect one with self-doubt. The card i photographed today, “Don’t worry about things that don’t worry about you” put my perspective back to where it was before I wrote someone of my hopes, only to be ignored completely. Sometimes I put too much faith in others, but I see life one way & forget that other people see life though a completely different lens.
These flowers are from my gardens. I cut them & tucked them into little places all over my house. I am very happy to have my friend, Stephanie, venture into the unknown of putting ourselves out there. She reminded me on Sunday, that there is no rush, no deadlines…trying a new adventure & waiting for success is like watching & waiting for my flowers to grow. She said it should be a project that brings us joy. Her words made me brave.
Words are powerful. Words can inspire, give strength, help us grow into the person we want to be. I’m old enough to know who I want to be. I should put my faith in myself & draw strength from those who support me & to hell with the rest.
As Mae West said, “you only have one life. But, if you do it right, once is enough.”
2me4art 
I really love those little vases.
LikeLike
Thank you so much! Little can pack quite a punch too 🙂 ~amy
LikeLike
I really love these little vases too. They fit everywhere. Most things done in wee sizes are so sweet. Thank you! ~amy
LikeLike
love these AMY!
LikeLike
you do, GAIL? Oh, wish me luck then. Combining all my loves has got to work, doesn’t it? ~amy
LikeLike
sure does, fingers CROSSED!
LikeLike
You deliver happiness to a whole bunch of people every single day! You lift us up, make us smile and warm our hearts with your wonderful work and that is a reflection of who you really are!They say that the eyes are a reflection of your soul, your eyes are seeing breathtaking beauty in everything, and that what you see you share, and what you share makes lot of people happy. The circle is complete and is perfect! The gift which you posses has fullfilled his purpose. You don’t need to worry because you already doing what you meant to do; bring joy to the world! You’re a strong, powerful, dedicated soul which gives without limitations and supports many souls in need of “happiness delivered”. You definitely made it Amy, you are the STRONG ONE and an inspiration for many, that including me, so for that reason I thank you!-Eva:)
LikeLike
Geez, Eva. Extraordinary compliment. My mind is blown. Should I accept it as truth? I have a difficult time believing such wonderful compliments. I read them & yet, in the back of my mind, I hear, “she’s not really talking about you…” Ok. I’m back. Of course you didn’t know I got up & had to really think about how to respond to this amazing compliment. What i came up with is, when I was sent to a pain doctor, b/c no one could do anything else for me, it was required that I see the in-house therapist. He said two of his patients were a young married couple, both had been avid mountain bikers. It was their passion. Both were hit by a car & both suffered very traumatic injuries. They would no longer be able to ride bikes. There bones were repaired with metal & pins. The therapist told me that during over the course of their counseling, the couple had revealed their passions in other areas. Over time they had gone into business that they thrived in. In my mind, I thought, they are now on the path to, as you said, “fulfilled his purpose.” The story gave me hope that maybe I wasn’t supposed to be a whirlwind flying though life, but to slow down & do what I always loved to do. I am doing what I always dreamt of doing. I am a gardener, photography, florist & graphic designer. When I was a teenager–that is what I wanted to be. I couldn’t have been able to do these things, because all require time to sit down & BE STILL. So, eva, are you a therapist? Perhaps that is your calling? I am very grateful to you, thank you. ~amy
LikeLike
Dear Amy, I’m not a therapist, my compliments to you are always sincere and that is the truth. I had my fare share of darkness and know how it feels to be in a place from where seems to be impossible to return. Everything happens for a reason and there is a reason for everything. Untill you realize that, doubt will always take place at your backseat. Life cannot be forced, it flows gently because knows his path, if you accept that you will gently flow with it and it will take you where you need to be! I sincerely believe the gift given to you has fulfilled his purpose, now is up to you to believe, trust and let yourself flow because the direction was set up long ago. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with my comment, it won’t happen again, I promise! Wish you all the happiness and health to you and yours.-Eva
LikeLike
Eva! You never made me uncomfortable & if I implied that being a therapist was a negative thing, I am truly sorry. It was intended as a compliment, your advice & vision of how life works is wonderful. I express my doubts in my art because i think if i shared my experiences with others that perhaps I would find people like YOU, to help me see life though a different lens. Everyone has struggles & ways of coping with them. I think most of us have a bit of insecurity about us & I think that is important because if we thought we were perfect or good enough, then we wouldn’t have the drive to seek further wisdom & learn life lessons. Please me honest with me anytime, because I enjoy your comments very, very much.
