{"id":661,"date":"2011-07-25T14:35:54","date_gmt":"2011-07-25T18:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/dailyjoys\/?p=661"},"modified":"2011-07-25T14:38:44","modified_gmt":"2011-07-25T18:38:44","slug":"transform-because-we-must","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailyjoys\/2011\/07\/transform-because-we-must.html","title":{"rendered":"TRANSFORM: BECAUSE WE MUST"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>See this picture?\u00a0 I am certain it is apparent to you that it should be vertical<\/p>\n

rather than horizontal.\u00a0 It is apparent to me, too.\u00a0 I’ve edited.\u00a0 Flipped.\u00a0 Turned. Saved. Rinsed. Repeated.\u00a0 And the demonstration piece meant as a visual to my point will not do what I want it to.\u00a0 Or, said more accurately, I do not hold in my immediate memory the capacity to push the right buttons to get this visual about transformation to transform.<\/p>\n

It occurs to me that this is the perfect way to share this image with you: imperfectly.<\/p>\n

I willingly participated in a local event as a demonstration artist.\u00a0 For Two Days.\u00a0 I want to emphasize the word, “willingly.”\u00a0 Although the news I am about to deliver surprises people from time to time – it is true.\u00a0 I love people and I am introverted.\u00a0 I prefer the silence of water lapping the shore to the cacophony of conversation.\u00a0 Just as an example.\u00a0 The answer to why I agreed to do this is rooted in wanting to overcome my own internal resistance and transform certain characteristics I possess.\u00a0 I’m going to give you a peek into the first two hours of my first day.<\/p>\n

My space was 30% smaller than I’d been instructed to expect.\u00a0 I was next to the storage area where volunteers came through my demonstration space and loaded up and out and back again dozens of chairs.\u00a0 My headache that had been promising the potential of a migraine…acted on its natural impulse and became a fuzzy-sight-turning-everything-into-wavy-lines migraine.\u00a0 The little valley in which our venue was located was fog enshrouded and 20 degrees colder than the area to 1\/2 mile south of it.\u00a0 And the demonstration artist three booths down dropped dead doing what she loves.\u00a0 Right there in our little demonstration area.\u00a0 She was 89 and loved painting.\u00a0 And yet, this all happened before noon.\u00a0 If I tell you that was only the start perhaps you’ll agree I’ve said enough.<\/p>\n

My sweet and protective husband encouraged me to bag the second day.\u00a0 I told him I thought there was an opportunity here for me that I didn’t want to miss.\u00a0 He just rolled his eyes.\u00a0 Transformation.\u00a0 It’s always a choice.\u00a0 So I gave thoughtful consideration to my second day.<\/p>\n

It was a fantastic day.\u00a0 My headache dissolved to a just barely fuzzy vision level.\u00a0 Tolerable.\u00a0 I posted signs inviting guests 12 years and under to ask me how long I had been writing.\u00a0 Dozens of young people asked and were given their very own blank composition book.\u00a0 Those who were engaged learned how to create a commonplace book and were given ideas how writing might help them live a fuller and more rewarding life.\u00a0 I gave away a greeting card to every adult that stopped.\u00a0 And I worked on a project that brought me a lot of joy when I wasn’t talking with people.\u00a0 What was the transformation?<\/p>\n

The physical pain of a severe headache aside,\u00a0 the difference was in how I chose to frame my view of the event.\u00a0 The first day I was behaving the way all the other artists were behaving and doing what I thought was expected of me.\u00a0 The second day I paid no attention to what anyone else was doing and I did what I expected of myself.\u00a0 This may seem like a familiar lesson because I talk about it all the time.\u00a0 The reason I talk about it so much is because I need to reinforce the truth of it in my own life.\u00a0 Every day.\u00a0 I must not measure my actions by the expectations of others.\u00a0 EVER.\u00a0 When I choose to transform an experience from undesirable to enjoyable – it is almost always tied to connecting to my core and acting upon my own authentic impulses.\u00a0 I came home from day one drained and disheartened.\u00a0 I came home from day two tired but happy.\u00a0 Pleased.\u00a0 Throughout the day people celebrated the long career of the artist who had died the day before.\u00a0 And every artist who spoke of her said that they hoped that at the end of their days they hoped they would “go” doing something they loved.<\/p>\n

The transformation for me was living into the day doing<\/p>\n

what I love and sharing it with others.\u00a0 The transformation was setting aside all expetations of “perfection” and embracing the actuality of the circumstance.\u00a0 To transform is to grow.\u00a0 And it’s said many different ways that living things are either growing or dying.\u00a0 I’ll stick with transformation!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

See this picture?\u00a0 I am certain it is apparent to you that it should be vertical rather than horizontal.\u00a0 It is apparent to me, too.\u00a0 I’ve edited.\u00a0 Flipped.\u00a0 Turned. Saved. Rinsed. Repeated.\u00a0 And the demonstration piece meant as a visual to my point will not do what I want it to.\u00a0 Or, said more accurately,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[10,347],"class_list":["post-661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artful-graces","tag-mary-anne-radmacher","tag-transformation"],"yoast_head":"\nTRANSFORM: BECAUSE WE MUST - Daily Joys and Simple Pleasures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailyjoys\/2011\/07\/transform-because-we-must.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TRANSFORM: BECAUSE WE MUST - Daily Joys and Simple Pleasures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"See this picture?\u00a0 I am certain it is apparent to you that it should be vertical rather than horizontal.\u00a0 It is apparent to me, too.\u00a0 I’ve edited.\u00a0 Flipped.\u00a0 Turned. Saved. Rinsed. Repeated.\u00a0 And the demonstration piece meant as a visual to my point will not do what I want it to.\u00a0 Or, said more accurately,…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailyjoys\/2011\/07\/transform-because-we-must.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daily Joys and Simple Pleasures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-25T18:35:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-07-25T18:38:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/dailyjoys\/files\/2011\/07\/monday-post-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mary anne radmacher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TRANSFORM: BECAUSE WE MUST - Daily Joys and Simple Pleasures","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailyjoys\/2011\/07\/transform-because-we-must.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TRANSFORM: BECAUSE WE MUST - Daily Joys and Simple Pleasures","og_description":"See this picture?\u00a0 I am certain it is apparent to you that it should be vertical rather than horizontal.\u00a0 It is apparent to me, too.\u00a0 I’ve edited.\u00a0 Flipped.\u00a0 Turned. 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