When I think I have yielded all I can, something happens, and I realize I must yield again. What does this mean? If yielding means to give way to arguments, demands, or pressure, then have I chosen wisely? Life will always give us unexpected blows. We will also see them coming and deny they are a reality, but the blow comes anyway. So whats inside of me that causes me to yield? And I think it has taken me a long hard road of blows to finally understand, that many of my yielding moments were incorrect. In fact, many of those choices I had when facing arguments, demands or pressure, actually could have led me down a different path had I made different choices.
As I remember some of these times of choosing to yield, I am still heartened by the inner knowledge that I am a fighter, I do still remain, I have not totally disappeared. But as in some sort of hypnotic trance, many a time I allowed myself to be led, led by well meaning people, or those with the worst intent. The why’s don’t seem to have clear answers, and so I will not keep asking that question. But I can feel the memories of the times I quit, quit believing my thoughts were right and trusting someone else’s was more correct. Where does the desire for understanding and knowledge of the new or unknown give way to my own opinion? Perhaps I was not fully convinced about my own opinions. I have for so long witnessed the most cruel and sad hardships brought upon myself or others because someone in charge or bigger than me or more powerful thought their thoughts were the only correct thoughts. To even speak my own thoughts or opinions would result in sometimes the severest of punishments or scorn that my sensitive soul could not bear up under. And even the times I fought, I was forced to yield. I guess that is why I learned to fight so hard when I did believe my thoughts were right. For those times when I won, I am also truly grateful. However, knowing what I know now I would not need to fight the same way at all.
Decade after decade it seemed the few ones I needed or wanted approval from denied it to me and even the few that surrounded me and propped me up could not erase the pain of that kind of suffering. What if I had just became callous and did not feel so deeply? Then I am sure the artist in me would have been bland. If I were a more clinical human who led with their mind, not their heart, then I would have been safer and perhaps have gotten further in my life by now, playing the game, watching for opportunities, and grasping them without fear. But I care too much, I feel too deeply, and that is not possible for someone like me. Until now.
When an ax takes to the tree trunk, so many blows happen before the tree even budges. Blow after blow occurs, and then there is that moment when the weight of the tree is too much for whats left of its trunk circumference, and then the loud crack pierces the atmosphere, and timber, she falls to her death. All that time, not a word did the tree speak, she stood tall and took the blows until one last blow occurred that was the last she could take. All those years of history she spent growing in one place. All those seasons of too much rain or too little, all the storms and harsh winters and the tree stretched it’s mighty branches reaching towards the sun. Many animals and birds lived in those branches, their homes were there, and in the heat of summer the tree provided shade for the weary traveler.
But now the tree will take on its new life, no longer living as we know life, but instead providing perhaps wood for a fire to warm people, its timber now transformed by a master carpenter into tables, chairs, cutting boards, mantles and more. No longer a prisoner to the one spot it had ever known, the tree now lives its new life in homes, on boats, framing the family photos or masterpieces. For a moment, the tree thought it was dead, but instead it was liberated blow by blow and now has new purpose. Besides many other trees exist from her seeds now growing and reaching for the sky.
And me? Once again I remember that I will not be guided by the one who pushes me or the one who pulls me, but by my own intuition which I now trust. The funny thing about trusting your own intuition, is that everything seems clearer and there is no anxiety in trust. Anxiousness is a passion killer, it also blocks cognitive thinking. And after all, when you come to know and trust your inner voice, then you no longer worry about judgement and you simply do not judge anyone else for theirs. You are free to continue your quest for knowledge and understanding without worry that in the meantime you are wrong or missing something.
Yes, waking up is hard to do. It takes courage to challenge your own thinking and it takes stillness to hear your own inner voice. No matter where we came from, or how long we have been here, I am sure we all will keep on diving deeper into our own souls and learning more, it’s a bottomless pit. There is no end to the learning we may acquire for our souls are mini universes. Oh to go where no man has gone before! Beam me up, let me see why I am here! Let me reach the highest height I can obtain while it is still my time on earth.
And finally, for better or for worse, I am thankful for all my teachers along the way. The harsh ones and the kind ones. I have learned from so many, even just by observation. Sometimes it is sad when a relationship is over that was mixed with both kindness and harshness because there is still gratitude for the time spent. There are times and seasons and lessons to be grateful for, but you must stay on your path. But now, only kindness will prevail. It is how I want to give, and how I want to receive knowledge and wisdom. Kindness is the best teacher, it comes from love, and love always wins in the end.
