52 Photos Project: Movement

Butterfly wings aflutter

This photo was taken last month at the St. Louis Zoo. The greenhouse was filled with butterflies of all colors and sizes!

Best-Self Perceptions:

I adore big-dreamers, visionaries, pioneers, trailblazers, and innovators. I applaud those who believe in themselves, their contributions to the world, and a grander future and carry on in spite of rejections or small results. Anyone who has ever accomplished anything great has at one time felt a huge sense of loss, lack, and disappointment, yet he/she marched onward toward that vision. We are all made up of that kind of magic. We all have things we want to manifest and we all have the capabilities of doing so.

Just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean it won’t sooner than you imagined. The dreams you dream of, the ones that get you jazzed, don’t give up on them.

Here’s why:

1. The reason big-dreams take a while to unfold is because you couldn’t handle it if you suddenly had thousands of people coming at you, calling you, emailing you, needing you or if your bank account funds skyrocketed overnight. It takes time to build a foundation for that kind of success or massive life change.

2. Sometimes we unconsciously, through our limiting mindsets, deny ourselves the dream-life. On some level, we feel guilty about a past choice, we are playing out a role from our younger days, we don’t believe we are worth it, we haven’t earned it, or we were taught we have to suffer before we can receive our heart’s desire. What stories do you carry? If they are keeping you from realizing your dreams, I give you permission to re-write them now.

3. Just because your creative dream hasn’t happened yet it doesn’t mean you aren’t good, nobody cares, and you need to quit straight away. It simply means that you need to dig deeper. Haven’t you noticed that you are getting better all the time? And you are having so much fun learning, growing, becoming? Stop looking at external validation ($, compliments, followers) and focus on the moment at hand, simply you+your gift. Keep on. You are so close. At the end of your life, what memory of this dream-pursuit do you wish ruminate upon? One of steadfastness and victory or one of stopping and regret?

4. Remember. You are here to enjoy life and live your fullest. That includes dreams-coming-true. Your dreams chose you just as much as you chose them. Don’t deny, betray, or neglect them. They are precious jewels that decorate the interior of your beautiful soul.

5. We serve each other by offering up our gifts/skills and shining our light. We shine the brightest when we are happy and living a fulfilled, purposeful life. Whatever delights you, do it. Whatever you can dream of, believe it. Whatever is limiting you, release it.

6. You are modeling for your children. They see your efforts. They see your struggles. They WILL see your triumph. What a wonderful gift you are teaching them: We really can have what we want, with patience and persistence. Joy!

Believing in you,

Tracey

* cue the “Rainbow Connection” song

52 Photos Project: Where we meet

Lately, we often meet at the softball field to cheer on Jordyn. It’s fun watching her play! This picture was taken one night last week using one of the Instagram filters on my Iphone.

Best-Self Perceptions: Happy Needs

During a recent conversation with a dear friend, we talked about how we both need our homes to be clean and tidy in order to feel inner peace. Seriously. When my house is happy, I’m happy and when my home environment is cluttered and dusty, I feel emotionally incomplete and mentally fragmented.

What do YOU need? What happens when you do get it? I’d like you to give this some thought because knowing what you need is critical to your happiness, primarily women, doubly so for mamas. Men naturally know what they need and don’t mind asking for it or accepting it when it is given. Most women could use a powerful dose of that skill. We are so busy putting everyone else’s needs before our own, sometimes we forget to tune into what we want and need.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to identify three things you need to happen on a regular basis that contribute to your peaceful+happy self. Go a step further. Share them with your family and find out what are their three things. You might even bargain out chores with each other. For example, if having a pristine car is important to your peace of mind and having his shoulders massaged is meaningful to your husband, then trade out services.

For me, I know that I need a clean house+well-kept yard, painted toenails, and music “therapy.” The housework and yard work are two things I’m willing to pay someone to do for me. It takes a huge weight off my shoulders and frees up time for my creative endeavors. I only have my toenails professionally painted once in awhile. When I haven’t found the time to do it myself and they look shabby, I feel less-groomed and undone. And on the very rare occasion, when I haven’t listened to some measure of music every day, I felt out of sorts.

In addition, years of self-awareness has taught me that I’m my happiest, most productive, and kindest when I continually have something new to learn, a creative project going on, and a trip planned. Learning, creating, and traveling are vital components to my well-being. How about you?

I hope these give you some ideas!

Please share! Tell me what you need.

P.S. To all the mamas and mamas-to-be, I wish you the happiest Mother’s Day!! May you feel deeply loved, honored, and appreciated!

