Sandy Steen Bartholomew's Blog, page 26
September 18, 2013
Tuesday... Santa Fe
Everyone learned to carve their own rubber stamps today. Despite the challenge of stamping onto the textured watercolor paper in our journals, the designs were beautiful. I was really impressed (pun intended) with the work.
After lunch, Jessica did a lesson on drawing and coloring adobe houses and chili peppers.
I worked a bit more on my sketch of the Old Pecos ruin from Sunday.
And we explored the neighborhood looking for interesting examples of adobe walls and doors.
We headed back to the hotel and spent the next four hours drawing and being really silly! (Fun!)
I need to work on the guacamole a bit more...
By the way, Lisa Heron is "brilliant".
After lunch, Jessica did a lesson on drawing and coloring adobe houses and chili peppers.
I worked a bit more on my sketch of the Old Pecos ruin from Sunday.
And we explored the neighborhood looking for interesting examples of adobe walls and doors.
We headed back to the hotel and spent the next four hours drawing and being really silly! (Fun!)
I need to work on the guacamole a bit more...
By the way, Lisa Heron is "brilliant".
September 16, 2013
Monday in the Classroom
After a slightly nerve wracking morning dealing with a dead battery in the rental car... I spent most of the day in the classroom.
Before lunch, we worked on learning how to paint Santa Fe skies. I, of course, added a little story about a red balloon and a flock of birds.
After lunch, I did a workshop on lettering then showed lots of journaling ideas in a slide show.
I had round two of birthday dining with Lisa, Christine, and Donna at the Midtown Bistro. This great restaurant was behind a rock quarry, fountain, sculpture place...
Here is Lisa Heron - who totally ROCKS...
And the food was fabulous too...
I still only have parts of journal pages completed, but here is the map page I started...
Before lunch, we worked on learning how to paint Santa Fe skies. I, of course, added a little story about a red balloon and a flock of birds.
After lunch, I did a workshop on lettering then showed lots of journaling ideas in a slide show.
I had round two of birthday dining with Lisa, Christine, and Donna at the Midtown Bistro. This great restaurant was behind a rock quarry, fountain, sculpture place...
Here is Lisa Heron - who totally ROCKS...
And the food was fabulous too...
I still only have parts of journal pages completed, but here is the map page I started...
Art Journaling as Paradise
New meaning to Hump Day?
And so we started...
A slight typo, but perhaps more accurate. There were thirty of us and we plunged into the basics of drawing, by examining our tools and our lunch. :-)
We took a short field trip to explore the neighborhood.
I was asked how I did the gray lines in my previous journal posts. I use a Pitt Brush, which is permanent, gray India ink. A Flair pen is also cool... The drawn lines can be blended using a water brush. There are interesting tones of blues and grays.
Some of us went for dinner at The Cowgirl Cafe. Take a look at the description for the meatloaf... Yak!!? Mmmmm. (I had scallops).
And so we started...
A slight typo, but perhaps more accurate. There were thirty of us and we plunged into the basics of drawing, by examining our tools and our lunch. :-)
We took a short field trip to explore the neighborhood.
I was asked how I did the gray lines in my previous journal posts. I use a Pitt Brush, which is permanent, gray India ink. A Flair pen is also cool... The drawn lines can be blended using a water brush. There are interesting tones of blues and grays.
Some of us went for dinner at The Cowgirl Cafe. Take a look at the description for the meatloaf... Yak!!? Mmmmm. (I had scallops).
Birthday in Santa Fe!
It's after midnight and I am exhausted beyond belief. It was the most fabulous day- the sun came out and the day was so beautiful.
We spent the morning at the Old Pecos Ruins.
"Does this ladder make my butt look fat?"
Christine Halaburka used the Kachina from my Tangles of Santa Fe ebook to decorate her pen case!
We had lunch at Jessica's gallery courtyard. I got tons of presents! And freshly made ginger snaps. Mmmm.
We spent the afternoon at Jackalope. It's hard to describe, so here are lots of pics. And tangles I found. Btw, that Ammonite was over a foot wide!
Xanadu was one of the gallery shops at Jackalope and owned by friends of Jessica. They prepared some refreshments for us and were all around wonderful people. They knew a lot about the work in their store - which was more like an incredible museum filled with items you could own.
A bunch of us went out for dinner.
My strawberry, birthday margarita...