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
Good Morning folks! I hope you will take the time to check out my first of many videos/songs- The Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd. This will take you to my website where you can see my video and download my song for your music collection which would be a great honor to me!https://www.sarahhalefolger.com/my-music
The song is also on Youtube where you can view it from here but to download the song you must go to my website. Either way, I hope you like it! It was a work from my heart in the making of the music and the production of the music video. Please let me know what you think and feel free to share this on your pages! Thank you for listening!! Please subscribe to my Youtube channel and like and share my song all you want! Have a blessed day!
Hi Friends,
I am thrilled to tell you I moved into a small art studio located inside the One Way Gallery in Narragansett, RI. Â It was amazing really, as I was simply walking by the building after having breakfast with my daughter at a restaurant nearby. Â I had never seen it before and walked right in to take a look. Â The people were nice the atmosphere awesome as well as the art inspiring. Â I felt at home and was thrilled to see a baby grand piano in the second gallery room. Â The owner showed me a studio which had recently been vacated and I took it on the spot. Â I just moved in this week and since they are having an opening reception Friday night for a new exhibit, I am opening the doors of my studio and inviting everyone to come to my open house.
I just know that this is a new time for me, a time of creative fluidity. It’s already been happening for me with my music which I will share soon, and in so many other ways. Â We all have one life to live, that’s a pretty short time on earth to live free and find our happiness by finding our true selves. Â I am flying right towards my dreams and hope you are as well!
If you live in RI then I hope to see you soon!
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Artist, Singer, Creative Consultant, Blogger,. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
My muse and friend, the owl.
The time has really come for me to talk about my muse and friend the owl. Which owl would that be? All owls inspire me and infuse me with an energy that empowers me just by being in their presence, but the one that stands out the most is the great horned owl. If you have been a reader of my blogs, you know that I was born into a family that ran a rehabilitation center for wildlife. The animals that came to us were injured, or abandoned or babies and unless injury prevented it, the goal was to raise or rehabilitate and then release them back into the wild. We had many owls and hawks that had been shot or otherwise injured and would never leave which we had in flight cages.
But these ones were not the reason for my connection. As a kid, I had a hard time fitting in and I was over sensitive to bullying which I was often a recipient of. I would just run away. One day I remember running into my room and slamming the door and the feeling inside my chest was so overpowering, now I know that to be a panic attack, then I just thought I was gonna die. I was in the middle of my room when I heard a loud cawing sound getting louder and louder. I ran to the window and saw crows chasing a great horned owl and he swooped down and landed on a branch literally 10 feet from my window and stood at eye level and just stared at me. All my thoughts now were turned to this owl as it stayed with me while being dive bombed by irrational screaming crows. I felt so bad for him and I thought- I know how you feel!!! Â I felt that what was happening to him was exactly what I was going through, and yet the owl was not afraid, did not flinch when the crows dive bombed him and landed all around him on other branches just screaming. He stayed for many long minutes and waited, I felt, with me.
All I can tell you is something was transferring between me and this owl. An unspoken conversation, a friendship, a kinship, an understanding. And as I relaxed into ignoring the crows and staring into his eyes he suddenly took off with all those nasty crows ensuing him and I waited till I could not hear them anymore. An overwhelming calm had settled into my soul and I felt brave. The panic was gone, the power was in me and I knew I could not tell anyone because they would only think I was was weirder than they already thought I was. It was then I knew I was special, not weird.
I would rather have this connection with the animal world and be considered strange or unbelievable than to go through life missing what nature teaches me every day. Since that day I have had 4 such encounters with owls through my life and many other times when I was in need of strength when an owl suddenly swoops down in front of me. Â Believe me or not, it is my gift which I believe will always be with me. And for this, I am eternally grateful!!
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Blogger, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
Girl on a path
About a month or so ago I was struggling with something and I felt the weight of it deep within my soul. When I woke up I decided to just paint and see what came out of me. As I began with charcoal I just covered the canvas with black and rubbed my hands through it and sprayed water on it until I felt a flow coming in between my heart and my hands. I saw trees forming and grabbed paint and started bringing in the trees and as I did I literally started shaking because I felt real joy. It’s kind of crazy really, as art in it’s many forms has always been my therapy, I felt that I was healing myself, as though my soul knew what it was doing and I just needed to keep flowing.