Much love,

Tracey

52 Photos Project:

When the shadows fall, my two beautiful girls, Jordyn and Natalie, the brightest light-beams in my life, shine on me and illuminate love and grace. Since 2004 following their father and my divorce, the girls and I have lived alone together and have become an amazing team, not only in terms of managing household duties, but also in lifting each other up and holding our highest vision for each other. We are each super-intuned to what the other one needs whether it be space, a hug, a good laugh, a shopping excursion, or to talk it out with someone who loves and appreciates you no matter what. When I struggle “seeing the bright side” or “rolling with the punches,” the warmth of their hugs, the tenderness of their love, and the truth in their smile, make it all better.

Best-Self Perceptions:

First of all, thank you SO much to those of you who completed my survey! You offered such great answers and ideas for topics. Very helpful!! I hope you enjoy your “I Believe in You” prints!

5 ways to stop the comparing-letdown cycle:

As humans we all do this, especially us women. In its natural state, our minds can be forever in analytical mode, comparing our looks, performance, home, creative output, and even social media numbers to other people. We stack ourselves up against someone else and rank our own worth, usually as less-than. “They’re prettier and thinner, her house is newer or cleaner, they make more money, they keep getting new opportunities and I’m stuck, they have it all and I can’t get it together for a second.” Does your mind take you there? It can be a very disheartening place to stay. Here’s what I do to disengage the comparing microchip:

1. Get busy! When we are full-on doing something we enjoy, we aren’t thinking or worrying about what anyone else is doing. So, go for a jog, paint, write, bake cupcakes with your niece, dance around the house. Take some kind of fun or productive action!

2. Turn off the social media. Particularly, when you are in a fragile state and open to comparing everyone else’s success, love, weight, money, health, etc.  to yours, step away.

3. Remember that you aren’t seeing the entire story. You have no idea what keeps that person up at night. You don’t know the battles they have faced to get where they are. I can guarantee you that their hearts have been broken too. No one gets an easy-breasy, free, no-fuss ride. It may appear that way in an image, tweet, or status update, but believe me, you’ve got it better than you think!

4. Gratitude. Focusing on what is going well in your own life. Big or small accomplishments, happy surprises, gifts, gains, anything that makes your heart smile, write them down. Don’t waste precious moments feeling bad about yourself, you have come too far for that!

5. Choose a mantra. Whenever, your thoughts take a nosedive into the waters of “I suck,” take control by infusing your mind with positive energy. For example, say to yourself, “My life is unfolding in a perfect way and I trust the journey.” OR use whatever words that resonate with you. Try having a go-to phrase when you need to re-align. It really helps me!

Happy wishes,

Tracey

P.S. Please help me out by visiting my new Facebook Business Page and clicking “like” AND if you feel so inclined, recommend it to your friends as well. I’d be oh-so-very grateful!!

I’m joining 52 photos project, as it begins today! Yay! I’m really excited about it! Bella Cirovic, the creator and hostess of 52 Photos Project, is a dear friend and wonderful person to know. So, the first prompt is: the beginning of a project.

Well, I’m beginning big things in more than one area of my life now. Instead of being able to encapsulate any of that in a single photo today, I decided to enter one of my favorite things to take a picture of, the sky. As I begin my creative, and otherwise, endeavors, this sky photo reminds me to keep my dreams big and my sights set high, “the sky is the limit, baby!”

The shape of my day-to-day is about to change next week. I will start a new practice at 4:00 am (for now anyway) in order to work on my new Best-Self Advocacy expansion. I’m writing an in-depth home study program that is full of great techniques and concepts to help the dedicated ones work through what is getting in the way of their ultimate happiness and success. I’m super-revved about how it is coming together already! I’ll keep you updated as it unfolds.

I believe when we set an intention before starting a project it can bring about magnificent power. As we shift into being the creator of our lives, we position ourselves to openly receive happy surprises. I recommend before you begin that next project, whatever the size and scope, give thought to what you want the outcome to be, visually, physically, and emotionally. In other words, what do you want to happen and how do you want to feel when it is completed? Plant those thoughts and feelings in your mind+heart and GO!

For example, I regularly practice this technique when I’m creating a piece of art on commission. As I paint and before I deliver the artwork, I envision my client overjoyed and totally satisfied. It has worked in every case, without fail. Sometimes I’m amazed by their responses. It’s a tremendous feeling. It goes back to my intension. Mind you, it is not about me as an artist or my creative skills. The way I see the process, it is about the Divine working through me to delight the Divine in another. When the mindfulness of service and the heart-centered act of creativity unite, it becomes a truly remarkable exchange of energy and joy.

Enjoy your glorious day!

In service,

Tracey

Dear Blog, you handsome, witty, brilliant, sexy thing you,

Well, I don’t know what to say about my outright abandonment here. What can I say?

It’s not you. It’s me.

I was thinking about you the whole time.

It didn’t mean anything.