And, finally, the only journal page I finished today... Tonight actually... I drew pictures of all the wonderful gifts I received from my friends. :-) a way of acknowledging and appreciating each item and mentally thanking all the people.
Thank you so much everyone for the best birthday ever. :-)Now I will collapse into bed...
We spent the morning at the Old Pecos Ruins.
"Does this ladder make my butt look fat?"
Christine Halaburka used the Kachina from my Tangles of Santa Fe ebook to decorate her pen case!We had lunch at Jessica's gallery courtyard. I got tons of presents! And freshly made ginger snaps. Mmmm.
We spent the afternoon at Jackalope. It's hard to describe, so here are lots of pics. And tangles I found. Btw, that Ammonite was over a foot wide!
Xanadu was one of the gallery shops at Jackalope and owned by friends of Jessica. They prepared some refreshments for us and were all around wonderful people. They knew a lot about the work in their store - which was more like an incredible museum filled with items you could own. 
A bunch of us went out for dinner.
My strawberry, birthday margarita...
And, finally, the only journal page I finished today... Tonight actually... I drew pictures of all the wonderful gifts I received from my friends. :-) a way of acknowledging and appreciating each item and mentally thanking all the people. 
Thank you so much everyone for the best birthday ever. :-)Now I will collapse into bed...
September 13, 2013
Friday, Sept. 13... Roald Dahl Day!
A much better holiday for today (is Friday the 13th a holiday yet?)
I got a quick visit to a Trader Joe's today! Yes, my first. I have to go back and explore. What a cool place...
Murals and cool chalkboard art everywhere...
The crow is 3-D!
And I love the graphics on the products too. There was a box of tissues with a plea to remember to remove the item from your pocket before putting your pants on the laundry! And I love the shopping bags too...
Great sense of humor. And lots of chocolate.
Journal pages for today... A sketch of my room, which is like a tiny house.
And our new journal bags made for us by Autumn Fern Design (autumnferndesign on Etsy). They are solar printed and even have beautiful batik fabric inside.
And, the weather forecast... I will not make any more comments on that except that I put in a request with the Universe for nice weather on Sunday when we go on our big field trip to the old Pecos ruins. And, ahem, it's my birthday too. :-)
I got a quick visit to a Trader Joe's today! Yes, my first. I have to go back and explore. What a cool place...
Murals and cool chalkboard art everywhere...
The crow is 3-D!
And I love the graphics on the products too. There was a box of tissues with a plea to remember to remove the item from your pocket before putting your pants on the laundry! And I love the shopping bags too...
Great sense of humor. And lots of chocolate.
Journal pages for today... A sketch of my room, which is like a tiny house.
And our new journal bags made for us by Autumn Fern Design (autumnferndesign on Etsy). They are solar printed and even have beautiful batik fabric inside.
And, the weather forecast... I will not make any more comments on that except that I put in a request with the Universe for nice weather on Sunday when we go on our big field trip to the old Pecos ruins. And, ahem, it's my birthday too. :-)
September 12, 2013
Santa Fe 2
Slept very late, had a lovely lunch with Jessica- each of us talking nonstop... Checked out the amazing Community Center where we will have our classes. And got a brief tour of Santa Fe in the pouring rain. Another rainbow. :-)
I finished a journal page I had quickly roughed in last night. The couple was a lot older in real life, but there was something so playful about them that I drew them much younger.
I finished a journal page I had quickly roughed in last night. The couple was a lot older in real life, but there was something so playful about them that I drew them much younger.
September 11, 2013
Do You Know the Way to Santa Fe?
When asked why I would choose to travel on 9-11, I explained that the other option was Friday the 13th.
I drew in my journal the entire flight while listening to The Clockwork Angel. I am tired of traveling and it is very late by my mental clock. But I wanted to show you my journal pages...
And show you some of the amazing cloud formations that inspired the art.
And it is not a great photo, but there was a fabulous, giant shmear of a rainbow over the Sandia Mtns.
So I am here, safely, in Santa Fe.
I drew in my journal the entire flight while listening to The Clockwork Angel. I am tired of traveling and it is very late by my mental clock. But I wanted to show you my journal pages...
And show you some of the amazing cloud formations that inspired the art.
And it is not a great photo, but there was a fabulous, giant shmear of a rainbow over the Sandia Mtns.
So I am here, safely, in Santa Fe.
September 8, 2013
Tangle Cards Another Update
As an aside: Lilah (my 6 year old) is watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Hermione (my favorite character) has just frozen Neville.