How amazed I was when I started to see a girl on the path that was forming and she seemed so content and at peace. As I finished her I added the light because that is what was happening to my soul, even though I was going through something that was stressing me out and breaking my heart, I now saw this new hope for me. The path before me fatefully calling me again and it was going to be good and full of light and I could let go of what was bothering me. And so I did let go that very moment as I sat in my chair and tears of letting go mingled with tears of joy and hope for the journey I now found myself in. I’ve been at peace ever since. Wishing you peace and hope!!
So if you are interested in buying a print of this work please go to my store at My Art Store.
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Blogger, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
Here is a poem I have kept for years to remind me of what I strive for.
“I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance, to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom, and that which came to me as blossom goes on as fruit.” Dawna Markova.
I went back in my blog this morning and read my first ever post and realized that I have worked very hard to break through the past to get where I am now and I feel real joy. I do believe if you do the work to challenge yourself, to question what you believe you will  grow through and out of those things that have held you bound for so long. When I decided to leap out into the universe and start this blog I was breaking through old patterns of belief and it was quite terrifying in fact. But as I reread this blog that just flowed from my heart that day, it made me smile because I can see how far I’ve grown since then. I hope that in some way, these words inspire you to know and believe in yourself, to remember the past is gone, the future belongs to you. We are the creators of our future. Is there destiny, is there a master plan? I believe we play our role in our lives which will either give us the power to grasp all that could be, or take away our power because we have not the faith or guts to shift our thinking at pivotal moments. I’m cheering for you, please cheer for me. We are in the human race, therefore on the same team!!
So I give you “I Rise” – be blessed today, or whenever fate may cause you to read this.
Surely as a cloud begins to form in a long clear sky, stillness is being gently startled by a warm breeze. My eyes open as I feel the movement gently caressing my chin as it tunes my face to the sky. How long have I been laying here sleeping? I have forgotten what I was waiting for. I feel my heart beating. I feel the blood coursing through my veins. I feel the air filling my lungs. Was I dead? Am I resurrected? I have no memory of how I got here. Where am I? Slowly I rise, first to my elbow, then to sitting up. Breathing too fast I wait a moment and count my breaths until the rhythm soothes me. I pull myself to my knees and lean forward, my fists grasp the sand. How long have I been here in this desert? I dare not look back to remember, for the past is what brought me here and left me for dead. I feel no allegiance to what has long abandoned me. I will not waste my mind on trying to remember. No, I will trust that only the good lessons will prevail. I will pay attention only to the beating of my heart as to whether I should walk this way or that. This sense that lies within my soul shall guide me now. Not the hand that drags or the one that pushes me, but the one from within me shall I follow now. I know this now, as I kneel in this shifting sand, that the winding road beginning to appear before me, is waiting for me. The warm breeze swirls around me and I stretch out my arms and I think I almost see forming wings.They fill up with the breeze which has become a greater force and I look up and the sun is rising, color floods the horizon, and a voice inside me says,“Rise woman, RISE!†In a flash I am standing, and as I stand fully aware, fully seeing, a path appears just a steps length away. I am beginning to see shapes forming in the distance, some sort of mystical homeland. Impulsively I step forward, my heart is hungry, starving in fact and I know it! My foot hits the path and suddenly I cannot see more than one step away. I stop in fear, wondering, was what I saw an illusion, a mirage in this desert? My heart beats desperately, I feel it will leap from my chest. Some time passes, I let the shock of all of these things pass through me and feel it fade. For in this storm a voice speaks to me, and it comes from within.  Just take the next step, and the next step, and the one after that. And it’s then I realize I cannot know more than I can be responsible for in this very moment. I trust the path before me is fatefully calling me and I trust me, for the first time, I know I will know, and that’s enough.
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Blogger, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Blogger, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
Yesterday was Easter, the Christian celebration of Christ’s resurrection. For me the very essence of the meaning of the word is within itself a call to a spiritual experience, no matter who you are or what you believe.
Resurrection:
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the revitalization or revival of something.
