Interior Identity

In Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye exclaims,"That God expects us to know who we are and who He expects us to be." It is not enough for God to know us and our possibilities. Each of us must make the effort to know who we are and become that person. It is a journey; we may not have all the answers early on, but we do need to put ourselves in a discovery process. As we are now, we must move towards becoming our best self. Our NOW self needs to become congruent to our ETERNAL self. That is the first congruency.Our Interior Identities need to match. That is where we find empowerment. We need to be congruent and whole. The second congruency is to become congruent with the world we create for ourselves. Our intellect, personality, emotions, our very soul translated into material culture. God did this for us the first time when He created our beautiful world and then it was turned over to us to take care of. God gave Adam and Eve dominions and responsibilities. First we create a spiritual congruency in our world by incorporating the teachings of Jesus Christ. We create beauty, truth and all things that are good, within ourselves so that we might know peace and joy and then bless those whose lives we touch. We translate those gifts into our physical world by creating beauty around us: in our rooms, in our homes, in our cities, and in our country. We don't have to all agree on the best color or the best style, but to have the desire and ability to contribute that which is uniquely ours to give. We create beauty and echo the ancient gift.

Layers of Life, Layers of Design, Layers of Color

I have been thinking today about layers---layers of life, layers of design, layers of color. When I start designing a room, I figure out the beginning from the end. I define the bare structure I am to work within and whether or not elements I dislike can or should be changed. This I would consider the foundation upon which further design decisions would be made. Then I define the purpose and function of the room--what activities need to happen there, and how can those functions be physically or organizationally supported. Here would be where I would identify what furniture, lighting or other elements would be "must haves". Next, I would address the style and colors used in the room--here I would consider personalities, tastes and other items which would dress and enhance the purpose of the room in an aesthetic way. When I paint a picture, the final idea I have in mind, the end goal of how that painting would look, would be my foundation. Of course, things could change and be adjusted along the way--that is the creative process. I would draw out the composition. I would layer in the background, middle ground and foreground. I would identify layers of light and dark, and then I would select a color palette to work with. And finally, when I was satisfied with this larger foundation, I would begin the process of painting. I would pick where to begin, where to use different types of techniques; I would create a color pallette to work with, pick a brush and begin to paint. When I had arrived at my goal of how the painting should look, I would decide where to sign my painting and whether or not to use a finishing sealant. Life is much the same. We need to figure out who we are and who we want to be when we are finished. We create a foundation for our lives, and then add to it and shape it layer by layer. Sometimes we need to remove a layer; sometimes we need to adjust and allow for growth in the creative process. We can check along the way to see if we are going in the right direction--if the pathway will align us with our end vision and goals. Eventually after adding layer upon layer we create our masterpiece--ourselves.

Caroline Kennedy

I think Caroline Kennedy should have gotten the Senate seat. She was extremely qualified. I am angered and disappointed in our press. One idiot called her a "New York socialite". That makes me furious! Instead of public office, she has served the public in many, more private, capacities. She has devoted herself to her family. She is VERY well educated. What is the problem? That she happens to be the daughter of a beloved President who was tragically killed in office? That she is a woman? The press crucified her. Was someone jealous of her? Why weren't the supportive voices of the press and citizens allowed to be heard? This is outrageous. If she were a man, she would not have been treated this way. This is a case of discrimination against her because of her gender and her family. Shame on the press of our country!!!! Caroline has integrity and honesty and independent intelligence. It is our loss that she is not serving in the Senate seat.

Weather and Color and Seasons

The past 2 days have suddenly pushed us into what could be classified as perfect southern California beach days. It is 85 degrees F. We often have beautiful weather in January, but this is different. There is a fresh energy in the air, the sun is warm and beautiful, even the colors of summer are in the sky and sea and the new growth of nature. The problem is that the change of seasons has left me in decorating confusion. I change my decor with the seasons. I love Christmas and all the feelings of the Savior's birth and the wonder and joy of the season. I love decorating the house. I love the smell of the tree. Sadly, the tree dried out earlier than usual this year, so I have already taken it down. But I left the other decorations up--it was often foggy, cold and rainy, wintry. It felt cozy and warm inside of the house. Even sunny days felt like winter. Now, because of the change in weather, the Christmas decorations look so out of place. I feel like I somehow missed other seasons because it suddenly feels like summer. I was hoping to have another week with the Christmas spirit,and then gently merge into Valentines Day and the end of March, but when I was looking for my sandals yesterday, I realized it was time to let go of winter. I am packing up the rest of the Christmas decorations for next year.

Truth and Color

This is a question that has been floating around my head for a few days. Is there a relationship between truth and color? Maybe this is a silly question. But if there were a truth, what would it be? When God created the world, he created it in color. I think there were even more, and more exquisite, colors when we lived in Heaven. We don't have all the colors here, and we don't have them with the same dimension as they exist in Heaven. Perhaps our obligation is to be congruent in the use of color. Congruent to purpose, personality or something else? In nature, we see the vast and varied arrangement of color that changes with light and dark. I love that we have a blue sky, but I particularly love the sky when it is a certain color of blue. In California, I learned to ascertain what the weather would be for the day by the color of the sky in the morning. The same color system didn't work in other places that I lived, like Utah and Hawaii. The color of the skies in both of those places was different. The color of the sky changes geographically, and that change of air and light impacts how all of the other colors read. A color scheme that works in one climate, does not necessarily transfer to another climate and look the same. Sometimes a color scheme looks really awful in its foreign climate. Maybe I should also consider the symbolism of colors. Maybe our favorite color is our true identity color.