Ron looks at her and says "You're scary! Brilliant. But scary."
I like that version of being called "scary." I could do worse than have Hermione as my role-model, right?
I have had a bunch of inquiries about the really cool POP display I posted a while back. Troy, the art director at Fox Chapel, sent me the picture of the final display...
It's beautiful isn't it? sigh.
Right now, there are only a limited number of them available and they only come filled with product. If you are a CZT and want to order it, you will need to contact Jennifer Vasko at Fox Chapel Publishing.
If you are looking for smaller quantities of the Tangle Cards at wholesale, to resell to your students or in your shop, you can get them through me in an Assortment of three packs each in my Wazala shop along with any of my books. They are also available there for retail (that's for "regular" folks). And remember, my Tangle Card packs come with special "prizes" that you can't get if you order on Amazon or from the publisher. ;-D
Normally, I am happy to sign any books (or card packs) that CZTs order from me, but I am going to Santa Fe on Wed. to teach at the Art Journal Retreat - I'll be back on Sept. 23rd.
Bonnie B. - my Studio Manager Minion - will be holding down the fort... er... BeeHive - and she is very uncomfortable about my asking her to forge my autograph. So if you really need something signed, order it right now and I'll try to do it before I go. If you just want cards or books without graffiti, Bonnie will mail those out to you. And she is very generous with the tattoos when I'm not looking! ;-)
Ron looks at her and says "You're scary! Brilliant. But scary."
I like that version of being called "scary." I could do worse than have Hermione as my role-model, right?
I have had a bunch of inquiries about the really cool POP display I posted a while back. Troy, the art director at Fox Chapel, sent me the picture of the final display...
It's beautiful isn't it? sigh.
Right now, there are only a limited number of them available and they only come filled with product. If you are a CZT and want to order it, you will need to contact Jennifer Vasko at Fox Chapel Publishing.
If you are looking for smaller quantities of the Tangle Cards at wholesale, to resell to your students or in your shop, you can get them through me in an Assortment of three packs each in my Wazala shop along with any of my books. They are also available there for retail (that's for "regular" folks). And remember, my Tangle Card packs come with special "prizes" that you can't get if you order on Amazon or from the publisher. ;-D
Normally, I am happy to sign any books (or card packs) that CZTs order from me, but I am going to Santa Fe on Wed. to teach at the Art Journal Retreat - I'll be back on Sept. 23rd.
Bonnie B. - my Studio Manager Minion - will be holding down the fort... er... BeeHive - and she is very uncomfortable about my asking her to forge my autograph. So if you really need something signed, order it right now and I'll try to do it before I go. If you just want cards or books without graffiti, Bonnie will mail those out to you. And she is very generous with the tattoos when I'm not looking! ;-)
Mini Zentangle Retreat at The BeeHive
After I get back from the Santa Fe Retreat, I hope to start getting the Open Studios going again at my BeeHive Studio. There is a really great mini-retreat happening in a few weeks, so I wanted to call your attention to it. My Studio Manager Minion, Bonnie B., got the scoop from Terry Hathaway (the teacher for the retreat) and here is what she has to say about it:
"I spoke with Terry on Saturday about her Mini Tangled Retreat and had her give me some details on the activities on the agenda.
She has a video visit by Marie and Rick which goes over the basics of Zentangle which will bring new comers up to speed (let no tangler be left behind) and will segue into learning new patterns, sharing patterns, and problem solving of patterns giving anyone fits.
We will then move on to something I've been anxious to try, toned papers, tan or gray, and the use of white gel pens and white charcoal.
After lunch, Terry will show us how to construct an accordion style book which can be used for tangles, collage, bits of favorite fabric (me!) or can be left blank to be stared at in amazement that you made a book.
Moving along, Zendala drawing will be reminiscent of high school geometry but without the grades and a lot more fun. Who can resist an activity that involves cute, new tools?
And if all that isn't enough, she has more: working on black tiles, scratch cards, snacks in the morning, snacks in the afternoon, and door prizes. Sandy will be offering a 15% discount on journals for all class participants. What more could a tangler want of a day between summer and foliage season. Hope to see you at Terry's retreat. " - Bonnie B.
To see the class post on The BeeHive site, click HERE.
