Catching up with "Friends"

I spent a relaxing Sunday catching up with myself. Well, at least with my "internet" self. I've saved way too may websites in Favorites (and didn't go to them) and way too many blogs in Google Reader (and didn't read them). 2008 was way busy for me and checking people's blogs became a luxury I didn't find time for. Sure, a quick check here and there, but I did a lot of clicking "mark all as read."

So today I cleaned up my Favorites and my Reader. I'm sorry I missed Tim Hotz's 12 Tags of Christmas! I enjoyed his tutorials the year before. I have a lot of catching up to do.

And I missed Lesley Riley's move to typepad, but I'm glad I caught up with her. I've been inspired by Lesley's fabric collages and she writes thoughtful posts. I want to share 3 quotations from her blog that I believe provide guidance for the creative life. The first is an old favorite of mine, but the other 2 are now new favorites.

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can.

In all the ways you can. In all the places you can.

At all the times you can. To all the people you can.

As long as ever you can."

~ John Wesley

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

~ Anias Nin

"By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The non-existent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired."

~ Nikos Kazantzakis

Another thing I realized was that I never acknowleged Donna Downey for her wonderful Campaign for Creativity badge. I put her badge not only on my blog, but also on another blog I did for the Creative Arts & Aging Network. And I never took the minute to credit her. Shame on me! So, thanks, Donna, for your inspiration and your inspirational motto: Live a life inspired. Dream with possibility.