13 Nov
Before the Creative Process
THE GREAT GRATITUDE ADVENTURE/ DAY THIRTEEN/ SHOWING UP
Nothing happens until something moves ~Albert Einstein
If it seems too complex,
If you are not sure you have the ability to create the perfect “masterpiece” in life
If the dream you are dreaming seems pretty far fetched
What’s the one single thing you can do today, in this moment??
Simply show up.
Strangely, wonderfully–that seems to be the magical thing that is needed.
A willingness to participate in the fulfillment of our dreams.
P.S. Sometimes for me, telling myself I will just show up and work for 5 or 10 minutes on something I feel intimidated by is enough to get the whole train moving.
I can do that!
The beginning is the most important part of the work.
~Plato
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
~St. Francis of Assisi
The willingness to show up changes us, It makes us a little braver each time.
~Brene Brown
Success will never be a big step in the future, success is a small step taken just now.
~ Jonatan Martensson
Just so you know….I have some extra special giveaways at the end of this month (like a Kindle Reader among other things)!
I love having the opportunity to say thanks to each of you AND I love starting my day with reading all the wonderfully moving comments! (Confession–I am already worried about not having those to read first thing every morning and last thing at night–you have become an addiction of sorts)!
Some of you have asked about the possibility of a book containing the inspirational writings of the Gratitude Adventure—and there will be one. Digital and available the first week of December….for free.
My gift of gratitude to you for being a part of this adventure!
THE GRATITUDE WINNER FOR TODAY IS…..
Ruth Ann Sturgill
Yay Ruth Ann! Click here to email me with your snail mail address:)
Here’s tomorrow’s Gratitude Giveaway:))
One of my all time favorite art books—Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit
What are you grateful for today??
Leave your comment on this blog (click here for directions) to share the JOY and get your name in for tomorrow’s Gratitude Gift (which also puts your name in for the big drawing at the end of the month:)
Remember to share this adventure with someone you love:)!
Did you just discover the Gratitude Adventure?? Welcome! Here’s the scoop on what it is.
To Order My 2013 Calendar, Click Here:))
To Subscribe to Dreama’s Art , Click Here:))
Art, Humor and Inspiration–In Your Inbox!
Dreama’s 2013 Workshop Dates Click to View
To reply to this post, email Dreama at:
Dreama@DreamaTollePerry.com–Thanks!
To reply to this post, email Dreama at:
Dreama@DreamaTollePerry.com–Thanks!
I am grateful for my Pilates instructor. She is an obstetrical surgical nurse with extensive Pilates and other bodywork training. She is amazing and a blessing in my life!
Veronica Carey
I am grateful for the gift of time. Time to accomplish,create, play, work, rest and just BE. Time is a wonderful gift I cherish each day. Nancy Makar
Thankful for the beautiful fall harvest….especially those russet, dark red Sweet potatoes!!
Karen Jean
I am grateful for all of the beauty around me, I always have something to paint.
Karen Chamblin
I am thankful for my tabby cat,Kizzie, short for Kismite. He only has a few days of life left. He has blessed my life for twenty years and I will miss him terribly. I know you understand. Thanks for sharing your Eddie’s with us. They bring joy to a sometimes burdened heart.
thanks
Vicki Carol
Bless you. I will say a prayer for Kizzie and you, too. I watched as one of my old cats practically evaporated on the pillow next to mine, getting smaller and weaker each day, but always grateful for stroking and my warm bed. He was a special boy.
Dear Vicki, I am sending you and your beloved Kizzie much love tonight, and will light a candle for him, that will help to light his way to the Rainbow Bridge, where he will run free once more.
Always keep with you the certain knowledge of the love the two of you have for each other. Kizzie knows how much he is loved by you and will always be loved by you. Your love for him will always keep him with you, in your heart. I know this from all my beloved furry companions over the years that I’ve loved.
Please take care of yourself, Vicki. I too will offer a prayer for you both.
Thank you God for helping my sister heal from breast cancer.
When I share more of myself, I laugh more, cry more and have more fun…a very good reminder to not get so serious and “be Karen”.
