Feeding Your Bird Relationships

Hello Everyone!

Hope you're doing fine on this First Day of April.

Here's a story about a fairy that keeps popping up for me these days.

Former Governor Peter Shumlin provided the inspiration her message. 

I had a birdfeeder and wanted to be sure to take it down before the bears started coming out.  I recalled fuzzily that Shumlin had had a bear confrontation at night over his bird feeder.  When I saw him out enjoying a show at Arts Riot I asked him

“When are you taking your feeder down this year?”

He said

“I’m not!  We’ve created relationships with these birds and need to take care of them.”

So I didn’t.  Soon I realized the birds were getting food elsewhere and didn't need ours so I took it down with little fanfare.

My conversation with the governor got me thinking, however, about all the peripheral relationships we have in our lives that are important to feed. 

I know my day goes best when I smile and say “hi” and slow down the race through my "to do" list to ask people at work

“How's it going?”

or share a moment with a stranger who's also waiting for the light to turn green.

These moments remind us that we're all growing in this forest of life together.

Have fun 'touching real and smiling'!

All the best,

Emily and the Bluebird Fairies

We've jumped onto the Burlington Art Map and are having events at our studio on First Fridays.  The first one is coming up this Friday, April 7. 

For more info: 

http://artmapburlington.com/content/

Find us at venue #44. Yes!

Fairy of the Vernal Equinox

Hello Everyone,

Spring has arrived!

Ted Andrews in Nature Speak says-  

"The keynote for this season is creation and expression of the new.  This is reflected in Nature.  

New seeds begin to sprout.  Sap runs and flows, stimulating new growth.  Flowers and leaves begin to bud.  The natural world begins to resurrect itself.  

For us, the rhythms are excellent for initiating new endeavors and manifesting opportunities for such within our life.  

It is a time in which the energies propelling us are excellent for initiating a new order to one's life.  

(Our) spirit's energies are strengthening and facilitating change..."

Wishing you all the best in this magical time.

Emily and the Bluebird Fairies

Seize the Day

On the 8th of March I was feeling a little scattered about all the work I have going on in different areas of my life.  I then picked the 'Fairy of the Blog' and everything got better.

 

Did it really?  Does 'A Fairy of a Bright New Day' have that much power?  Yes, for me, she does.  Because as soon as I see her I start thinking of where I find renewal.  The kind of renewal that comes with the freshness of a new day or the green energy you feel at the start of a project.

On this day it brought me to thinking of my friend Sister Pat.

Sister Pat is a quietly powerful woman who's currently organizing a city wide peace and community building project that will take place in a multitude of ways this year in Winooski, Vermont. 

Sister Pat is always doing something like this.  She easily enlists people's involvement by telling them they should come.  And they do. 

I went to one of the organizing meetings Sister Pat held in January.  She shared something I wrote in a notebook and have been returning to ever since.  This loosely paraphrased list inspired by Jesse Lyn Stoner from the Seapoint Center for Collaborative Leadership is what I think of as what you need when you want to succeed at doing ANYTHING.'

1. Clear vision

2. Understand your reality

3. Build relationships

4. Have the courage to do what you need to do.

I hope you can apply this to any project you are about to start or need to renew your energy for. 

Carpe Diem!  Seize the Day! 

Let's go.

I hope you're all having fun.

All the best,

Emily and the Bluebird Fairies

If you've not read Rachel Elizabeth Jones' great article about my Fairy and Demon Drawing workshops please check it out here. 

Want to attend the next one?

Or, a new "Introductory" one? 

We'd love to see you!

Embracing the Lesson of the Tree

Wow! I have been loving my monthly Fairy and Demon Drawing workshops.  They started back in October.  Our most recent February workshop brought the total offered up to 5.

The Bluebird Fairies studio is changing monthly as we get established here in the Howard Space Center on Pine Street and my clarity around how best to lead these workshops continues to grow.

One thing that hasn't changed is the very dedicated thinking in my mind as well as the physical preparation of the space I do before each workshop.  This is essential work.  And yet, I must remember that beyond the planning there is a space that will be filled by the actual workshop.  It's unique reality blossoms with the arrival of each participant. My job shifts from planning to facilitating us through my easily creative and super helpful drawing technique.

Last workshop I had a wonderful reminder of this. 

When people arrive for the workshops they take off their coats, get a cup of tea, chat a little and then pick a 'fairy of the workshop' from the Bluebird Fairy Deck.  Right before everyone arrives I pick my mine.

Here's who showed up for me-

 

Sometimes when people receive the 'Fairy of the Tree Lesson' they don't know how she fits into their lives.  When I pick her she hits home whether I want her to or not.

Just seeing her reminded me it was time to take a deep breath, wash away my expectations of the workshop and allow the reality of the workshop to begin growing.

The group arrived and WOW what a fun and poignant time we had.

Friends, head on out into the day with your plans and intentions always remembering to enjoy the breeze of the tree lesson.

Have Fun!

All the best,

Emily and the Bluebird Fairies

Please check out Rachel Elizabeth Jones' article about these workshops here:

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/with-bluebird-fairies-emily-anderson-inspires-reflection/Content?oid=4374334

Our next 'Fairy and Demon Drawing' workshop is coming up.  Each month there's been a theme. So far the workshops have focused on introducing the drawing technique.  As of April I'll be offering 'Introduction to Fairy and Demon Drawing' workshops on the first Saturday of every month. On the 3rd Saturday we'll continue to have themed workshops.

You can now easily register for these workshops with our on-line shop at this web site.  You can also contact me directly. (saves you $1)

Hope to see you soon.

Fairy of Easy Errands

Dear Friends of Bluebird Fairies,

I hope this blog post finds you in good spirits. 

When I last wrote I was on the road to a day of recuperation that was much needed.  If you were in need of that as well, I sure hope you took some time for that.  I don't know about you, but I think I'm now in need of a"tune up" that gets me into a place where I can "take action".

You may recall from my previous blog post that "taking action" is the theme of the Chinese Year of the Rooster which we entered on January 28th. 

There's HOPE for that and here's how it showed up for me today. 

I sat down after breakfast to get a handle on the day ahead and "lo and behold" my eyes landed on two miniature iris flowers that had bloomed in the night.  What a surprise! There'd been no indication this was about to happen the night before when I studied it closely thirsty for color.

As always I look to Ted Andrew's book Nature - Speak when something natural appears in my life.  He says that Irises assist us in "maintaining hope, restoring peace and indicate new birth is at hand."

Then, recalling it was my day to write a 'fairy post' I drew from the Bluebird Fairy Deck the-
 

Ah, yes.  Can we effectively and easily and happily move through errands that will ultimately assist us?  Yes, we can!

One errand that Brian and I are moving through is reading and practicing the great material in a book called Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes Get High. 

We are in a time when it's easy to get caught in conversations that shift gears quickly into places where emotions run high.  This book is teaching us tools that move us through the "knee-jerk" behavior that usually gets these conversations even more "off course". 

Check it out on-line or at a bookstore.  More suggestions will follow.

Now, I'm sending you lots of good energy for all your easy errands. Have fun out there!!!

Sincerely,  Emily and the Bluebird Fairies

P.S. There's still a few spaces in February's Fairy and Demon Drawing Workshop.  When you come you'll see the latest addition which makes Edward's Burke's fun description for our studio ring true.  "The Cozy Den of Creation"