I wish you all the happiness & HEALTH to you & yours. Thank you for giving me a different view of life. ~amy
LikeLike
I’m happy that I met you, I love your honesty and appreciate your wisdom not to mention how big of a fan I am of your wonderful work. It gives me such a pleasure that you share your vision of every day life with humor, vibrant colors and beautiful shots of ordinary or extraordinary things or living things. You are a special person and I feel lucky that I can be a part of your special world which you share selflessly with all of us and for that I thank you!-Eva:)
LikeLike
gosh, right back at you, Eva. You always make my day when I see you’ve commented. I love your feedback & it makes me brave in so many ways. It is hard to find another in my community that is as supportive as the wonderful people i’ve found through blogging. I loved visiting & liking your drawings yesterday, they covered my blog for the day. ~amy
LikeLike
It is so amazing to be part of such great community of wonderful people. We all have something to share and we communicate through our craft and that alone is outstanding. I think for ourselfs and the world in general is better. I’m happy that you enjoyed a day with my drawings, it means a lot to me!-Eva:)
LikeLike
I think that you have tremendous creativity and such sweetness. It seems that you stop to smell the roses all the time and that is a great gift. You share that gift which is even greater because it brings joy to the rest of us. Ps….love the raffia tied round the little vases…..especially the purple.
LikeLike
I seem to have a weakness for purple & if anyone asked me if it was my favorite color, purple wouldn’t have hit the top five on my list. But with flowers & presenting them, I’m just drawn to it.
Your compliment is astoundingly amazing & such a gift. I seem to be able to accept compliments better when delivered by artists like you. Before, I would shrug them compliments off as the giver didn’t really know what they were talking about…so much easier to reject the positive b/c it confirms my self doubt. But, you…you are an artist, an artist that blows me away with every single painting i’ve seen you do. Gretchen, thank you so much for making helping me brave to be enough. ~amy
LikeLike
I know what you mean. Some of my favorite likes are from creative people and I do appreciate all comments. It’s just that sometimes I feel really connected.
LikeLike
Me too, Gretchen. ~amy
LikeLike
In live with this ❤️
LikeLike
Thank you so much! ~amy
LikeLike
Such powerful words and such beautiful flowers and images. Please do not think you are alone in this Amy. We really all do this silly thing, which is to search for validation from people who can not give it. When only silence comes in reply we have to try to learn that their opinion is not worth earning. And yet it often seems to be the thing we want most.
I think what you do is so special and Happiness Delivered is unique. I love it! I also like the sound of Stephanie, she sounds good.-Karen
LikeLike
Karen, don’t you know I count you among those who give me courage to shrug off the negative? I count you as one who gives me strength. I love that blogging has helped me find you to write to, to be encouraged & inspired by… to be able to see your world, though your eyes. I consider you my friend & I think if i was given a gift to fly to England, I would land on your doorstep & fallen, hopefully, into your hug. Then you would, hopefully, fed me & then show me all of your gardens. Thank you for your very powerful words & I am happy to share that I’ve gained strength from them. Its funny, my parents don’t follow my blog, nor do my brothers. I communicate more with you then with my closest family. I guess, it isn’t funny, sad really. Thank you for everything. ~amy
LikeLike
I am smiling with joy and happiness! Of course you would be welcome and yes I would feed you and show you my garden, but most importantly, we would talk.
I find it sometimes so easy and yet also so painful to watch your journey because it is my own too. I have family, but as a child they never once commented or even looked at my work. I think that this pattern sets up a feeling that there is something not right with US. So we try harder and harder. But it makes no difference to them. So we grow up feeling inadequate. But we are the very opposite of that.
