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It All Turns Out Ok

February 25th, 2016

It All Turns Out Ok

Hello!

All Curled Up by Roberta Byram. I just love the highlights and antique wallpaper look on this acrylic painting. I painted it one day just free flowing and worked with colors I am not familiar with; however, I really like the way it turned out. I also love software and the many choices of textures that are available for photos. It took me twice as long to choose a texture for the photo as it did to paint the image! I am happy with the outcome and hope you are as well!

Even when we try new things and we anticipate what the outcome will be....for the most part, it all turns out ok!

Roberta


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Emotions

January 31st, 2016

Emotions

Hello!

Emotions! Whoohoo! If you have not seen the movie, “Inside Out” it is worth seeing! I had no idea how deep this movie was going to be. It takes a look at all our emotions and basically teaches us that it is ok to take the time to experience all of them! Imagine that!
Even sadness and grief. You may have noticed that I have been silent for a while. Sadness and grief have been my companions. I have experienced them and took the time necessary to do so. How many times do we immerse ourselves in busyness in order that we do not feel or experience the emotions that are there for a reason?

If a situation is sad…it is ok to feel sad; we are humans after all and we have the capacity to feel emotion. Why would we not feel sad when that is the situation? It just stays pushed down within when we do not process it and it builds up over time.
I remember when my father died, I did not grieve. I went to the service and went right back home to Dallas Texas and jumped right back into work (I think we are taught this and not given time off to really grieve). This is not an excuse….I wanted to immerse myself in work so that I would not feel.

Three years later, as I was driving down the road, I burst out crying and remember saying out loud, “I do not have a dad anymore!” I was devastated. It finally came pouring forth and I regretted not grieving with my sisters, but did so alone.
Of course, I felt like an idiot. Sigh, so much to learn.

Anyway, I have just been through a very sad time and I stayed with it for a while without keeping up with the daily life like I did before then. My time has passed now, and I am back and hope to be writing in this blog every two weeks again!
In the meanwhile, if you have not seen the movie, “Inside Out”, you really should go and see it!
Until next time,

Roberta


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Crossing the Line

December 20th, 2015

Crossing the Line

Hello!

As the year quickly speeds toward the end and the New Year peeks around the corner, I wish all of you a joyful and wonderful journey into 2016. Find a way to stop and breathe the last two weeks of 2015 and remember all the wonder and life you experienced. Take time to smile at everyone and listen to a child. Rest well and surround yourself with beauty. Walk into 2016 with joy, peace, and gratitude for life itself. All the best, with appreciation and blessing to all of you,

See you next year!

Roberta

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Tis the Season

November 29th, 2015

Tis the Season

Hello!
I love this season of the year! I love the live tree in the house and the smell of it! I love the sparkles and the decorating! I love the joy and all the colors and the special time that it is!
And you know there is a “but” in there somewhere, right?

BUT! I am becoming more and more “well-seasoned,” shall we say, and the time is approaching when I will not be physically able to buy a live tree, put it in a stand, put 1000 lights on it, stand on a ladder and carefully place all the décor.
Keep in mind, well-seasoned is a good thing and I hope I am getting there graciously.

BUT! There are times when I get frustrated. For instance, two days ago I went to the city Farmers Market to buy a pencil Christmas tree. Oh, you know….not more than 3 feet wide…tall and skinny. I was also looking for a tree that was not your normal Douglas fir because I like to be different and that is what everyone has this time of year.
So, the Farmers Market is the only place I thought I could find one. When I went I had a short amount of time for this task as many people were waiting on me for Thanksgiving lunch.
Of course, I had to go to every booth and lot and it was the last one that had something different. I was frustrated and in a hurry and when he held it up…it looked skinny. It was about 12’ tall and I had about 9’ to work with. It was different….not at all like any other tree there and actually, there were only about 10 of them.
He said that it was a “natural” tree (whatever that means). Natural is good, right? I try to eat organic, all natural food, so a natural tree must be just as good. He cut some of it off and said it was $100.00. Remember, people were waiting and it was the only one at the entire market that was different!

So, he tied it to the top of my car and off I went. I wondered if I had made a hasty decision. When I got home I knew from the look on my husband’s face that I might have gone too far this time. He asked me what kind of tree it was and I explained that it was a natural tree.
We went off to Thanksgiving lunch, but it was there in the back of my mind the whole time.

When we returned, put the tree in the stand; I knew I was in trouble. I had never seen a tree like this one before, ever. Not in a house anyway. I could not put it in my small space and had to move things around and squeeze them together to make it fit.
Then came the lights. On a ladder, I teetered and groaned as I was wrapping each branch up and down like suggested. The décor was even more difficult. The tree turns out to be the largest we have ever had and I was looking for small and skinny

Frustrated, I decided that after Christmas, I am going to find a Christmas tree service in the area and put a deposit on the year 2016 coming up and hiring them to do all of it for me next year. I can still have the real tree, but someone else can make it beautiful for me and I will not be so frustrated.
My neighbor came over and as I explained about the expensive Charlie Brown tree, she said……”it doesn’t look like everyone else’s tree….it looks like a tree in a magazine!” Well, that is all it took for me to fall in love with my very different tree! I am not traditional at all, but progressive and I am glad I have my beautiful magazine Christmas tree!

I know that there is a lesson or two in here….what do you think? Let me know what YOU think they are!
Roberta

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Lets Dance

November 23rd, 2015

Lets Dance

Hello!

Well, life is overwhelming, isn’t it?
So many choices, so many things to do, so many areas pulling us in many directions.

Yet, we all have choices, do we not?
And sometimes we make too many choices….just saying….

Flying through life!
I want to stop and dance, don’t you?
Just dance, outside, in the sunshine with the wind blowing in my face as I go round and round and move to the music.