I really like this painting Dreama! Thanks for sharing it. I am grateful for your daily musings on gratitude!
Grateful for good health….
Etta Hermann
Grateful for the beautiful CA sunshine
I am grateful for the AHA show, and especially for having access to the archived episodes. THANK YOU!
I’m thankful for a safe trip home from our trip! and Dreama’s give-aways too!!!!!!
I’m grateful for red arrows and patient techie people. It’s scary learning about technology through trial and error unlike artsy stuff. Hee hee
Today at work, my doctor and I received a beautifully written thank-you card from a patient of ours who expressed his appreciation for the health care he received. I’m thankful that our patient is here to celebrate this holiday season.
It would appear that technology has once again challenged my abilities to a duel and won, sigh.
Karen Gifford
Grateful I was able to see the Becoming Van Gogh exhibit at the Denver Art Museum with friends!
Today, on what would have been my grandmother’s 113th birthday, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to know her as a woman of great courage, humor and an amazing cook. Her example will always encouage me to go beyond my comfort zone.
Karen Gifford
Today, on what would have been my grandmother’s 113rd birthday, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to get to know her as a woman of courage, humor and an amazing cook. She will always serve as an inspiration to me — always gently encouraging me to go a bit farther out of my comfort zone.
Karen Gifford
I am grateful for my home and the new one we are about to move into. I am grateful for our neighbours as they begin to say goodbye we are hearing how much they liked having us as neighbours. It feels good to know someone in your neighbourhood likes you:)
I am thankful that I can read…all these thankful comments. I am thankful for good teachers who taught me to read and write the English language. I am thankful that I was able to learn. I am thankful for parents who made education a priority and helped me get one. Save some for tomorrow…Carol Barbian
After 15 min I made it, I am thankful that I finally understood how the “comment section work. Technology and I, are like water and oil,we just do not mach,and to make it worst,I married a very nice and sweet nerd.Some people are just masochist. 🙂 Have a great day everybody,live is good.
Today I’m thankful that our house sold and that our lives will be that much more simplified and focused. I’m thankful for my friends who I can be silly with and enjoy a dinner of appetizers. 🙂
I am grateful for skilled contractors that are able to get our house back in order after the dreadful water leak a few weeks ago. I am also grateful for State Farm, our homeowners insurance company, who have been great during this time! Sherry Crouse
sherrycrouse@yahoo.com
Today I am grateful for Technology. During simpler times we would not have the technology to treat cancer at all. Today I had my follow up scan to find out if my latest treatment worked. Results are on Friday. My technician is so sweet and thoughtful. I am sure glad I have good care and good technology.
Good luck Ruth,I will send you positive energy.Love is in the air, and is going strait to you.God bless you.
I am as well, Ruth. Sending you lots of love, positive vibes and healing energy. You are strong and courageous with a beautiful and loving spirit.
I’m so grateful that I get to help my 83-year old Dad blow the leaves off of his and Mom’s driveway on a beautiful, crisp autumn day here in Atlanta.
I am grateful for the ducks on the canal who seem to enjoy my daily feedings with gusto!
I am grateful to be able to be “an artist”. I have definitely learned this year about showing up. Thank you for putting into words what I feel about the process of art.
Brenda Gibbs
Grateful for this gift of painting, for being able to see things differently.
Dreama, I loved your post of 2 days ago about listening to that inner voice. Sometimes it’s so covered over with junk past and present,that you have to excavate just to get to it. Would love to hear more on the topic.
That’s OK, I think I am hooked on your blog – you say it so well..all the things that zoom through one’s soul from time to time…thanks!
Today I am grateful for music, heard and seen.
Well, today I didn’t really feel like painting because I just finished a large one yesterday. BUT, I just “showed up” in my studio and I’ve had fun painting little “demos” for myself using different techniques. So I’m thankful today for your advice, Dreama!
I am so grateful for being able to learn new things every day!!
Spiriuality has been a top priority with me for the past 40 years. So reading your writings always inspire me along with your wonderful
paintings. In fact I had been on the fence on signing up for one of
your workshops and I remeber when I made the decision to do so. It
was right after I read your book “Let there be Love”! And the workshop was really great. Thanks for sharing your wonderful gifts.