I would like to be able to make you feel better than you do. I am trying to feel it for myself too, but it is not easy.
I really can not believe that we are lucky enough to be able to communicate. I will continue to try to help you to see and feel from the inside what a bright and special star you are. I am always here for you and I am honoured to hear that you consider me a friend.- Karen.
LikeLike
How could I not consider you a friend, with so many words passed between us over the Atlantic?! I agree with you completely on the reason that drives us both to feel not worthy of praise. Perhaps, it an unintentional reason, but should considered a gift too? In my neighborhood & all across the U.S. parents are doing every single thing that they can for their children. Which to me, gives children no gift at all. How can a child feel, with parents monitoring every choice & decision, worthy of anything? These children must never feel good enough. Parenting is so hard. Children don’t understand that their parents have never parented before & they lose a bit of their singular identity by becoming the charges of another. My children forget that I was a person with feelings & doubts & memories just being ME before I was a mom. I cannot picture my mother being anything other then a Mother…Still. But she was. I’m going to start rambling again & I’ve got a list ten miles long to do this morning. You make me THINK. Thank you for being here, in my life the only way you can be. We will be one another’s champion. That is the definition of what friends are, is it not?? ~amy
LikeLike
The practice of ‘parenting’ does seem to have changed a great deal over recent years. Children now are praised a great deal more perhaps than before and there is no doubt that they have less freedom to roam, explore and take risks. This was not my experience, so two things happened as a result- I tried harder and I let my imagination take me where I wanted to go as I explored fields, streams and woodland, way, way, way away from my home.
I think it is hard to hold onto one’s identity as an individual and do parenting.It is especially hard for a creative person who so constantly needs to express themselves. And we are driven to do that, to keep on feeling that we truly exist. The difficulties we had earlier in life seem to be the spur for everything we do. And yet, as you say, the alternative would mean that we were complacent and sat around eating cake all day! Well we know that is never going to happen!
There is a Headmistress in England who has been reported by the BBC for controversially teaching her girls (it is a girls only school) the power and positive effects of taking risks and learning about failure. She believes that because we praise children for every little thing that they give up too easily on things which they do not do well at.. I will try to send you a link to it via your email address.
So, you see, maybe the solution lies in creating a childhood environment which is part way between the one we had and the one children have now.
The trouble is we all tend to overcompensate and want never to do what our own parents did! It is not easy!
I am already your champion and thank you so much for being mine.-Karen.
LikeLike
Very well said. You are a very deep thinker…artists tend to spend a lot of time alone, leading to insights that wouldn’t occur to people who work with other people. I wish the Headmistress luck, because I believe she is right. What she is trying to do, is undo all the damage caused by parents intending to be “the perfect parent” I would have suffocated had my parents stood over my shoulders. My brothers & I were tossed out the door with a, “go play!” and we did. For hours & hours. It was a blessing. I would love to read the about the Headmistress & look forward to receiving it. I hope you have a wonderful weekend playing in the dirt. ~amy
LikeLike
Sigh…. I really am going to have to move to your neck of the woods to get those lovely little vases. Hmmmm, we’ve been here 2 years, had 2 years in UK, been in Australia for nigh-on 4- years, perhaps the Geriatric Gypsies might set their sights on the US. I’m sure our 4 dogs and 3 cats would like new adventures too!
LikeLike
My daughter is heading off to college this fall, you guys can have her room. You can help me in the gardens until you find a cool place to live! I wish i could send you the flowers. Thank you so much. You are awesome! ~amy
LikeLike
Like Like Like! I wish you so much success with your project, Amy – and may you find all the support you need to buoy you up along the way. You’ll definitely make it.
LikeLike
You are counted among the people who give me strength to keep trying, Reggie. Your words are read & stored away. Powerful things, your words. Thank you so much for your encouragement. ~amy
LikeLiked by 1 person
received 🙂
LikeLike
confused. 🙂 ~amy
LikeLike