Ripplesong dreams….
When I was a little girl I wanted to grow up to be a singer
and a florist (grin),
someone who made songs and flung them to the stars,
and grew flowers and filled the earth with beauty and blossom.
A singing farmer:)
As I’ve grown up and gotten busy with the messy business of life,
my songs and bouquets slide sifted into everydayness
and the love I want to sprinkle goes often tucked away in silent gifts
I send down the river with an open-handed prayer.
I like it that way.
But I’ve also danced with bookish dreams,
of sharing my heart on sweet-smelling paper
with anyone who wanted to have and hold
and diving in I’ve wrestled with how to do it true,
in a way that cultivates soft buttery peace in the living, breathing place inside
and feels real to the very heart of me,
honest like a just picked bouquet of bloomers still dripping with dew
and poured out with wild abandon,
~true in the vivid color that I love
…..it speaks a language that is super-expensive to print and I want it,
need it strong like my tea,
pungent like my herbs, rich like my chocolate
and bright like the sun.
Whiskey in a teacup:)
~true to my love for supporting local
…..I don’t want to send my stuff across oceans to print
when the friendly faces who walk their dogs,
ride their bikes and buy their groceries where I live
need their jobs and do them well
right here where I keep shop.
~true to my paper-love
….stock that’s thick and crisp enough to paste into journal or prop onto windowsill
or tuck by bits and pieces into notes for passing
~true to my love for seasons….I think in season and cycle
and love to share just plucked goodness, like a meal I would serve you at
my table, sliced up juicy with the bounty of each month’s harvest.
~and true because it’s a present I get to make and give new, over and over again
and that makes me ridiculously glad:)
I’m wired that way; it lights me up.
There’s just no accounting for what gives a person crazy joy;)
I have the first batch of these bright bouquets up for sale
in my Ripplespeak etsy shop
Ripplesongs June:)
I want to give some away to you, oh please:)
Just leave me a comment and I’ll draw some names next week…..5 shining names:)
(can you tell how wide I’m grinning here?)
“….but we can do small things with great love.”
-Mother Teresa
~
Sweet Jennifer, I so well understand when creativity screams to be let loose from the grip of our hands to be shared with a contented heart. Your designs are chockfull of wisdom and delicate beauty. Thanks for sharing your wisdom in this art form. They speak volume…
Hugs,
JB
Your heart, and your creativity are bigger than the ocean and the sky. And as beautiful.
Oh sweet beautiful singer, gardener that you certainly are, pop my name in the mix please!
Heading to your etsy shop too!
xo
oh what fun! you are a beautiful soul.
You are so inspiring Jennifer. I love your words and the images they conjure up When I visit your blog I know that I am going to leave feeling uplifted. Thank you.
I love hearing about your childhood dreams and how they really have been realized for you. That is the space where we know we are doing exactly what we are meant to do! Inspiring!
… and we are so blessed to have you on our planet spreading those beautiful bloom seeds of love everywhere in every which way imaginable. It was so delightful to read this piece Jennifer. xo
Oh please pick one for me to “prop up on (my) windowsill,” Dear Child!
Your heart, your creativity, your words, your soul… The all of you – blooms so vibrant.
Your enthusiasm is catching and your creativity has no bounds…delicious new creations for us to see and maybe win….how lucky I would be!!
I love your bouquets of visual music, touching hearts and making spirits spark! Woohoo!
It’s always fun to hear what childhood dreams people had!! Your new creations are SO lovely (i peaked at them on your Etsy sight!)…what a beautiful way to share your amazing words!
Happy bouquets of word and image winging their way into hearts.
It was wonderful to hear about your dreams and how they have “bloomed” for you. Such lovely words you share with us!
Dear Jennifer,
I have received your open handed gifted bouquet of singing flowers that brighten and inspire me when I have the chance to sit and study them. I ponder while I put them out and arrange them quietly, exchanging them and mixing and matching and letting the colors blend together in my mind. I take those blends and I put needle to clothe and try to replicate the blur of arranged colors… so your open handed gifts you send down the river as prayers are heard and received with joy and thrill and a multitude of other blessings that words can not begin to express. Your words speak to my heart at times of need, when I am open to hear the wisdom they speak … they are never “tiny gifts” to me.
Big, happy, beautiful giggles! Don’t you see, you ARE singing is wonderous words and glorious color, just like your own beautiful soul! And that soul is filled with heart and love and goodness to those in your own community as you work to keep the work there and not round about! What you show is like Mary Poppins — practically perfect in every way! But then, so are you! Sending you huge, wide, elated smiles!
Jennifer,
Such beautiful, soul revealing words! I love that you like to have your consumer needs filled locally, that is one of my passions as well.
I’m off to peruse your Etsy shop; enjoy this beautiful, sun filled summer day!
xo, Anita
Oh, my beloved Jennifer!! This makes my heart thump loud and proud. I am SO happy for you and this gorgeous unfolding. Love, love, love on this new path of your journey. xoxo
I feel like every post you write is a gift in itself. Your rich, glowing and poignant phrases really grab hold of my heart, and your photography is simply delightful and inspiring. You have been given so much talent and you share it with great love. Lucky me and all who come here. xo
Jennifer, you and your words are such a gift to us all. Always a pleasure to get to bask in them. They bring me joy!
I am so excited ot hear about the ways that you are following your dreams. I know from experience that your art is amazing and your words are a balm and an impetus. How marvelous!!
I think this is an awesome and generous way to share your amazing, colorful, inspirational gifts with the rest of the world. I would love to be one of the names you pick!