Revival, restoration, regeneration, revitalization, reinvigoration, renewal, reawakening, rejuvenation, stimulation, re-establishment, re-launch, reintroduction, reinstallation, reappearance, rebirth, renaissance, comeback
When I think about my losses, or the losses of those I know and love, I have to believe that with each of those losses there was an upside. Just as winter kills off the plant life, and fire burns away the forest, there is a strong since of death and loss. But when the sun warms the ground, the earth begins to swell with life again, and the charred remains of the forest begin to regrow. It is a cycle, a resurrection of sorts. I know we all hate loss, so much so, that we try to avoid it at all costs. When someone we know dies, when love dies, when opportunites are just beyond our grasp we suffer the stages of grief.
But then if we remember, and we don’t get stuck in our grief, we will see the sunshine down upon us, we will see the green stems popping through the blackened ground. And the truth should be told, that you will be stronger, you will be better than you were before. We cannot change the past, we must not live in it.
Years ago I read a story about a polar bear that had been in a cage so long it got cage paralysis. Basically, it just paced back and forth and stopped eating. The zoo keepers became quite worried and in a desperate attempt to save the bear, they airlifted it into the wilderness and lowered the cage down onto the ground. They opened the cage door and waited, but the bear refused to get out of its cage. It was in captivity so long its mind was not even open to being set free. They tried to entice it out by putting meat outside the cage a ways off, but the bear only paced in the cage. A long time came and went and eventually they realized the bear could not even see the natural landscape around it, would not believe he could be free. The sad ending was they had to put the bear down after all of that.
I hate to say it, but so often times I see people all around me who hold onto the past pain of loss so tightly, that they live as if in a mental cage, and even if they were offered freedom and a new life, they would not believe it was for them.
It is my hearts plea to anyone who may read this blog and be suffering under the weight of loss, that you take a leap of faith and believe that no matter the loss you have suffered, you can and will be resurrected! I must say though, that it comes first by you making the choice to want it, and then believing it is possible to have it. I know that it is possible, I beg you to believe it! The first order of business is a mental shift!
Remember this, there are always those who will want you to stay in the cage, who will remind you of your loss or even blame you for it. Stay away from those people and find a support system of those who can see you in a resurrected state of mind and cheer you on! People who wish you to stay in your caged thinking, are in their own cage and don’t even know it.
But for you, may you find revival, new life, may you be restored to health, to prosperity, to knowing love. May your gifts come back even stronger as your restoration takes place. May all you have learned serve to make you indomitable, one that cannot be subdued or overcome by fear. May your courage bring about a revitalization of all those in your path or who seek respite under your wings. May you wake up each day and be rejuvenated. When others fade and buckle under the weight of their ambitions, may you be reinstalled as one who leads others to a place of peace and hope, conquering all doubt and fear.
As you are relaunched into the world, may the reintroduction of your spirit create an avalanche of change in the very atmosphere of your presence. As all you have learned now takes on new meaning, and all you have done becomes reborn, may a renaissance be unleashed on what you set your sights to do. May others welcome your comeback as one would welcome the warm spring grass underfoot, or the sunshine that soaks into the heart of the land and causes it to spring forth with life.
May each and everyone of us be that light, be that hope, it just takes that first step of faith in your mind and heart, and it takes courage to embark on the journey. Be as the seed, which first must die and be buried in the ground. Then by some miracle, it awakens from the cold darkness it was abandoned to, and starts to break forth into a shoot of green that bursts above the ground and grows! Think of the acorn which has become the mighty oak tree! How many people swing from it’s branches or take refuge under them? The winds may come, and the winds may blow, the rain and snow may pour down upon it, but it is strong in purpose and will grow to it’s full glory. This is what resurrection means to me. And it is for anyone and everyone who wants it!
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Blogger, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
I want to tell you a story from my early days. It’s been coming to my mind for several days now as I am still on track for making the most out of everything. Life is really short folks, we all know this by now. So I want to share a lesson I learned many years ago that I hope will inspire you to do whatever it is you want to do!
I was 15 years old in the summer of 1978, and one of my 4 brothers Jeremy, who was 18 years old at the time, had taken up skydiving. Of course, as in so many other things any of my brothers did, I just was dying to try it. When you are the youngest of five children, all born in 7 years, you are competitive and eager to be as good as they are at anything. Well I was a girl. Believe me, I learned that in many ways, that is just plain different than being a boy. But the heart of any human wants what it wants, and we are all the same on that score. My brother Jeremy saw my desire to follow in his footsteps as I watched him jump from the airplanes at the small airport in Waynesville, Ohio. So one day he came home with a form from the airport for a parent to sign, which would allow me, a minor to skydive. I remember the anxiety I had hoping my mom would not protest, and when she didn’t, I wondered if there was a reason why, without hesitation, she signed that puppy that exonerated the airport of any responsibility in my untimely death.