P.S. The Neville Reader is one of my favorites if you’re not familiar with Neville Goddard, you might look him up.
Lee Kaufman
I am grateful to you, Dreama, for the valuable and subtle shift I can already sense taking place in my mind because of this gratitiude adventure.
I especially like that last quote about success never being a big step in the future- that really helps to remind me how all the little things we do now make an impact later.
I love today’s painting – I can smell the lavendar! I am grateful I showed up today. Aches and pains of pregnancy can’t keep me down!
Gosh, I’m grateful for good medical care. My daughter-in-law FINALLY delivered her first son, but they had to resort to a cesarean birth. I’m so thankful they are all safe and sound, and I will meet our new grandson today!
I am grateful that I can sit inside with a warm cup of Pumpkin spice and read all the inspiring words and comments on this cold rainy day and feel all warm and cozy with artist friends and kindred spirits!
I am grateful that I can wear sunshine colors (inside and out) on rainy days. It serves to cheer me up and others as well!
I am so grateful to have found a quiet place to live with clean air and healthy trees away from city stresses in a moderate climate where I can paint and feel safe-able to learn online and connect despite the distance.
Nanci, that sound like a great place,where is it,if I may ask?,I leave in freezing cold Massachusetts,and for a Tropical girl like me, is like putting a parrot in the freezer.
I am thankful for your message and that I feel good enough to show up today. Thanks!
Dreama I am grateful that you have shown me how to dream. When I read your words I feel I can truly achieve my dreams. Thank you ! Linda Will
Today I feel grateful for email. Our large family can make our Thanksgiving food plans and decisions about the time and place without spending hours calling everyone several times.
Pretty nice when time is limited. Very grateful
for my wonderful family too.
Lori Anderson, Folsom, CA
Today I am grateful for the ability to ‘just show up’. That was my mantra when I woke up this morning and your email was simply confirmation.
Thank you again for your inspiration!
Today I am grateful for my Tai Chi class and a wonderful teacher. Much like painting, Tai Chi allows you to be “in the moment”, totally absorbed by one thing. It is a peaceful feeling.
As has been the case all along in this adventure, today’s message is right on the money! I am most grateful for the ‘urge’ to SHOW UP because in all honesty, I have been terrified, thus putting off going to the Apple store for instruction! Now this may sound silly to all that don’t have any trouble finding their way around their computers, but for those of us who are still learning and going thru amazing frustration, it’s big!! So today I AM GOING TO SHOW UP for that appointment (that I’ve rescheduled 4 times!!) and plan to feel jubilant and excited having learned something new!!!
just so amazing, thank you
I am grateful that I have this to look forward to in my mailbox!
I am grateful for all the artists past, present and future.
Thank you Dreama for that great kick start. I always find starting a hard step or concentrating on the final outcome a distracting thing. Here’s to the small steps…I’m grateful for them today!
I am grateful i stuck to my plan. Yesterday i completed the last of 4 paintings from your art workshop in Pasadena iCA. I feel good and it made me push myself. I like the results!
Thankful for your reminder to “just show up” I’ve heard the same thing about exercise–if you don’t want to go out and walk/run, put on your shoes and tell yourself you only have to walk/run 5 -10 min and then you can quit, but usually you will want to go on!
I am thankful that I don’t already have everything I desire.
If I did, what would there be to look forward to?
Went “blank” reading your words this morning,
which was actually good because it made me come back to read them again. Powerful – and I love the quotes! And, since then, gratitude for a walk into a spectacular pink/gold/orange sunset!! Made me a little jealous of all you painters!
I am thankful for two days with my granddaughters and their sweet enthusiasm about everything.
I am thankful that I will be able to give something away today.
Thanks Dreama, I am grateful that I keep showing up. Sometimes it’s not easy but it is a good feeling when you can accomplish something you didn’t think you could.
Barb Krell
I am thankful for all of the stories regarding the victims of hurricane Sandy and how so many people have dedicated themselves to helping them.
