Lisa Shea's Blog, page 142

Birch Blackguards

Left is the current cover for Birch Blackguards; the right is the new version I’m working on. Which do you prefer? These are gentle mysteries, so no explicit violence or intimacy.

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expressing gratitude daily

Many of you will remember I used to count the days in a No Complain project. That made it seem like a short-term goal vs an every-day lifestyle so I switched over to expressing gratitude daily. Today I’m grateful for a quiet, safe home where I can work without interruption on tasks of my own choosing. What are you grateful for?

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lovely yoga practice today

I enjoyed a lovely yoga practice today. It helps me breathe and focus to prepare for the day ahead. Someone asked how I get so much done each week. The answer is that all seven days I begin with yoga, process my to-do list all day, and end with meditation. Every day. Have you done any yoga today? #Namaste

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Evening Meditation Time – Ants

Evening meditation time. I was thinking again about the “Ant Incident” which must have happened ten years ago or so. It really has stuck with me. Let me recap.

I took weekly yoga classes at a local community center and often I arrived early. On this particular Thursday evening I was the first one there and rolled out my mat in the room. It was quiet. Restful. I sat on my mat. After a while I noticed a cute little ant confused by my mat. It was trying to go left-to-right but my mat was in the way. So I watched him. Heck, there was nothing else to do. He tried left. He tried right. I am a writer, what can I say. I started to encourage him. I started to envision his little ant family back at home waiting for him. I gave him tips. I imagined what he might say back to me. I gave him help. This ant was my buddy.

Finally the teacher arrived and put her mat in the corner. She came over to say hello.

I gleefully said, “Look! I have an ant buddy!”

She looked down, peered at him –

AND SQUASHED HIM.

I was, I admit, in shock. And clearly this has stayed with me all those years since.

We should be mindful of all life around us. If we choose to eat meat, we should be grateful for the lives given for us. Heck, we should be grateful in general. But that little ant wasn’t trying to do harm. He was just trying to get to where he was going. And for a brief moment, I understood that.

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free will

Question for a story I’m writing. God knows everything. He knows all outcomes. So say he causes a child to be born in a poverty-stricken inner city family with no father and a drug-addicted mother. That child turns to a gang as his only protection and has a beloved mentor. That mentor tries to steer him right but when the child is 14 the mentor is shot down in a drive-by. The child in agony shoots the killer but is, himself, killed before he can repent. Does that child go to eternal Hell? If God knew this was going to happen, and knew given the situation that this was the set-in-stone outcome, did the child have free will?

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Evening meditation time

Evening meditation time. I’m cranking hard on both art and writing projects. The Art-Poetry show is now live. The Mused Literary Review is done proofing. Dogwood Dilemmas is live. My palette is in for the palette show. Next up, work on a few friends’ book editing projects. And then some photo framing for a show hanging tomorrow. Using all parts of my brain is energizing! #Namaste

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Sutton Massachusetts Mystery – Dogwood Dilemmas

It’s live! It’s live! Sutton Massachusetts Mystery – Dogwood Dilemmas out on Kindle and Paperback – curl up with your copy today!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XBCQ2H8/

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palette for the Alternatives Whitinsville show

I barely dropped off my palette for the Alternatives Whitinsville show before the 4:30pm deadline today. Hurrah! The reception is March 10th from 4:30-7:30. Mark your calendar! There are all sorts of REALLY cool palettes in this show. Mine is entitled “Faith”.

http://bvaa.org/2016/12/27/2017-alternatives-whitinsville-palette-contest/

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The Year of Living Biblically

I was so burnt out by my non-stop schedule of this past week that I decided, after meditating, to soak in the tub for a while with a new book. I got sucked in start-to-finish reading The Year of Living Biblically and just finished. It’s a fun, intriguing look at religion.

https://www.amazon.com/Year-Living-Biblically-Literally-Possible-ebook/dp/B000SEPAYO/

Have you read this? Have you thought about trying anything like this?

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Evening meditation time

Evening meditation time. It’s been a complete tornado of a day – a hurricane of a week, really – but it got done! The art-poetry show is now live at the Worcester Public Library! Stop by any time they’re open to see it. It runs throughout the month of March. #namaste

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