So off Jeremy and I drove in the VW Hatchback on the road to the airport. On the highway he sped the car up to it’s full speed capacity, pedal to the metal, and he commanded me to lean out the window, torso on the windowsill fingers gripping the door, face to the wind, he yelled to me, “FEEL THAT???, FEEL THE WIND??” I was a bit breathless nodding yes and super excited at the thrill of it all and he slowed down and we had ourself a short lecture. He said to me,”Now Sarah, today you will take a 4 hour course and you will learn all about how to jump, how to land in a round parachute, you will be attached to a static line inside the plane. When you get up in the airplane, which only has a seat for the pilot, you will not listen to anyone else on the plane in your group. You will all be sitting on the floor, and one by one your instructor will let you all out. Each time one of you jumps out, the pilot will have to circle around again for the next jumper. Now Sarah, some people really freak out and scream and cry, you will not be one of them. When they freak out I want you to stare out the window and enjoy the ride. Do what you are trained to do, and make me proud.” To which I said, OK.
So for 4 hours, 2 men in their 30’s and I, a mere 15, took a course all about the wind. We were told about going with the wind, going against the wind, and crabbing through the wind. We learned how to use the toggles and that we would jump with the static line for the first 3 jumps. We jumped from a 6 foot platform after we learned the commands which I still have in my head which were; SIT IN THE DOOR, GET OUT ON THE STRUT, and GO!!!! Then we were taught to arch, look, reach, and pull. For the landing we were taught to bend our knees when we hit the ground (at an incredible speed I might add in a round parachute like in the military) fall to the side and then roll our body to the other side and slap our hand to take the shock out of hitting the ground so hard and fast.
It was a plane sort of like this.
We, the 2 men and I, followed instructions like sheep being led. We learned how to pack a parachute but we did not pack our own. Then we were ready. We got in the small airplane, one of those that has only one seat for the pilot and we all squished into it. The instructor was a woman in her late 30’s. I was the first in and I sat with my back against the pilots chair making sure I was near the little window which I could stretch my head to look out of. The 2 men and the instructor got in, and off we went. It was loud and bumpy and the waves of riding the wind on the way up began to weigh on us newbies. When we got to 3000 feet the first man was instructed to sit in the door. He sat there squished against the door while the instructor attached his static line to the metal loop soldered to the floor. She was yelling cause it was so loud,”Are you ready?” She opened the door which opened upwards. The man looked out the door and started profusely swearing! They got in a terrible swearing match and finally as she screamed sit in the door he did, GET OUT ON THE STRUT!!!! He did. GO!!!! He waited a while while cursing her to death, but then he jumped and we could hear him for just a fleeting moment while he fell away screaming. She promptly shut the door.
NEXT.
The next guy sat by the door silent. She opened the door and in a moment he started crying hysterically. That is when I cocked my head to the the right to look out the pilots window and obeyed my brother. He was so desperate the poor guy, the pilot had to go around twice. You see if he didn’t jump when instructed he would end up God knows where and not on the airport. He begged to not have to jump. She was amazing, I thought, as she told him the plane would crash from the weight of him on the plane if they tried to land with him in it (good one!). He eventually followed her commands and got in the door, out on the strut and jumped. She shut the door. All I could think was, what the hell scared these guys when they looked out the door?
