Articles of Inspiration and Guidance

Putting Grace Into Action

Posted on July 8, 2024July 8, 2024 by 3gracesdesignstudio

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”—Margaret Mead

An investment executive reads at an orphanage during his lunch hour. A mother receives a gift of much-needed food and immediately shares it with another hungry family. An elderly man distributes sandwiches every evening to the homeless in his neighborhood park. A teen spends her vacation building houses for poor families rather than scuba-diving.

Unlike news headlines that shout out bad news and horrific happenings, goodness often reveals itself quietly. The people doing good work, true everyday leaders, will likely tell you, “It’s no big deal. I’m just doing my life.”

It’s true. Those who practice grace are not saints, not perfect people. And they come from all races, ages, genders, spiritual beliefs and lifestyles. They are ordinary people doing acts of extraordinary importance.

What Kathleen A. Brehony discovered in writing her book, Ordinary Grace, is that for these people, acts of kindness lead to the kind of meaning and fulfillment that makes life worth living. In other words, we make a life by what we give.

The grace Brehony refers to encompasses compassion, altruism and empathy—in essence, all forms of loving-kindness, or, acting with the goal of benefiting another. These are values that most of us share. And in emergencies, such as the recent hurricanes, grace is usually more prevalent.

But many people fail to bring their everyday actions into accord with their beliefs and values. We have the best of intentions but are overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life.But many people fail to bring their everyday actions into accord with their beliefs and values. We have the best of intentions but are overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life.

“Unless our insights result in some practical action, they are not useful at all,” the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama says. “With compassion, one needs to be engaged, involved.”

We all have hundreds of opportunities a day to either pass along a spark of grace or to pass up leaving the world a bit older and wearier. Brehony offers 13 steps to making a difference in your life and others’ by living grace in action. Here are some of them. the opportunity,

Discover what you love. What’s important in your life? What’s missing?
Be prepared for pain as well as joy. It can hurt to care. But acting on that care, participating in transforming the suffering, is nurturing.
Simplify and scale down. Where in our lives is there time for grace to enter? Learn to say no to that which is not meaningful to you.
Put belief into action. Virtues such as kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness are not intended to be lofty ideals but rather modes of behavior.
Find grace in small things. Writer Alice Walker suggests, “We have to regain our belief in the power of what is small.
Build on your immediate, personal connections to others. What do these relationships mean to you? Can you build them into something stronger, more solid, deeper?
Model good behavior. Children learn mostly by what they see and hear.

“We all make decisions about what we will emphasize as we live our lives,” Brehony says. “Whether we ‘tune in’ and open our hearts to ordinary grace or not is a personal choice.”
Kathleen A. Brehony Ordinary Grace

Author’s content used under license, © Claire Communications

Discover Your Purpose, Take Time to Reflect

Journaling to Grow and Thrive

Posted on September 16, 2019September 16, 2019 by 3gracesdesignstudio

It’s very strange, but the mere act of writing anything is a help .
Katherine Mansfield

As long as there has been something to write on, humans have been keeping journals. You could even say that the earliest cave drawings were journals—capturing the events of a hunt, drawing pictographs that related stories, creating images of the sacred.

A journal is a way of recording and reflecting on your inner life. It is a way of expressing yourself freely, trying out outrageous ideas, tapping into inner wisdom, clarifying thoughts and feelings, recording your dreams, venting emotions, tracking your personal growth, and delighting in unexpected “Ahas”!

A journal is a safe haven, a non-judgmental friend and a trusted confidante. Journal writing is good for our health; it relieves stress, can help boost our immune system, and improve our feeling of well-being.

There’s no right or wrong way to keep a journal. You don’t need expensive equipment. The tools are a notebook—whether a special blank book, a composition book from your local drugstore, or loose-leaf pages—and a pen you enjoy. You can use a computer, but writing by hand is more physical; it keeps you in touch with your breath and your heartbeat.

The only rule about journaling is “Allow!”

Guidelines for Journaling

Write as regularly as you can—at the same time of day, if you can. It is not necessary to write every day, but the more frequently you journal, the easier it will become and more productive you’ll be. If you can set aside twenty minutes or a half-hour every morning or evening, or during lunch break, and simply begin writing, you’ll be amazed at what you’ll discover.

The morning is an especially good time to write: your mind is fresh; your dreams are still alive. Practice writing your dreams down whenever you can. Writing in the morning is a good way to start your day and helps you to focus.