I am so very very very grateful that I paint with my Mom every Tuesday. We laugh a lot, learn a lot and paintings are produced. It is the one day of the week that painting comes first. On this day, we we spend 80% on the meaningful and 20% on the meanial!
Days off where I work 12 hours or more for me.
I’m grateful for all of these comments that I get to peruse when I find a spare moment during the day. They remind me to count my blessings and they remind me that there are still many good, kind, thoughtful people in this world. S. Simpson
Grateful that my “art spirit” has decided to show up and not the “inferior self” spirit. Today I will just be and do what I love…PAINT!
Annette Proimos
Baby steps have taken me on a wonderful art journey for the past six years. Grateful for starting and thanking myself for continuing.
Joan Terrell
Grateful today for two wonderful, happy, and energetic teenagers! They keep me young and seeing the world through fresher and youthful eyes 🙂
Feelling grateful for my husband who is a very funny and out going person with so much to offer each person he meets. Together we make a great team with unlimited possiblities.
I am thankful that you are doing this gratitude adventure. It has helped me to look deeper and to really see how very sweet my life is. And I believe ARDENTLY in the power of showing up. That’s what got me through writing my first novel (which was total rubbish), just telling myself I would sit at the computer and write for a time. And pretty soon I grew to look forward to it so much. I believe in showing up!
I am grateful that I have a job I love to show up for!
Mary Beth Harrison
Living in Texas, I am thankful for the rain for the trees.
I’m grateful for 3 great kids, their partners and the way they are supportive and love to be together. I’m grateful for my family! I’m a lucky girl! Linda, Nevada
After 32 years of teaching, I am so grateful to have time to do what I enjoy. I swam this morning and while I was swimming, I was thinking how grateful I am to have the time, health, and freedom to exercise. I am so happy, can’t even express how much.
Starsha
I am grateful for internet that allows me to “meet” other artists. I enjoy reading all the comments and visiting the blogs. They are so encouraging and inspiring!
Dana Burton
I am gratefully looking forward to working with a friend in her organic flower garden today. I will also get to feed alpacas & lamas carrots, and that too will be a treat. Plus, it is a beautiful day in New Smyrna Beach.
I am grateful to be feeling better after a bad cold. The whole world looks more interesting today!
I am grateful for my one year old puppy who insists of at least a 30 minute snuggle every morning before we get out of bed. He gets all the tummy rubs and I ease out of bed happy and relaxed!
You had me at “Lavender”. I am grateful that it shows up every year in my garden!
I love those lavendars! Wow. Today I am grateful to have a roof over my head, warm and comfortable clothes, clean water and sufficient food. What a blessing!
Today I am grateful for my computer to finally connect to the internet so I do not have a horrible day at work.
How is it that when I read your daily writing I find just what I need for that day! I am so grateful to be starting a fresh new day.
I love showing up! It just reminds me that my courage is greater than my fear! Thank you Dreama! And the painting is so dreamy with all your beautiful color choices! I love it! R
I’m grateful that I made the decision – finally – to show up for the weekly yoga and meditation classes that began last night. I was initially not sure if I could make the time or take the time out to make time, but I did, and I’m so glad I did. I’m grateful to our yoga instructor, Margaret, who has been so helpful and inspiring.
I’m grateful for that beautiful weekend and the rain we needed on Monday. But the best of all was the most glorious mare’s tails clouds I’ve ever seen covered the sky in colorful splendor on my drive home last night. Melissa Brown, Lexington
So thankful to be spending time with many old friends this week. What a blessing! vicki morgan
Today I am thankful that I have this day off to enjoy and “show up” for some little color mixing attempts. I know it will help me be a better painter.
I’m thankful I saw what you were doing here on Facebook, today. I enjoy your work and am thankful to see such beauty in our world.
Christy Royse Miller
So many things to be grateful for! I have a half finished painting calling me from my easel and am thankful that today I finally have time to finish it!
I am thankful for friends that encourage me to paint and to paint along side with.
Linda White
I am grateful for the memories of my parents, friends and family members who have passed on. They helped make me who I am today, and I “visit” them whenever I need guidance or a good chuckle.
