Thursday, July 9, 2015

The Power of Place.

Friday!!!
amyoes.com
Beach Scene amyoes.com

Having a Place...
Do you have a certain place in your life that you can go back to again and again, and although you are different, something about you still feels the same?  The power of place is an amazing thing.  I got to write a bit about this feeling in a piece I wrote for Bon Bon Break - Out of my Nature.
I've written about the magic I feel in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts many times - Over The Red Line Magazine just published my reflections on a favorite trip I took with my brother there.  I find that whenever I choose to "go to my happy place" in my head, and findn a sense of calm, happiness, peace joy, and simpler times, my head goes right to those hills.
Maybe seeing all of that lush greenery surround me at once is what my soul craves.  Maybe it's the crisp air, the open roads, the yoga center up the road, the rustic and quaint town.
Or maybe it's that it is a place I still have in my memory that is pure, simple and carefree, and now that I've gone through so much - medical things, and then just the everyday pains of getting older and dealing with more issues that we all face - and the Bershires represents more than a mere place - it represents a mindset for me, a daydream that has the power to transport me out of whatever is bugging me and back into a place of sunlight, birds chirping, and the scent of fresh summer grass.


  But more importantly, I'd love to know - what is the power of Place for you?
Do you have a place you can come back to over and over again, whether just in your dreams or in actuality, and still feel that same feeling, even though you have changed?
The power of Place.  The world is huge.  There is so much to take in, absorb, gather collect - that is where our insatiable need to explore, travel, learn, walk, live, sight-see. 




To know that I have only seen a tiny wedge of our earth.  That's the amazing thing.  We are just so... small.



But forget about all of that.  The power of Place doesn't have to be three planerides away.  Any place could have signicantly heavy meaning for you.  For me, I'll always remember an old museum I grew up down the street from as a child.   It was where I fbought my very first digital watch, and to me, it was a sign that I was really a "big kid"
So coming back there now to display my art in the museum's gallery is an extra special treat!!!


Before I go...
Today, find that place where something resonates in your soul.  It could be a place you remember fondly as a child...or, start now!  Find a place that strikes you deep inside, and come back to it again and again..either by foot, by car, or by imagination....a powerful thing thing, you know! 
Wherever something resonates in your soul -
Ultimate meaning is not grasped once and for all in the form of timeless idea, acquired once and for all, securely preserved in conviction. It is not simply given. It comes upon us as an intimation that comes and goes. What is left behind is a memory, and a commitment to that memory. Our words do not describe it, our tools do not wield it. But sometimes it seems as if our very being were its description, its secret tool. 

Oh and P.S. - so I made this painting years ago - I called it "Winter Meeting"...
 
I just saw this children's book at the bookstore - remind you of anything?

Now I'm really motivated to writing that children's book I've been dreaming about!!!
:)

20 comments:

  1. Beautiful as always!!!! Love this blog!

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  2. With having moved around a bit in the last few years, there is always this sense of comfort I feel when returning to my childhood home.

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  3. Hi Amy,

    You have a lot of beautiful artwork to share! Hmmm... you asked about a favorite place and it reminds me of what my husband and I are learning about. We are studying memory and have learned that people are very good at remembering places and not as much with remembering numbers and words. So the memory pros use places to help them remember things! So I've been thinking about places a lot lately. I love a lot of different places. I would say that Puerto Rico was probably my favorite, just because it was so gorgeous. When we were up high in the mountains, there were bamboo forests that were incredible. I also love Hana on Maui. It is so remote there that many of the residents don't even have electricity! But GORGEOUS.

    By the way, I am stopping by from Inspired Blogging. Nice to meet you!

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    1. Just so happen to be going there on my honeymoon...now I REALLY can't wait :)

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  4. For me the power of place is in my bedroom- i have tried to create a quiet, pretty peaceful place to begin the day by raising the curtains on the window, and say good nite, lowering them while candles burn (flameless of course ha ha), and peaceful music plays.

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  5. I am lucky to have 2 places. One is the RI beaches and the second the town where my grandmother lives in Western PA. I have now shared it with my kids. I think they love it just as much. Hopefully they can share it with their children someday and enjoy it themselves as they grow and change. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Oh. So true! Place is powerful. For me, I love the woods in Vermont and the beaches of Florida. They both do different things for me, personally, but they are each powerful in their own rights. :)

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  7. Powerful post! Thanks for reminding me to think about my favorite place. I was born and raised in Vermont. It is my place of power, without a doubt!

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  8. Amy, I'm also stopping by from Inspired Blogging. Places for me: our backyard in all the green months, so beautiful and restorative with all the green,flowers,vegetables and fruits. Otherwise: Lake Superior, especially Grand Marais, Minnesota. And Europe, so far Barcelona and places in Italy. Nice to even remember them, thank you!

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  9. Wow These Images are So Beautiful!! Thank you Am

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  10. This is an interesting post. I like your take on life. And you have amazing recall, a digital watch you bought as a child? Keep up the amazing work, Your art is very eclectic but refreshing

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  11. Good luck with the children's book! Thanks for sharing with the Pinterest Love Weekend Pin-It Party :)

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  12. I love all the artwork you shared! <3 I have a lot of places in my life (both physically and mentally) that I "retreat" to when I need to get away! :]

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  13. Hello from Literacy Musings Mondays. The artwork is beautiful. I think we all have our special place. Mine is outside in my garden.

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  14. I just love being by the Atlantic Ocean. That is my power place. Thanks for sharing your post at the #AnythingGoes Link Party.

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  15. I've never been to the Berkshire Hills, but they look beautiful. I love certain places, but since I've moved so often I never get the chance to revisit them. Visiting from Weekend Blog Hop.

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  16. Beautiful!! Happy to have you at Christian Fellowship last week and hope to see you again this weekend!

    I don't really have an actual, literal "place," but that is my prayer to the Lord and He has promised to plant me and give me roots. My "place" in the meantime is anywhere I can get into His presence!

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  17. Your art would be fantastic in a children's book! I say go for it! Thanks for sharing at Inspiration Thursday!

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  18. This post really makes me want to take my kids out to explore more places. I hope they find a special place to always go back to. Thanks for sharing. #ConfessionsLinkUp

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  19. I love those types of places that are near and dear to you, and always leave you with a similar feeling. Thanks for sharing your beautiful artwork with us at Dream. Create. Inspire. Link. Hope to see you back this week!

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