What if you just let the music move you…all around, up and down, here and there….
Would you feel free? Would you be able to do it, really, I mean, you can’t be up tight and move with the music.
You need to be flexible, able to bend and stretch, move here and there….free…no tension, no tightness, no worry, no thinking, no working in your head…free.

Do we really know how to be free? I thought I was and yesterday my phone made a “ding” sound when a text came through and I found that I jumped! What was that all about?
Maybe I do not know what it means to really be free: free of junk in my brain, appointments, things I want to do, lists, lists, lists, responsibilities, challenges, questions, deadlines, people, and on and on…

Well, I wonder. What would it be like, really?
Only one time in my life can I think of a time when I was really free. It was on a spiritual weekend that is 72 hours long and you can’t bring your phone, watch, none of that worldly stuff.

It has been 23 years since that weekend and I can still remember the feeling of lightness, of being free. The Walk to Emmaus was life changing for me and I remember after all this time….I remember….I hope and look forward to another time in my life when I can say….I am free….and it be true.
What, my friends, can we do to make these times of freedom more frequent in our lives?

Let’s figure it out, and then….let’s dance to the music!

Roberta

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Little is Big

November 18th, 2015

Little is Big

Hello!

Little Tree by Roberta Byram.

The Shenandoah Valley in Virginia is full of beautiful sights like this little tree. It made me think of all the plants and trees and vegetation there as they are all different colors and shapes and sizes; yet together they all blend together beautifully and make a wonderful sight! Isn't that just like our spiritual life? Are we not all different colors and shapes and sizes?

Yes! However; when we all blend together beautifully in that spiritual life, we are a wonderful sight to behold!

Look around, be aware, together, we are all beautiful!

Roberta

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Invitation

October 27th, 2015

Invitation

HELLO!


The Abbey at Iona Scotland, has many entrances, doorways, hallways, places of invitation to enter. As you see, there are several doors here that are offered. The Spiritual life has many doors as well that invite us to enter and when we live the spiritual life, we are free to choose whichever door we are drawn to; however; when we live the spiritual life, we have insight as to where each door leads and we also have a guide that helps us choose the door that is prepared and ready for that part of our life. The next time you see many doors, such as these...think about your spiritual life and which door you are ready to open.

Think about it? Where are you in your life spiritually? Are you ready for another adventure?

https://bertsworks.com Spiritual Gallery Please share, it greatly helps us artists and it is one way you can be part of this. Many thanks!

Roberta

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Rooted and Grounded

October 14th, 2015

Rooted and Grounded

HELLO!

Is your life rooted and grounded like these sea oats?

Life is like shifting sand and if we do not want it to wash away, we plant deep spiritual roots to hold it all together when the storms of life threaten.

With what or whom is your life grounded?

Rooted and Grounded by Roberta Byram. This photo was taken at the western tip of Holden Beach, North Carolina. I was amazed at the rooting and grounding of the plant roots in this sand dune. It reminded me of life.

http://bertsworks.com

Thanks for sharing!

Roberta

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A Piece of the Moon

September 29th, 2015

A Piece of the Moon

Hello!

A Piece of the Moon

I photographed this piece of the moon recently and I wondered if any life being lived there. Oh, I know all the science and all…but….what if beings lived deep in the core of this moon and did not need sunlight or oxygen to survive?
I wonder what they would be like. Oh, not like us, of course, us as in humans! Just think how different our lives would be if we lived in the core of the earth and did not need sunlight or oxygen to breathe?


Whoa! I wonder what color we would be???? Not green! I wonder if we could stand up or if we would crawl? Haha!
The moon is out there somewhere and we can see some of it, but I wonder what it is really like?
Well, I decided to think about someplace closer before I started putting effort into the moon and came back to earth for a while!
Our world is so diverse in landscape, in climate and in humans. It would take a lifetime to really explore all of the earth and all of the peoples! Hmmmmm…..


Wouldn’t it be great if we could all spend our lifetimes discovering all of the “others” in our world! If you aren’t adventurous, you might not like to do this…but…it seems like the impossible anyway!
Ok…so, I do not have a lifetime to discover others and I doubt you do either! However; I can be aware of those around me and take the time to learn the differences between us and I just might be surprised that we have more in common than we do different.

What do you think? Do we really take the time to know the people around us? Really? We see one another like we see the moon, but what about the very core of being? Hmmm…We all see some of us…just like we see some of the moon.
I think I will just look at the moon and wonder; but I think that I will make an effort to get to know the core being of those around me here on this earth in my world and not just see some of each of them and in doing so, I think I will share myself as well…how about you?

Roberta
http://bertsworks.com
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/a-piece-of-the-moon-roberta-byram.html
http://tinyletter.com/bertsworks (subscribe to twice monthly)
https://facebook.com/bertsworks300


Please feel free to share!


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Time, Time, Time

September 18th, 2015

HELLO!

Time, time, time! I love writing and I love taking pictures and FAA, but shucks, it takes a lot of time!

Someone once told me that anything worth having or doing takes time.

Well, I am almost ready for copyright with my book, but I forgot the pictures, so now...a few more days.

And, I entered a bunch of contests on FAA and now I need to stop and vote and I even try to go to some contests that I am not in and vote there too, as a way of supporting others.

Also, I realized some of my pictures are crooked and started looking closer and they ALL look crooked! I know they aren't all crooked and just seem that way, but some really are and I tried to find them in my files with no luck.

Sigh.....maybe I will take the time on Monday to do these things listed above.

TOMORROW, however; I am spending time on something very worth my time! My best friend and I are spending the day together beginning with worship, then lunch and shopping and maybe even some picture taking along the way.

There will be time for the other things in my life....but tomorrow, best friend, is my time with you!

Roberta

Tree painted by my friend, Jane Hank.

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