The retreat sounds like a lot of fun! If I can recover from Santa Fe in time, I hope to attend Terry's Retreat too. :-)
September 6, 2013
Obsessing About Tigers
I've been obsessing about this song:
The Tiger Inside Will Eat The Child by Kate Miller-Heidke
Wade in the rising waterWalk in the sinking sand Crawl through the shadow valley To try to understand
I climbed a Jacob's Ladder I fell down holy stairs I found Siddartha's templeNo answer anywhereThe minute you think you know you got it Is the minute you know it's gone for good The second you pause his claws are on it The tiger inside will eat the child
Oh, oh
I saw a hall of mirrors I saw a burning wheel I saw a rain of arrows I lost the way to feel
I saw a million faces Stare at a fallen star I saw the last horizon The end of time
The minute you think you know you got it Is the minute you know it's gone for good The second you pause his claws are on it The tiger inside will eat the child
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Speaking in quiet whispers You hear it everywhere It leaves as you're arriving Arrives and you're still there
You drink, the cup is empty You pour, the cup is full You'll never get to hold it It's always holding you It's always holding you It's always...
The minute you think you know you got it Is the minute you know it's gone for good The second you pause his claws are on it The tiger inside will eat the child
Oh, oh, oh, oh
This video is of Kate singing the song at TEDxSydney:
I love what she says about the "cannibal tiger"!
There are two versions of the song. The first is on Kate's album Nightflight. This version is sung in a style similar to most of her music - her voice is absolutely incredible and she does really interesting things with it. She does this neat thing like a screechy-tweety-something with her hand over her mouth - just before the "whisper" part.
The video for it is animated with cute characters and kind of hints at the idea of animal totems and inner beasts.
The second version is on her album Liberty Bell, (Fatty Gets a Stylist) and if you didn't know it was the same singer - you'd never guess. Her voice is so much deeper and edgier. The song feels so much harsher and... in your face.
I have quite a few of her albums and adore her music. It's so strange - the subject matter and her amazing opera-singer voice. But after I got the Liberty Bell album and heard the more disturbing version of Tiger Inside..., it started haunting me. When Lilah woke me at 2am last night - there was a tiger in my dreams. When she woke me at 7am, the song was playing in my head. And when I stood in the shower, it just kept going around and around...
There are two parts to this that started gelling in my head. The first, like the first version of the song, is the sadder, more normal interpretation. I have been stamping my feet and screaming "It's not fair" for quite a few years now. Various events (that I cannot write about here) that happened this summer (some good, some bad) left me feeling like I was spinning around in circles, gasping for breath, wondering what rabbit hole I had fallen down? "It's not fair!" morphed into "I don't understand?" When I felt I couldn't possibly get any more confused - and asked the Universe to at least give me a CLUE, if not a road map... I stumbled upon an online class that is basically like archaeology of your brain. Dig down, clean up the mess, build some new inner scaffolding, and do some redecorating.
Yes. I'm ready for a new story. A new interpretation.
I love the sweet, sad version of Tiger Inside... but I am so intrigued by the idea that this woman (Kate Miller-Heidke) is so confident in her abilities and her vision and her place (in this rabbit hole), that she can make up a new identity, a new band, a new voice, and just put it out there - and yet still be herself.
I want to know how that works.
The second part to the thoughts in my head - what is rattling around from the second version of Tiger Inside... (Rattling is definitely the word for it). Obsessing... I'm not sure I want to think of Obsessive Compulsive as a "Disorder" anymore. It's always been very useful to have labels on all my drawers. ;-) And isn't that an oxymoron anyway to put the word "disorder" together with two words associated with "total order"? My OC-ness has mostly been seen as problematic because it's thought-based. In other words, if someone gets upset at me, their words will spin around "obsessively" in my head inflicting pain over and over and over... until something pushes them out. Usually some other thought. I have no way of stopping or preventing this - and I guess that's what makes it a disorder.
It's not always "bad" stuff that goes around and around. My great ideas work the same way. I've tried to explain it as my head is full of ping pong balls. They are ricocheting at super sonic speeds and it can be dangerous in there! Makes it hard to focus, communicate, or sleep! But it's just the way it is.
The Tiger Inside Will Eat the Child, put some faces onto those ping pong balls. (There's an interesting image...) and the constant spinning of the song in my head, started to create some order to the images. If the Child is the inner child, innocence, playfulness, creativity - all that, and the Tiger is that other stuff... maybe the adult part, the real world, wisdom...? They are both inside us - constantly at battle. There is always the threat that we will destroy ourselves if we let our guard down for even one second. I love the animated interpretation of the song - when the girl finally wears herself out, gives in, and is practically drowning - the tiger actually saves her and carries her to safer ground. She's no longer under attack and no longer alone. How do we find a way to cooperate with ourselves?