“Okay Sarah, get over here.” I remember how weird it was to crawl on the floor while the little plane was jumping up and down with the wind. She said,”You aren’t going to give me the same trouble as those guys are you?” I shook my head no with a dead stare. She hooked my line up, and leaned to the door opening it up, and there it was, the scene that sent 2 grown men to lunacy before me. I could hear Jeremy say, make me proud. I looked down and the houses were the size of the microchip on your credit card now. She said; “Sit in the door!.” I stared at her until her eyes got big and her mouth curled a she repeated herself. I sat in the door. She yelled,”Get Out On The Strut!”and there I stood, my foot on the wheel- which was locked thankfully! I was holding onto the strut with my left foot on the wheel and my right leg dangling in the wind. It was exhilarating!! I was captivated with a delicious feeling of both excitement and terror! I looked back at her smiling face and she yelled, “just hang on for a minute!” as they positioned the plane in place. “Ready?!!!”she yelled. “Okay”! I yelled back. “GO!!!!!!” I hesitated! “GO SARAH, JUMP NOW!!!” I let go, arched my back, and thought arch, look (at the handle to the cord) reach (for it) and pull- the static line had done it already as suddenly I felt the exhilaration of flying and then the lift of the shoot opening up above me. I checked for a slow or fast moving malfunction and saw no problem. I was floating, flying through the air screaming with delight- YEEHAW!!! Then it was time to focus on where the big red circle on the ground was. I grabbed my toggles and played with running with the wind, going against the wind and crabbing through the wind trying to gage how to get on the spot.
And then I just looked around at the amazing view, mostly farmland. It seemed way too quick when I realized the tops of the buildings were getting larger fast and I had to focus. The ground seemed to be flying towards me and getting larger and larger and when I hit the ground, dropped and rolled I was a mere 10 feet from the spot.
I can tell you that was my best landing all summer, it wasn’t all that lucky or skilled as later I learned to jump without a static line, nearly landed in a pig sty- but managed to lift my feet above the fence and instead land in the cow pasture. But that was later, as I was going higher and being challenged so I could become better. But for this moment, my first jump, I felt that the world had shifted and would never again be the same. I had flown, I had systematically followed a path to changing my life forever. When I say this, what I mean to say is, I came to believe and think that anything is possible when you stretch your comfort zone. And there is a fantastic world out there to be discovered just waiting for me or anyone to discover.
And that is my whole point of telling you this story. I learned that the most important thing to do is to step outside of your comfort zone whenever you can so that you can have new experiences that will change your life forever.
Our brains want to stick to routine to feel safe and secure. But what happens when a storm comes and wipes away your house and neighborhood? What happens when you lose a job, a child, a lover and best friend? What happens when you hold too tightly to what you understand? Then when you don’t understand something does it cause you fear? The lesson of this memory of mine not only reminds me, but I hope it inspires you to be okay with incredibly radical change. You have the capacity to accept the challenge of change and be so much better for it.
Loving Life. Never give into fear!!
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Blogger, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
Free At Last
You can only go so long in life before your procrastination pisses you off so much you can’t stand it for another moment. Last night I learned something about myself I never knew. It confirmed everything I did know about myself, but gave me permission to accept, then reject the notion. You see, I know I am a high achiever and have done some really great things in my life. I also know that if something isn’t me I won’t do it. But what happens when it IS you, the thing you desire to do, and so you go ahead and neglect it so much you starve it to near death? Do you know what I am talking about?
Well we all make excuses like we don’t have the time to do what we long to do. In all fairness, we are all busy trying to make ends meet and keeping up with relationships and all the other responsibilities in life, that it makes sense we reject the things we really long to do, because it is a luxury to do what we love. WELL BAHHHH! What are we doing to ourselves?
Many years ago I was diagnosed with PTSD, along with that disorder comes panic and a lot of other feelings to fight off. Yep, there you have it. Life was hard for a very long time, and so I got used to just pushing myself onward and basically fought hard to not be a victim, but a warrior. It made my personality bend in a tough way, warriors fight their way out of dark times. I was really hurting, and yet did all I could to make life better for other people, which made me feel better. The more I helped people, the better I felt inside, and so I kept pouring myself out. The problem was, even though I managed to do many things I loved, such as sing in bands, create my own handmade jewelry business, run a community theater group, work two great jobs in the art world, one for 7 years part time, and the other almost 6 years, I still hadn’t even come close to using even half my hearts passion for my own life.
Then yesterday a friend and neighbor and I had a brief conversation in which he told me about an old lover in his life. He told me how beautiful and talented she was, but that every time she got close to making it she would drop what she was doing and run. She could never take the final step that would teeter her over into real success with her art. As soon as he shared her story with me, and told me why she did it, I knew it was just like me.
