Don’t try and define me. Don’t try to fit me into a little box for your convenience and comfort. I will always change, grow, evolve. Accept and celebrate this or move on. I will do the same for you.

Be my ally in every sense of the word. Have my back when I need support. Know beyond a doubt that I will have yours.

Understand when to let go, stand back and let me sink my teeth into the meat of my life. Know when to let me fuck up, fail, fall and get back up again. I promise not to rob you of your failures.

Challenge me and stand to the challenges I put to you. We strengthen each other, we hone each other into a sharper blade.

Demand my best day in and out – to grow, not according to your definition of excellence, but to my own. To achieve not your purpose, but my own. Out of love I will demand the same of you.

Run, laugh and play with me and see the amazing beauty and joy in the simplest things. Encourage my sense of wonder, purpose and joy and I will love the child in you.

Life with an ally – a real partner – may not always be comfortable, but it is the most powerful relationship we can ever have.

I seek for true friends – allies in life, for without them I will not grow. I need a partner to open my eyes to different views, enjoy the exuberance and excitement of life and to kick me in the ass when I need it. I will be there for you – are you up to the challenge of being there for me?

You won’t meet Charlie if you speed on by.

If you book your regular cushy first class seat on the plane you’ll cruise above him at a cool 30,000 feet. Cruising along the Interstate you’ll blaze right on by without a moments thought. Even if you pull off the highway and do run into him, most likely you’ll look right through him – just one more hippie biker in Garberville, CA – just one more person you don’t trust enough to interact with and don’t really have time for anyway.

You’d be missing out.

Missing out on music that touches your soul. Just try it. Sit on a curb outside the 76 station. Hear a man playing for the sheer joy of it – close your eyes and take it in. The sharp smell of gasoline and grease, the rough feel of the curb supporting you, feet in the gutter, your ears grasping to capture every sound. You move with the music. No tickets, no crowds, no seats- your own private concert.

I’ve noticed that it’s so damn easy to miss out. So easy to opt for the comfort of anonymity, of minimizing contact and risk, the convenience of speeding through our lives to get the the parts that we think matter. I’m not saying you have to give up these conveniences, just be aware what you are doing- and that you might be missing something of value.

My advice?

Next time slow the hell down and wake the hell up to your own life. Are you really living it or just speeding through?

The ‘Living Textres’ Fiber Arts show at Cafe Aroma in Idyllwild is going great. We’ve sold seven pieces so far- So in order to fill out the bare spots on the walls, Trish, Dave and I have had to put together a few more pieces. Here’s my two latest: Rainy Day and Release….

Both are based off of my own original photos. Hand and over-dyed fabric, threadwork, ribbon, machine quilting and original painting.

Come up to Cafe Aroma and visit us before we run out of art!