Daily Courage

It’s been a summer of traveling and of great introspection. Lot’s of quiet time alone contemplating what’s next and what I want the future to hold. There are have been many bumps in the road the past few years. And the path is leading to a need for many transitions. So time on the road has been good. It has provided a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with cousins and to revisit places from my past. Beautiful, friendly places.

A dear cousin lives in the small hamlet of Sloatsburg, NY, about 45 minutes outside of New York City. While its close to the beehive of Manhattan it is a whole world away. Just five minutes up the road from her home is a delightful lake. Being accustomed to most things in California being crowded, I drank in the solitude. Pat and I did something I have not done in years. We jumped in the lake, tredded water at our leisure and visited. But the best part was laying back in the fresh lake water and floating on our backs. The quiet muffled sounds through the water against our ears, the sun on our faces and the secure feeling of being cradled by nature was a warm hug I will long remember. My soul was at peace. And because of those moments floating in the lake, I think we’ll be better equipped to face what lies ahead. Sometimes to build courage you have to pause and float in the lake.

To lean on an old cliche, “It took a village.” When Tara Frey contacted Red Lips 4 Courage with the concept of creating a book about blissful blogging, we loved the idea. She was onto something big, and we felt it in our creative hearts. What Tara and our team did not understand at the time was just how big the movement of blogging for artistic expression had really become. There is a lot to know and many, many talented women out there doing some incredibly creative things in the blogosphere. Seasoned editor Rebecca Ittner took the reins and led Erika Kotite, Cathy Risling, Jocelyn Foye and I into the wonderful world of blissful bloggers. What Tara didn’t know, Rebecca researched and found out. We all learned a great deal and fell in love all over again with why we love working in the world of creative women. The book is just starting to ship and already the response is wonderful.
Surely many new blogs will be brought to light over the coming weeks. Please help us share them with others by telling us about them here. Look forward to hearing from you!