Keep your hand moving. Write quickly and freely. Don’t stop to edit or re-read what you’ve written until you’ve completed the session. If you get stuck, write, “I don’t know what to write,” or “I’m stuck.” Repeat the same phrase or sentence, if necessary, until something else comes. Writing from wherever you are will move you to the next place.

Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar. Don’t worry about it being “good,” or “right.” There’s simply no wrong way to do it.

Go deep. Writing about what matters the most to you will give the most benefit. The act of writing about complex issues can help you to see a path through or beyond the surface and get to the core.

Leave your censor outside the door. This is free writing. Simply allow the words to come and let yourself be surprised. In the words of Julia Cameron, author of The Artists’ Way, “The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” Have fun!

Suggestions for Getting Started

A pen you like to write with. Pick a pen that is a pleasure to write with. A roller ball pen is my favorite, smooth and flowing. It sounds simple but try out some different pens at the craft store or office supply and find a pen that you really enjoy writing with.

Begin with a few chosen words. “Today I…,” “I feel…,” “I want…,” “I don’t know…” or “I remember….” Just follow your pen. It won’t take you further than you want to go. One of my favorite prompts is “What if”…

Favorite Quotes. When I find quotes that I like I write them in my journal. Some journals actually include quotes on some of their pages. Quotes are good for writing prompts, allowing you a starting point for a personal mission statement or philosophical journal entry.

Be imaginative. Write as if you are describing the world to someone that is blind or deaf. Describe the weather, your room, or the sounds you hear. Let it lead you somewhere. Remember this is a no judgement zone.

Explore the positive along with the negative. Celebrate yourself and your life as well as venting your emotions. Venting your emotions on paper is a good way to purge your feelings and not let them build up to toxic levels.

Date your entry. This will keep you grounded in the present and help you reference entries you may want to find later. It is as if you are recording your history and by putting the date you can recall all the things that happened.

Journaling as a Creative Tool

A journal is a great place to track ideas. Our minds are constantly thinking and making connections. Ideas can be fleeting and a journal is a good place to capture them.

Sketches: You may not believe yourself to be an artist but practice making sketches to go with your journal entries. Maybe a sketch of your ideal personal studio, or library could be included in your journal.

Photos: Now that we carry a camera with us every day in the form of a cell phone, why not include a photo? I often take photos of patterns or fabric that I like. I include them in my ‘idea journal’ so that I can go back to them when I have a project that needs something similar.

Journaling teaches us to both trust and nourish our inner lives. It is a personal account of who we are without the judgement of others. A journal is rewarding and insightful discovery of your true self.

Watch for our next article on Art Journaling and Travel Journaling.

Author’s content used under license, © Claire Communications

Discover Your Purpose, Healthy Living, Take Time to Reflect

Out of Time: Rushing Through Life

Posted on August 6, 2019August 6, 2019 by 3gracesdesignstudio

Do you feel like this: too much to do, too many places to be, too little time to do it all?

On the job, in school, at home, even in retirement, we are increasingly imprisoned by the perception that time is a scarce and limited resource. We rush from one commitment or activity to another and believe that we haven’t a minute to spare. We yearn for more time, yet we often feel anxious and guilty when idle.

Until we change our relationship to time, our lives will continue to speed away from us—at enormous cost to our health and to direct experience of ourselves and the world around us. “There is no issue, no aspect of human life, that exceeds this in importance,” says Jacob Needleman, author of Time and the Soul. “The destruction of time is literally the destruction of life.”

When we learn to shift time, our relationships become more rewarding, our time spent alone is richer, our aging is more satisfying, our work is more fruitful and our stress and anxiety are less paralyzing, or even nonexistent. To allow time to “breathe” more in your life, try some or all of the following suggestions from Stephan Rechtschaffen, author of Timeshifting, as well as others. See if your reservoir of time starts to refill.

Pause. Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Han suggests taking a deep breath before answering the phone. Other conscious pauses throughout the day—a moment of silence before each meal, sitting in the car a few minutes before entering the house after work—help us to “come home” to ourselves.
Carve out idle time alone. Greek philosopher Aristotle noted that “nature requires us not only to be able to work well but also to idle well.” Just because you’re not doing anything doesn’t mean that nothing’s getting done! Don’t be tempted to “fill” every moment with a task. When you find a moment try concentrating on taking deep breaths to let go of the anxiety of being ‘idle’.
Live as fully as possible in the present moment. When we leave behind thoughts of the past or future, we can experience time more peacefully, says Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now. Release the past and surrender that you cannot know the future, but you can live in the present.
Toss your schedule whenever you can. Even better, schedule spontaneous time and then surprise yourself. Have you driven by a park on the way to or from work? Why not stop and take a stroll around it?
Examine underlying reasons for your busyness. What emotions would you experience if you weren’t so busy? What emotions are you trying to run from? Emotional work is challenging but essential if we are to stop running from our hearts.

