Paraphrasing Alanis Morrissette….
I’m pinning this right on my computer desk in front of my face to remind myself.
Cribbed from Terrible Minds here after seeing it mentioned on Deb’s blog.
I really AM trying hard this “new” year to follow all that advice. (Again, the flip of a calendar page is NOT going to change things, only changing things whenever, changes things…) I made myself (and a few others) VERY unhappy the past year. I’ll still bitch ocassionally, but hopefully only about myself–and constructively 
Actually i started another blog that is private, where a lot of my ramblings are going–and no, i’m not fanging anyone there, just me talking to myself about my crap, very cathartic, very what if, right out there in lalaland and only art and my angsty feelings about what i’m doing but oh so helpful. When i really started blogging in January ’04, that’s what most people did, kept it to themselves, a diary on the computer. (Word of mouth on forums is where i heard about it, since those blogs were private!) I think sometimes we share too much and while it can be altruistic, too often it’s ego on the edge. This is an about face for me, but that’s what therapy is for, and that’s what i’m in. OOPS, shared.
There may never be a “kinder, gentler” me, but i’m trying. It’s supposed to be about the art here with a sprinkling of artist. I’ll eat worms in my garden, not the public parks
Now i suppose i could just delete this entry in the interests of not sharing too much, but oh well. If you’re like me with mental health issues tied up in a knot with artistic talent, maybe you should start a private blog as well. Isn’t that what diaries and journals were for originally??????
Margaret Blank
January 8, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Mmm-hmm. I have paper journals for the angst, and for lists, and poems and such. Morning pages (i.e. from Julia Cameron) — 3 per day, most days (sometimes 2, sometimes 0; rarely 4). Gets the lead out first thing in the a.m. Keeps the blog from degenerating.
Sunny Hemphill
January 8, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Best damned blog entry ever. And needs to be posted on every posting forum frequented by anyone with pretensions to artistry of any kind. Too often I look at artist’s blogs and pages and find everybody’s work has to look ONE WAY OR IT’S NOT AUTHENTIC (spoken with the voice of Yahweh speaking to Moses from the mountain). Yeah. Whatever. Arlee, for my money you’re one of the most original folks out there in blog-oriented textile land. I hope your newly therapied and sustained energy puts more of your work in galleries where it belongs.
arlee
January 9, 2012 at 8:13 am
Thanks Sunny—there will be shows this year and not just locally, i swear!
helen salo
January 8, 2012 at 5:07 pm
Arlee, Enjoyed your true honest self. Therapy is not a bad thing unless it becomes a way of life. I use notebooks, and still worry about privacy. Like I’ve told you before, I do see alot of myself in you, and I also try, but being true to myself is the most important. Do I always “win friends and influence people” no, but I try to get and keep the ones I find most important to me.And yes, my mouth was born with a big ol foot in it and sometimes it gets me in trouble and I have clean up to do. ha! Still working through my recent family passing, but thought I’d come see what I’ve been missing. I’m just reading your class and haven’t started with the cloth yet, too much happening.
arlee
January 9, 2012 at 8:12 am
At your own pace, my dear. Isn’t it inspiring what the others are doing?? Really liking the interactivity and exploration in this bunch of students.
Mary Anne
January 8, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Fodder for thought once again. I don’t know what I’d do without your sharing your thoughts which, in turn, cause me to air out my own brain cells and try to apply at least some of the principles you put out there to myself.
deedeemallon
January 8, 2012 at 7:59 pm
I also do the ‘Morning Pages’ — off and on over the years, but pretty religiously (again) since September. It is good to have that practice… for the privacy and for priming the pump. I like the advice page – esp. the part about inserting oneself and about not caring about what others are doing. I haven’t struck the right balance on my blog yet. It is something I hope for in 2012. Kinda ‘lost’ a year+ to ‘that job’ (curse words omitted!).
arlee
January 9, 2012 at 8:12 am
“real life” can be a bitch sometimes
arlee
January 9, 2012 at 8:11 am
Thanks all for your thoughtful words and time. I promised when i moved this blog a year ago not to whine and complain, but it took that year and a bit to get over it
I’m realizing a private blog, or actual pen and paper method, can be either a dump for the garbage, or a repository for ideas that need to be grown on and ripened before they see the world, and sometimes both in the same backyard! Just trying to keep the piles separate. Like sorting the stash, it’s a good way to de-clutter and prioritize. What really *is* important that i show the “world”?