I hope you can forgive me and trust that very soon, dearest, I’ll be returning with consistent and meaningful content. I pinky promise.

Yours truly,

Tracey

I’m happy and honored for some of my love-themed goodies to be featured at 52 photos project today!!! Yay! Thank you so much, Bella!

I wish to stop and record my profound satisfaction and utter gratitude. I won’t get into the why of it all or the dirty little details (to protect the innocent, of course.) Suffice it to say, this victory of sorts has been a looooooong time coming.

The greatest lesson for me was: if you have a complaint or an injustice, make a request to the appropriate person/people*  instead of random complaining to no one who can improve the situation. In other words, if there is an action within your control, take it rather than fussing and feeling powerless.

Sometimes the decision to take deliberate action has more to do with self-worth or self-forgiveness than we realize. And sometimes we are playing out an old role of victim. Or we are seeing another person as a victim and we allow them to take advantage of us. It’s quite interesting when you look deeper at the problems in your life, especially the ones that really drive you batty.

The next time you are up against a recurring issue, especially one that makes you turn into your version of Incredible Hulk, you might ask yourself: What am I doing to create this? What is this circumstance teaching me? How is allowing _______ to happen keeping me from stepping out of a routine comfort and into a new possibility? Am I somehow punishing myself by making this decision? When you peel away the layers and see your troubles from a deeper perspective, you’ll be amazed what comes up to be healed. I know I’m glad I did.

* with a pre-set positive intention and an open heart. when you expect the best, miracles happen.

Love and blessings,

Tracey

You know that scene in the beginning of Jaws where the woman is swimming at night, laughing and enjoying herself until the great white shark takes a hold of her leg? You see her face of shock and terror as she bobs up and down and helplessly splashes about. Remember that? Well, that’s how I felt a few weeks ago. Mine was a battle to stay the course and to remain afloat, rather than give up and sink under. Except in the film, Jaws yanks her underwater to finish her off and I’m not referring to my own life vs death scenario here. I’m not being that dramatic or literal, of course. However, without provocation, I experienced fierce waves of anger and entitlement, sadness and disappointment, exhaustion and disconnectedness.

During that time, I had to re-decide and re-commit to my highest light and vision. I used my trusty arsenal of tools to wage an archeological dig of sorts to unearth the source of my feelings of unease. Sometimes, we have to grant ourselves permission to feel crappy so that we can deal with the yucks. We have to acknowledge the discomfort, sit with it and ask it what it is trying to teach us. The more we try to deny or ignore or hide from the warning signal, the bigger it becomes and the sharper the teeth.

As a result of listening to my great white and taking conscious action accordingly, I’ve had two major shifts, affording me to become clear, happy and SO grateful again. Now I’m on dry land, soaking up the sun, sipping a fruity cocktail and mapping out my next plan.

May the sharks in your sea reveal the truths you need and may they also be well-fed, toothless and kind.

 Cheers!

]]> http://www.traceyleeduncan.com/2012/01/28/me-versus-jaws/feed/ 0 http://www.traceyleeduncan.com/2012/01/10/word-of-the-year/ http://www.traceyleeduncan.com/2012/01/10/word-of-the-year/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:34:58 +0000 Tracey Duncan http://www.traceyleeduncan.com/?p=749 Last year my word of the year was BEGIN and I created this painting. I hung it in my bedroom to remind me what I desired to begin and begin again. It is still there holding the vision for me as the momentum of the 2011 dream has in fact begun.

art for my word of the year 2011

So, I decided to create a piece of art to get me in the spirit of my 2012 word and to help me stay on track through the year.

my 2012 word of the year: FUN!

To make this piece, I used an old Reader’s Digest book (I love those!). Antique shops or your grandma’s house are a great place to find them. They have interesting patterns and delicious colors. Plus, the aged pages serve for terrific vintage-looking art. I glued all of the pages together except the front cover so that I could add more words that speak to me now and words that represent what I want more of in 2012.

I chose FUN (fulfillment+unity+now) is for a number of reasons. I want more fun, I want to see the fun in work and in the pursuit of my dreams, I want to be more fun, and I want to remember that FUN is why we are here on earth. I believe our purposes for living are to have fun, to love to the depth of our being, and to help each other when we can. Plus, by picking FUN, I sneakily added three additional words: (a) F is for Fulfillment – experiencing fulfillment while in pursuit of and when realizing and/or exceeding my current dreams (b) U is for Unity –  feeling connected to my highest spirit and to the ones I love most (c) N is for Now –  being in the now, living my fullest now, laughing now, playing now, knowing I’m complete now and all that I need is here now.

If you haven’t chosen your word of the year yet and would like a little kick-start, I’ve created a worksheet for you. Simply download and fill out at your leisure.  

Word of the Year Tool

Peace!