Play. Whether you sing, play the ukulele, paint, shake your bootie—whatever—play helps us to step outside of ordinary time. Try something you always wanted to do, play an instrument, buy a dance video and dance just for fun!

Create time retreats. Once a year or so, choose to do something for a week or more that allows you to shift into a different rhythm—something where you can just “be” without the need for doing anything. Don’t be that person that won’t take their vacation time, saving it until they were forced to use it as if it were a punishment. If you can’t take a week, try an art class, a museum visit, a lecture at the local university something that can expand your horizons and give you a new perspective.

Spend time in nature. We can’t help but slow down in nature’s unhurried pace. Watching a soaring bird or admiring a flower garden can seem to stretch a minute into an hour. Try carrying a sketchbook and take a few moments to sketch outdoors.

We can learn to experience time more purposefully and meaningfully—so that it’s not an enemy robbing us of the joy of life. We needn’t be at time’s mercy. When we change our awareness, we can actually experience the gifts of time.

Discover Your Purpose, Do What You Love

Are you a risk-taker? Ask yourself the following questions:

Posted on July 3, 2019July 1, 2019 by 3gracesdesignstudio

Does every decision involve endless debates with the ‘committee’ inside your head?
Do you accept less than what you should because you’re afraid to speak up?
Do you have difficulty making emotional commitments to others?
Do you think if I don’t commit I can’t be disappointed or disappoint others?
Do you make up excuses that stop you from taking advantage of opportunities for self-improvement?
Does fear of disapproval keep you from doing what you’d really like to do?

A “yes” answer to these questions indicates a reluctance to take risks, which may mean you tend to play it safe and reject change.

Consider this: to fulfill your potential, to discover your real self and live an authentic life, you must take control, don’t let your fear of change keep you trapped in a cage. The cage is the absence of change and while it may appear to be security, it’s not personally rewarding if you feel trapped. The only genuine security lies in stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a risk on change.

Learn how I overcame physical pain and changed my life to follow my passion for creating beautiful kimono robes!

Our Story

Discover Your Purpose, Do What You Love, Take Time to Reflect

The Courage to be Authentic

Posted on July 2, 2019July 2, 2019 by 3gracesdesignstudio

What could be riskier than diving out of an airplane or climbing a glacier-covered peak or accelerating a race car into a curve at the Indy 500? While these examples are pulse raising and risk filled, what about life decisions that we face almost daily? For me it was quitting a secure, well-paying job to start a business, 3 Graces Design Studio. For another person, it could be deciding to leave a marriage after 18 years or reporting that the company they work for is endangering the environment or people’s lives.

Our Story

At first glance, psychological risks that summon us to put our personal values and beliefs on the line may ultimately feel more dangerous than those of physical challenges. Yet these fundamental challenges that we face time and again are the essential sources of growth as individuals. Each time we take a risk that contributes to our personal growth or enhances our self-esteem or enriches our lives, we make the choice to stretch ourselves, knowing there are no guarantees and chancing possible failure.

Growth-producing risks generally fall into three categories.

Self-Improvement Risks

These are the risks you take when you want to get ahead, learn something new or make a distant dream a reality. You take on the venture with hopes of enriching your life. Maybe you want to change careers, or take ukulele lessons, or learn a language. On one side of the risk is the person you are and, on the other, the person you want to become.

Commitment Risks

Commitment risks have emotional stakes whether you pledge yourself to a person or a relationship or to a cause, a career, or a value. Joseph Ilardo, author of Risk-Taking for Personal Growth, advises that if you avoid making emotional commitments, you all but guarantee that personal emotional growth will be stunted.

Self-Disclosure Risks

Communication risks fall into the category of self-disclosure. Anytime you tell someone how you really feel you’re taking the chance of self-disclosure. When you open up to others and reveal who you really are, how you feel and what you want and need, you make yourself vulnerable. It is impossible to be assertive without doing so.

All risks carry with them the possibility of failure. Often you have to surrender being in your ‘comfort zone’ before any real benefits are realized. Routines may have to change; the familiar may have to be released. What are the benefits then, why take a risk? Challenging yourself is the key to personal growth and development. It also allows you to let go of expectations or roles that don’t fit who you are or who you want to be. Tomorrow we will post a quiz for you to ask yourself some questions about your level of risk taking.