Now the ping pong image is changing into more of a rainstick analogy. Have you seen those things? There are multiple levels inside with different size holes in each level and different sized tiny metal balls. As the rainstick tips over and the balls make their way through the levels, it sounds like a downpour. Very soothing. From the outside.
On the inside it is crazy chaos as the balls try to sort themselves out and rush downward. So, inside my head, in my crazy rabbit hole... the tiny balls are spinning around incredibly fast until they find the right hole to fall through. Some ideas, thoughts, balls... rush around for a very long time. The ones that find their way disappear from sight - and out of mind. These are the successes, problems dealt with, or things dismissed. Unsolved mysteries, what if's?, unresolved conflicts, things to do, overwhelming obligations, other people's problems... etc.... those keep spinning around and around...
Have I completely lost you? I've been told I am "scary". Apologies. I know - rainstick - tigers - tiny metal balls - what the heck is this girl on?!
Just one bit more, OK? If you follow the image of the rainstick - the ideas and successes fall through their correct holes and are - gone. So it looks like I am holding on to the bad stuff, right? And not celebrating my successes? And I have no self-worth? In the song, she says:
The minute you think you know you got it
Is the minute you know it's gone for good
As soon as I am successful, on any scale, or level - the "ball" drops out of sight. It goes through the right hole and disappears down the rainstick. Likewise, if I solve a problem, deal with a medical issue, resolve a conflict, it also drops through. Gone. And from the outside (to the rest of the world) it looks like a beautiful waterfall and sounds like a lovely rainstorm. Inside, it's just...empty. So maybe this upending of my world, (every few months!) - the feeling that I'm falling down the rabbit hole - is the Universe's way of tipping my rainstick over so it starts again. The awful stuff, yes, but also all the amazing stuff too.
Maybe the "tipping" is my Tiger? And what I need to do is find a way to co-exist with the imbalance, prepare for the next free-fall, and just give in to the illogic and magic of living in Wonderland?
The Tiger Inside Will Eat The Child by Kate Miller-Heidke
Wade in the rising waterWalk in the sinking sand Crawl through the shadow valley To try to understand
I climbed a Jacob's Ladder I fell down holy stairs I found Siddartha's templeNo answer anywhereThe minute you think you know you got it Is the minute you know it's gone for good The second you pause his claws are on it The tiger inside will eat the child
Oh, oh
I saw a hall of mirrors I saw a burning wheel I saw a rain of arrows I lost the way to feel
I saw a million faces Stare at a fallen star I saw the last horizon The end of time
The minute you think you know you got it Is the minute you know it's gone for good The second you pause his claws are on it The tiger inside will eat the child
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Speaking in quiet whispers You hear it everywhere It leaves as you're arriving Arrives and you're still there
You drink, the cup is empty You pour, the cup is full You'll never get to hold it It's always holding you It's always holding you It's always...
The minute you think you know you got it Is the minute you know it's gone for good The second you pause his claws are on it The tiger inside will eat the child
Oh, oh, oh, oh
This video is of Kate singing the song at TEDxSydney:
I love what she says about the "cannibal tiger"!
There are two versions of the song. The first is on Kate's album Nightflight. This version is sung in a style similar to most of her music - her voice is absolutely incredible and she does really interesting things with it. She does this neat thing like a screechy-tweety-something with her hand over her mouth - just before the "whisper" part.
The video for it is animated with cute characters and kind of hints at the idea of animal totems and inner beasts.
The second version is on her album Liberty Bell, (Fatty Gets a Stylist) and if you didn't know it was the same singer - you'd never guess. Her voice is so much deeper and edgier. The song feels so much harsher and... in your face.
I have quite a few of her albums and adore her music. It's so strange - the subject matter and her amazing opera-singer voice. But after I got the Liberty Bell album and heard the more disturbing version of Tiger Inside..., it started haunting me. When Lilah woke me at 2am last night - there was a tiger in my dreams. When she woke me at 7am, the song was playing in my head. And when I stood in the shower, it just kept going around and around...