In that moment my eyes were wide open, my heart wider still, and I realized that now that I could put my finger on it, I would never allow it to define me again. I know what doctors can say about a person. We only go to them when we are sick and at our wits end, they see us there, and diagnose us. Sometimes that diagnosis becomes a life sentence. Well I’m a big believer in healing, and healing means you are over being sick, and with hard work you can get there. I’ve done the hard work to heal. Now it’s just about dropping the bad habits. Should the shadow of my past ever pass over me again, which I am sure it will, I will know it is just passing over and not here to stay.
So you know what? I am going to make the time to draw and paint, write music, sing again, even if just in my apartment. I’m going to let it flow.
Yesterday I put this picture out on Facebook that I did in 1982, and I got 2 job offers for commission work from it. Then later I had that conversation with my neighbor.
Here’s a couple of more old works of art.
This one I never finished, but it poured out of me around 5 or 6 years ago on an artists retreat in Florida. I was really worried about one of my daughters, and my heart was broken. I imaged her as a little baby in my arms, me shielding her from all the pain and hurt in the world. She was all grown up and out of my hands. While I was furiously painting I saw an angel in the paint and tried to bring it out. This process moved so fast and yet keep changing and took hours of over painting until all my anxiety wore me out and I just stopped. I intended to finish the painting so you could actually see what was in my minds eye, but never did. It hangs on my wall to remind me of how precious our children are and how powerful that process was for me. I remember I wanted to burst into tears when I got to this point and put my brush down and went for a long walk. On my way back to the studio I saw another building open on the campus with a piano in it and no one was in there, so I went in and played it for at least an hour with my George Winston type music I make up. I went back to finish the painting, but it was gone from my soul and I moved onto another painting.
“The one who watches over the one watching over”
This one was done right after the album came out I guess in 1982. It seems for a while, after losing all my art in a fire, I did try to re-group, although the pain of losing everything I had in that fire made it painful to do art. I still went to college for it and then music took over, life took over, and I started my family very young.
The Police/ Sting
This one is HUGE!!! I woke up last year on New Years Day having made it through a very difficult couple of years and was determined to change my life for the better. I woke up, took a selfie, threw charcoal on the canvas, nailed it to the wall held up my cell phone and went to town. 8 hours later I had this, not perfect, always wanted to fix the problems but decided not too. It was so much fun I thought I was on a roll to paint. I did a couple of more, included Einstein, which is in an earlier blog, but then my anxiety got the best of me. I started over- thinking and sabotaged myself. Well, today is a new day!
“Selfie” New Years Day, 2017
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The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Blogger, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
When you live in Rhode Island, and the weather is consistently falling below zero with a wind chill that takes your breath away, the snow is piling up, and your place is freezing as the exchange between your windows and the outdoors is constant, you may find yourself doing what I did almost 2 weeks ago.
I was sitting with my partner Vic in our studio editing video, and we looked at each other and said, want to get away? We looked at our schedule and since much of our work could be done on the road we decided to leave in the morning.
And that is exactly what we did. We drove all the way through Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, Virginia, then we stopped for some sleep. Then we continued through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and then crossed the border of Florida.
All the while we watched the temperature rise. We reached St. Augustine to stop for the day and night and it was 52 degrees. It was windy and still a bit colder than we hoped for, but we had a fun time visiting a National monument, the Castillo de San Marcos, which is the oldest masonry Fort in the United States.
We walked around the quaint town of St. Augustine and enjoyed ourselves. We had no real plan other than visiting my family eventually in Key West.
Next day we had a great brunch and moved onward passing through West Palm Beach and going on a drive by the most beautiful mansions and homes you can imagine. We discovered a beach entrance along the way and stopped to walk and sit on the beach for a while. The warmth was fabulous, it was in the low 70’s and just what the doctor ordered.
We moved on until we got to Miami, with no real destination point we kept on till we hit Collins Street on South Beach. The beach was beautiful, the people were active and the city never slept, but we did!! LOL.
We found a little friend napping. He didn’t seem to mind us taking his picture!
From there we headed to Key West to stay with my brother and visit my parents. This was to be valuable time spent for me seeing some of my family after so long. Key West is still recovering from Hurricane Irma damage, and that includes my brothers home. My parents and brother moved down to Key West after one of my 4 brothers, Barney’s passing in 1999.
Goodbye Miami! Hello Keys!
Hello Key West! Meet my parents, Trez and Jo, and my brother Jeremy!
Walking on Duval Street we meandered into Key West Gallery and met the staff and owner and a fantastic artist named Adam Scott Rote who we later came back to interview. (Interview coming soon)
Adam is an amazing artist to the stars and it was incredible hearing his story! More to come on him later!!