Ok. How do you come up with these ideas every day?! Have you been stalking inside my head? Which would actually be a very scary place to be!! Love the post and it really hit home to me. Every choice we make daily impacts our life, and yes, understanding that showing up is important is what I am grateful for today! Thanks!
Josephine
I am thankful for the warm fall colors. God’s palette is an amazing blends of colors. I am lucky to enjoy all the seasons here in Va!. Even though it is raining today, I look out my window and see creamy golds, stark reds and bright yellows.
ziggyo
Your post was inspiring. Reminded me of the saying, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
I am grateful to be happy, healthy, and painting!
Dreama, I am grateful for the ability to show up! It is wonderful to be alive and be who I want to be and try to do what I want to do, even if it is scary, the results are better than anything I could ever imagine. Thank you,
Jo Ann Simon
Today I’m grateful for the warmth of a fireplace and a hot cup of coffee.
I’ve been able to “beat” the fall allergies in just a few days rather than weeks. What a wonderful thing. Yea herbs, netti pots and a prescription to calm the cough. It’s a relief! Gayle Nunn
Yesterday was beautiful and I took my painting gear out and painted pink seagrass and and wateroaks and clouds and thought about the beauty that is ours for the taking – we just have to open our eyes and see it and enjoy it. Judy Elias
Today, I am grateful to have a creative spirit. There is so much beauty around us every day and to not be able to see it or enjoy it would be a huge loss.
Sue vanT
I am so grateful and happy that my oldest granddaughter was just accepted into college.
Grateful for the hot coffee in my cup, the the beautiful sunny, yet cold, morning with all the “light plays”, and the landscape class I will “show up” to this afternoon!
So thankful to God for a strong body (especially for my age) that could work hard clearing the land yesterday – I showed up and didn’t stop until the rain came hours later. And, much to my surprise and delight, I’m mobile this morning and ready to show up to teach an art class. Thank you Lord!
Sue Lepsch
Always grateful for the ability to laugh at myself!
Laetitia Borden
Tyngsborough, MA
I am grateful for my family and friends.
#13…the zen landscape created by the morning frost.
faye christian phillips
I am grateful for grandchildren. One of my grandsons turns 4 today. He and his mother currently live with us and he presents us with many challenges and much joy.
Grateful for my 8:00AM exercise class and all the smiling faces of women about my age and about my shape that can be dancers for an hour.Always a great way to start the day and always reminds me to be grateful I can move freely and still dance! Dianne Harrison
I am grateful for friends that I can paint with!
I am grateful to be able to show up at my easel. Thankx to your workshop I am making progress on a commission that had me stalled for a year!
I am grateful for my good health, we take so much for granted.
On this frosty morning I am grateful to have a warn place to stay, good food to eat, good water to drink and my faithful dog, Katy-Bug, by my side. I have no excuse. I wll show up today & start a new painting.
I am grateful for those who show up in my life. Cindy K
I am really grateful I’m aware that it is neither the place nor the circumstance but the mind (attitude) alone that produces happiness every day. I am a very content person and have much joy. For that I am thankful because I dealt with clinical depression when I was younger.
Early this morning,while reading this blog, I realize how grateful I am for sight and all of God’s beauty that I am able to see and paint everyday.What a beautiful day!!!cb in North Carolina
Grateful for the quiet example set by others.
Beautiful day, beautiful life, I’m thankful.
I’m am so grateful for today! It will bring love and excitement… Breathe!!
Today I am grateful for flowers that bloom in winter.
Today I’m grateful for my temporary home! Our new home should be finished this spring!
I am grateful for my family. They are everything to me.
Thankful I still have family in town. I can make that movement forward.
Good heavens it’s 4 a.m. so I’m grateful for not feeling tired. Also grateful that my poor old laptop that gave me a couple of turns earlier, when it went click and then black, actually came back to life. Methinks I have to sell a BIG painting soon so I can afford a new one. Well Christmas is coming so here’s hoping. Sea Dean
Today I am especially grateful for the roof over my head. There are so many young (and old) folk who have nowhere to sleep; who have no money to buy food; who cannot find work!