There are two parts to this that started gelling in my head. The first, like the first version of the song, is the sadder, more normal interpretation. I have been stamping my feet and screaming "It's not fair" for quite a few years now. Various events (that I cannot write about here) that happened this summer (some good, some bad) left me feeling like I was spinning around in circles, gasping for breath, wondering what rabbit hole I had fallen down? "It's not fair!" morphed into "I don't understand?" When I felt I couldn't possibly get any more confused - and asked the Universe to at least give me a CLUE, if not a road map... I stumbled upon an online class that is basically like archaeology of your brain. Dig down, clean up the mess, build some new inner scaffolding, and do some redecorating.
Yes. I'm ready for a new story. A new interpretation.
I love the sweet, sad version of Tiger Inside... but I am so intrigued by the idea that this woman (Kate Miller-Heidke) is so confident in her abilities and her vision and her place (in this rabbit hole), that she can make up a new identity, a new band, a new voice, and just put it out there - and yet still be herself.
I want to know how that works.
The second part to the thoughts in my head - what is rattling around from the second version of Tiger Inside... (Rattling is definitely the word for it). Obsessing... I'm not sure I want to think of Obsessive Compulsive as a "Disorder" anymore. It's always been very useful to have labels on all my drawers. ;-) And isn't that an oxymoron anyway to put the word "disorder" together with two words associated with "total order"? My OC-ness has mostly been seen as problematic because it's thought-based. In other words, if someone gets upset at me, their words will spin around "obsessively" in my head inflicting pain over and over and over... until something pushes them out. Usually some other thought. I have no way of stopping or preventing this - and I guess that's what makes it a disorder.
It's not always "bad" stuff that goes around and around. My great ideas work the same way. I've tried to explain it as my head is full of ping pong balls. They are ricocheting at super sonic speeds and it can be dangerous in there! Makes it hard to focus, communicate, or sleep! But it's just the way it is.
The Tiger Inside Will Eat the Child, put some faces onto those ping pong balls. (There's an interesting image...) and the constant spinning of the song in my head, started to create some order to the images. If the Child is the inner child, innocence, playfulness, creativity - all that, and the Tiger is that other stuff... maybe the adult part, the real world, wisdom...? They are both inside us - constantly at battle. There is always the threat that we will destroy ourselves if we let our guard down for even one second. I love the animated interpretation of the song - when the girl finally wears herself out, gives in, and is practically drowning - the tiger actually saves her and carries her to safer ground. She's no longer under attack and no longer alone. How do we find a way to cooperate with ourselves?
Now the ping pong image is changing into more of a rainstick analogy. Have you seen those things? There are multiple levels inside with different size holes in each level and different sized tiny metal balls. As the rainstick tips over and the balls make their way through the levels, it sounds like a downpour. Very soothing. From the outside.
On the inside it is crazy chaos as the balls try to sort themselves out and rush downward. So, inside my head, in my crazy rabbit hole... the tiny balls are spinning around incredibly fast until they find the right hole to fall through. Some ideas, thoughts, balls... rush around for a very long time. The ones that find their way disappear from sight - and out of mind. These are the successes, problems dealt with, or things dismissed. Unsolved mysteries, what if's?, unresolved conflicts, things to do, overwhelming obligations, other people's problems... etc.... those keep spinning around and around...
Have I completely lost you? I've been told I am "scary". Apologies. I know - rainstick - tigers - tiny metal balls - what the heck is this girl on?!
Just one bit more, OK? If you follow the image of the rainstick - the ideas and successes fall through their correct holes and are - gone. So it looks like I am holding on to the bad stuff, right? And not celebrating my successes? And I have no self-worth? In the song, she says:
The minute you think you know you got it
Is the minute you know it's gone for good
As soon as I am successful, on any scale, or level - the "ball" drops out of sight. It goes through the right hole and disappears down the rainstick. Likewise, if I solve a problem, deal with a medical issue, resolve a conflict, it also drops through. Gone. And from the outside (to the rest of the world) it looks like a beautiful waterfall and sounds like a lovely rainstorm. Inside, it's just...empty. So maybe this upending of my world, (every few months!) - the feeling that I'm falling down the rabbit hole - is the Universe's way of tipping my rainstick over so it starts again. The awful stuff, yes, but also all the amazing stuff too.
Maybe the "tipping" is my Tiger? And what I need to do is find a way to co-exist with the imbalance, prepare for the next free-fall, and just give in to the illogic and magic of living in Wonderland?