We woke up at my brothers to find this beautiful sunrise!!
And when the day starts with a rainbow like this, you know it will be great!
All good things end, we had to say goodbye and start our trek back towards home. It’s always hard to say goodbye.
We stopped in Daytona Beach and had a blast, it was 82 degrees, we had to stay another day!!
I now realize I want to be a snowbird, can anyone blame me?
On the road again… the clouds kept painting amazing skies!
Early morning car shots through New York!
I will miss Florida, I already miss the warmth, but I am home where I love to be.
All I know is that this was a well needed time away from winter and that I would certainly hope to become a snowbird somewhere in the near future!!
Sometimes you just have to jump and make things happen for yourself. The alternative is waiting for the perfect time, which will never come. I love spontaneous living!!! I hope you take a leap of faith and do something for yourself too!!!
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Blogger, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
I started this blog last February by some compelling force inside of me saying it’s time. It’s time to speak, it’s time to communicate, it’s time to take the next step. It was not easy as in reality I am a very private person. But my skill set has always been in public arenas whether singing in bands, writing and directing theater, running a non-profit, public speaking and sitting on Boards. And as much as I wanted to go through life without controversy and in peace which I hoped to achieve by staying out of public view, my soul could not rest in what was for me complacency.
So after facing the hardest 2 years of my life in 2015-2016, I was determined to make a shift in 2017 which I promptly did on January 1st. I woke up and painted a giant painting for 8 hours straight, and I felt the fire burning in my belly for creativity to flow once again. But I was out on my own with no set plan. I went deep into introspection and challenged myself in areas never before challenged, I faced one fear after another until I learned the lessons that they could teach me. I changed my thinking so much that freedom was blossoming all around me and drawing me into it.
Introspection is a time period in your life that comes at pivotal moments when you have come to an impasse and don’t know which way to go. It’s at these times you must challenge what you believe and seek a higher knowledge. It is a time when you let go of the things that have been holding you back. You know them through pain. They are the thoughts that keep you up all night sweating, They are the mistakes you mourn then let go of through self forgiveness. They are the judgements you question that you’ve held onto for so long. They are the fears you face that once crippled you, you face them head on and you won’t take loss as an option.
This is what I dd all through 2017. Simultaneously, I embarked on a new career following my passion and intuition, not knowing where it would lead, but these are the things that help you learn to trust your gut, and teach you about how others really think and operate. You learn who to align with and who to move on from. It’s your life, you must be the one who decides the path you will take.
And what a ride, what a fun, challenging exciting ride it has been, and all it took was a decision. I cognitively made the choices to bring me where I am. I am blessed to have a strong support system and that makes all the difference.
And so for all this, I am empowered to move on to the next step. I believe we should always be climbing upwards, gaining a higher perceptive. So I say this messy life as a human, which none of us are exempt from; is beautiful, not perfect,
So as 2018 arrives at midnight my souls cry is that we all grasp the truth that the best can always be next and should be. This is the one life we have to give and change the world around us for the better. My aim for 2018 is to embrace even more challenges and grow even faster than I did in 2017. I will learn new skills, perfect others, inspire people along the way and reach for the heart and soul of humanity hoping that the best is yet to come for us all, for all those who choose to do the hard work it takes to break free from the things that are holding them back.
Folks if we all believed in our individual talents and skills enough to want to make them the best they can be, then we all must make a pact to challenge ourselves without excuses to get to the next level. The people in your lives are counting on you to become all you can be and so am I!!!
Please feel free to share with me your dreams, hopes and aspirations for 2018. It’s always good to find community that supports you in this way. And I would love your feedback and questions about things that challenge you, perhaps I may have a word or two for you!
So Happy New Year all around the world to my viewers! Thank you for staying with me and I hope to inspire you even more in the new year and to be inspired by you!!!!!!!
Hello to 2018
The Sarah Hale Folger Project seeks to inspire greatness in humanity by sharing inspiring stories with the world. Please contact me here on my blog or through my website at http://www.SarahHaleFolger.com
Sarah Hale Folger is a Creative Consultant, Blogger, Artist & Singer. PLEASE make sure to subscribe to my blog today so you never miss the next thing happening in the world the way I see it! Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe to my blog!!! Thanks!!