Alma Marshall
Good Morning Dreama ~ want a good laugh to start your day? I read yesterdays post early in the A.M. yesterday, right after I had finished preparing the kitchen counter tile grout for caulking ~ today’s post is appropriate as I see that I forgot to post what I was grateful for yesterday ~ Today I’m grateful for my greater understanding of positive & negative energy & how they affect us ~ much gratitude to the book Positive Energy by Dr. Judith Orloff ~
I’m grateful for a new day to start a brand new painting.
I have to deliver a pretty large painting today. Grateful for that, and that I’m physically able to do it.
I am grateful for a fresh and refreshing start on this brand new beautiful morning.
Perfect timing with this post and I am grateful! Been wanting to go to a figure drawing class to work on sketching and I am “showing up” there tonight! Done:) Grateful for the gentle kick to jump in there and also for finding another gem of a book. Will put that on my Christmas list!
Grateful for my good health!
Today I am thankful for the stories my daughter tells me about dealing with her per teen daughter. I get tickled as she tells me, but I am also proud that she learned from her childhood mistakes and try’s hard to parent her daughter like she was parented. Truly blessed.
I am grateful for the knowledge that even when faced with challenges they will pass, and things will get better. Time fixes things. A positive attitude and a thankful heart helps.
I am thankful for the ability to “show up”. To be present, to paint, to care about my painting, to practice my craft, to continue my life as an artist as I cannot imagine me as any thing else. I am also thankful for the yummy toasty heat that comes from a burning wood stove. 🙂
I am grateful because I get to take my father and my grandson to visit my grandma today (great great grandma and great grandpa and me grandma)
Today, as always, I’m grateful for all the people around me. Especially for my husband whose only requirement is to show up each day
small things that make a satisfactory day. this is happiness.
Hi Dreama,
Today I am grateful for my family and, having recently returned to my home city, for the opportunity to see them and hug them daily. Skype is great but will never replace the warmth of a hug!
Bobbi Stegora-Bina
Today I am grateful for the reminder that “nothing happens until something moves”! That is a great motivating statement. “Uncle Albert” is one of my heroes. 🙂
Today I feel very grateful for you, Dreama, and your blog. I love the thought that even if I have no idea how to achieve my dreams – and even if I can’t quite fathom exactly what my dreams are, let alone put them into words – simply having a willingness to participate and then just ‘showing up’ will be enough; that’s a lovely idea…Today I’m going to show up with an open heart and see what happens! 🙂 🙂
Mandy Parrett
This month of gratitude has truly been a blessing to me because it has made me reflect on my life. What do I want my paintings to say about me. You have given me the ability to put into words that very thing. What a gift from a truly giving individual and wonderful painter. You will never know the impact you have had on me. Thank You. Phyllis Elliott
I am grateful for your timely reminder yesterday. How easy it is for us to forget to say YES to ourselves, I now resolve to say YES to every wonderful possibility that comes my way, including Showing Up in my life, at my easel and wherever else I need to be to make my dreams come true!
On a side note, my female cat, Aoine, Is smitten with Eddie, do you think long-distance love affairs can prosper, she wants to know?
Kate Pearce and Aoine, Cape Town South Africa
Electricity
It’s almost second nature to us now. The lights work, the computer hums,we warm things up and cool things down. Big storms like Sandy make us appreciate things we often take for granted; or a rain shower in Malta where the whole island goes dark for a day.
As I look out my window, I see the Navy Ships coming and going, a few small sailing boats doted around, flat sea, briliant sun shine, seagulls flying by, people walking their dogs on the Beach, Oh how grateful I am !! Yvonne Ankerman, sunny South Africa
Today I’m grateful for all the small things in my life for they are the things that really matter!
Success will never be a big step in the future, success is a small step taken just now. ~ Jonatan Martensson. Thank you for that quote.
Lessee. It’s 12:10am. Today is my birthday, and I am grateful for being here. 🙂
Happy Birthday Pat!!
Thank you, Dreama!
Now I know Dreama never sleeps!
Follow along on my social accounts for behind the scenes peeks, inspiration, tips, stories & more.
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest