The WWS Party XV; Vision

I like to start off the party by repeating my ‘why’ for the WWS.  My mission is simply to bring women of all age, race, and background together to focus on self-care. I expect that you will notice and be affected by different aspects of the party each time you come and I think that happens for many reasons: what is happening in your life, what you feel the need for at this time, even who you end up sitting next to. When I plan the party I know that I won’t be able to please everyone, but know that I craft each party to appeal to ALL of your senses: the food and drink, the music, the visual of the arts, the wonderful smell of the soap, and your emotions...maybe they will all affect you, or perhaps just one will on this day, and that is what is I am aiming for.

And the second major reason for Wild Women is  captured in a quote I have shared before by actress Phylicia Rashad: Any time women come together with a collective intention, it's a powerful thing. Whether it's sitting down making a quilt, in a kitchen preparing a meal, in a club reading the same book, or around the table playing cards, or planning a birthday party, when women come together with a collective intention, magic happens.

We all need to slice out this kind of time for ourselves, to have a safe place where we can encourage self care and focus on who we are over what we do.  A place where you can come and just “BE”.

When I started thinking about Vision as a theme my first thought was to get up and confess that I really have no vision myself but it is something that I aspire to have. But I’m glad I stopped to really ask myself this question because I have a pattern of not giving myself credit, but not only that, I made some assumptions as to what Vision really means. By definition vision is “the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be”, or “a vivid, imaginative conception or anticipation”. I assumed I didn’t really have “vision” because (more often than I care to admit), my wild and crazy ideas don’t come to fruition. It is easy to forget that when something looks effortless there are often thousands of hours of practice and, yes, missteps, mistakes, and failures that preceeded the finished product! And so, when I am beating up on myself for not being (fill in the blank here!) enough I must remember to stop, take a deep breath, step back, and recapture the vision. Because this party in and of itself is part of my vision. If I could capture what I want all my visions to be in two words it would be “Be Significant”. Or maybe the three: “make a difference”. And while I may never be significant or make a difference on a large scale, I hope I at least can on a smaller scale.

Taking the idea of vision more literally, Albert Einstein said: The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, his eyes are closed.

I had a friend say something that has really made me think, and I love and appreciate her honesty: “I am 50 years old and I am what I am”, that she doesn’t necessarily want to spend time being introspective. I love this about her so much! But, and here is the part where I lay my guts on the table for y’all by sharing my “patterns”, the actions that have held me back. #1 I need to take in other’s opinions without letting them change mine, and #2 I do not want to be done learning and growing, challenging and scaring the hell out of myself. WW has been a giant 3 year therapy session for me as I work through all the things that have happened in my life, and there have been a lot: turning a “significant” age, becoming an empty-nester, the trauma of divorce, and losing my Mom to name a few. And then my baby had the nerve to turn 20! While I am over the moon glad he is alive, the simple mathematics of having your youngest child that old are a little depressing!

I am a big fan of Elizabeth Gilbert and I’m very excited that she has a new book coming out in September. She has been sharing snippets on her facebook page, really yummy thoughts, like:

“creative talents and gifts are hidden deep inside all of us. Trying to uncover those "strange jewels" is one of the most challenging (but potentially joyful) experiences of a human life...and it's what my new book (and indeed my whole life) is all about.”

She sums up this vision with this: “One of the oldest and most generous tricks that the universe plays on human beings is to bury strange jewels within us all, and then stand back to see if we can ever find them.”

And my current favorite self help guru is Martha Beck.  If you are not yet familiar with Martha Beck I encourage you to check out one of the many books or blogs she has written online, she is a world-renowned life coach, best-selling author, and Oprah Magazine columnist.

To go to the edge of your creativity means that you constantly challenge yourself to stay in the trenches, to solve and build and make, rather than waiting for effortless success or tearing other people’s work apart. When you look at the work of a creative master, don’t assume that it was easy; study it to see how the genius worked, and remind yourself that with an enormous amount of effort, you might learn to work the same way....Remember that you, like anyone else, can only realize the grand vision in your mind’s eye by working with the grubby, recalcitrant tools of the material world. (Martha Beck)

In closing, I’d like to dedicate this party to Ginger Rogers. Lisa and I lost our sweet mom in December. Now Ginger was a woman with very special visions. When I was in high school I drew a picture of my prom dress and she would work  until the wee hours of the morning creating my beautiful and unique dresses, same thing with my wedding dress, Lisa’s too, and my brother’s wife, and all of our wedding veils too, including Gail’s. Always creative, always seeing the world through her rose-colored glasses, Mom taught me a lot about vision. Whether your dreams are to conquer on the scale of Albert Einstein, to create something beautiful for your daughter to wear, or just the whisper of an idea, my hope is that you pursue your vision with passion!

Well you know I love to surprise you and why not a world-class pianist?? Dmitry KreevaNOsaf (phonetic) is an honorary artist of the Republic of InguSHETia (phonetic) in the Russian Federation, laureate and diploma holder of five international competitions in Italy, Poland, Great Britain, Ukraine and Japan.
Lucky me, he and his lovely wife Ludmilla happen to be staying my neighbors (his friends) and I got to hear him play in a private concert at my home. Lucky for you, if you love his music you can hear him play in this very room on Tuesday Feb. 10 at 7pm
Guest Speaker Sarah Papp is a Certified Martha Beck Life coach. She has a degree in sociology from Sarah Lawrence College. After spending years feeling lost, stressed and burnt out she made a dramatic change in her life by quitting her job, learning and practicing mindfulness and forming her dream job by becoming a Coach. Today she is a master at helping her clients liberate themselves from inner barriers to form their vision and create the joy and freedom they desire in their life and business.