Women in Recovery - Transformation and Transition at its Best

This week I had the pleasure and privilege to attend the Graduation Ceremony for 18 women in recovery from substance abuse at a local Women's Services Center. It was one of the best days of my life. Never before have I seen and felt the glory and intensity of the human spirit so hard at work in transformation. At a certain point in time during the two-hour event, words became unncessary -- the feelings evolved so deeply that everything eventually became inarticulate.

Eighteen women, ranging in age from late teens to early 60's, celebrated their recovery from addiction. Many of them had never walked in a graduation processional of any kind. Some were also graduating out of homeless shelters. All of them were graduating into clean and sober life.

We cried, we stood, we clapped, we sang, we danced in the aisles, we laughed, we celebrated, we sighed. And we hugged -- wow, did we hug! In the course of two hours, I received about 50 hugs. Real hugs. Tightly squeezed hugs. None of this "air hug" stuff. I was HUGGED. 50 times. That's how good transformation and recovery feels. You just want to hug people and let them know "I'm back!" and "I finally made it and it feels so good!"

The ladies chanted in Obama-style "YES WE CAN...change lives!" "YES WE CAN...impact families!" "YES WE CAN...celebrate recovery!" The whole room roared! The tears flowed freely.

Two ladies shared their personal stories of harrowing sorrow, degradation, shame and heartache and then finally glorious recovery. They spoke of anger, depression, trauma, abuse, resentment, self-pity, abandonment, rejection, and fear. And they also spoke of fresh new hope, vigor, strength, friendship, support, forgiveness, resolve and solace in their sobriety.

Young children and babies were reunited with now sober mothers who had once lost their children to foster care. Mothers and fathers, now in their late 60's and 70's, witnessed grown daughters in their 40's and 50' be honored for their transformation after a lifetime of addiction and dysfunction. Proud school-agers and teens left school early to attend the festivity in honor of their radiant mothers. SO HAPPY were these parents and children -- their faces lit up like holiday lights -- the happiness was palpable, in their eyes, on their faces, in their gait, in their smiles. This was REUNION and RENEWAL for everyone...

As agency staff were introduced, the ladies responded with thunderous hollers, applause, and standing ovations. Counselors, administrators, evaluators, child care workers, parenting advisors, probation officers, judges, police officers...all were present to celebrate this day and all were appreciated. One of the counselors told me "I love my job, been doing this for 12 years. It is a sheer joy for me to be in these ladies' lives. They allow me to love them."

One by one, each graduate was called to the podium by their counselor and each of the ladies received a certificate, commemorative coin and pin, their own copy of The Pinwheel Girl Takes Flight, and a Pinwheel Girl "Find Your Voice" journal. As I presented my gifts to the graduates, and looked into their eyes, I felt transformed myself...my heart shattered into a million pieces...these ladies busted open my heart and made me find more and more room for all their grace and dignity.

As I looked at them, shook their hands, and exchanged more hugs, I thought to myself..."Everyone is more similar than we think even in a situation like this...maybe we are not all addicts -- but don't we all have to recover from something?"

"And don't we all have to recover something that we've lost?"

Every emotion in the human spectrum was palpable in that room and as I witnessed this I saw firsthand how every single woman on this planet is a WOMAN OF WORTH. Every...single...woman.... is a WOMAN of WORTH...even when she is miserably failing.

Every single woman is capable of transformation, of being true to themselves, and of living the life they love and want. Every single woman, no matter what her life experience is, or her external circumstances, has the inner tools to move through transition and into glory. Every single woman, no matter how small or inconsequential our culture, our political systems, our agencies, our legal system, our schools, and our families believe her to be, has the value and the eventual integrity to become what she was meant to become.

Let's not forget this.

For all the Ladies in Sobriety: "...feel yourself ascending...the wind inside you will carry you...it always does...so soar sweetly upward across the sky and into your own magnificence...there the view is beautiful...to get there begin to dream again..."

For more information about Nicasa Women's Services, visit http://www.nicasa.org/
To share the Pinwheel Girls with a woman you know, visit http://www.pinwheelgirls.com/

Warm Winds to You All!

Under a Different Sky ~ Making a Soul Collage

Creating a soul collage, vision board, or life collage can be part of a deeply healing process allowing you to reclaim parts of yourself that are hidden, have been forgotten, need to be excavated, or are just waiting to be nurtured back to emotional health. By newly focusing on the multi-faceted aspects of your personality, your long held dreams, symbolisms that are important to you, prevalent themes in your life, and the wishes you hold dear, a profound renewal can take place and a personal awakening ensues. This renewal naturally leads to new perspectives, stronger commitment to one's Self, enhanced growth, inner peace, joy, abundance and a positive outlook for one's future.

Here is a photo of a Soul Collage I made for myself a few years ago that incorporates my personal symbols, archetypes, animal totems, and favorite universal symbols -- they all represent my life's emotional landscape and themes. Creating this collage was part of my personal journey through transformation as I created The Pinwheel Girl Takes Flight ~ Stage 2: Unfolding.

The Soul Collage project was very affirming and revelatory -- I highly recommend it for anyone. Though it might look complicated, the process was not that hard. I used stickers, greeting cards, scrapbooking supplies, stamps, magazine cut-outs, and a few of my own simple drawings to make this. It took about 3-4 months to finish, working on it a few hours a week.

I had it framed and it now hangs prominently in my home just outside my bedroom where I can look at it every morning when I wake and start my day. The collage is a visual reminder of my uniqueness, the paths I have taken, journeys I have planned, and the collection of spiritual teachers that guide and nourish me daily.

I want to encourage you to create a Soul Collage of your own -- express yourself and let your deepest traits, beliefs, values, and dreams come forth. You will see that all of your complexities make sense, that you are an eternal being, that every part of you is valid, and that despite what you have experienced or been told, you are indeed whole.

As you think about the following questions meant to guide you as you create your Soul Collage, look for images, words, phrases, etc. in magazines, stickers, greeting cards, stamps, photos, and more that convey the answers to these questions to build into your masterpiece. For example, if you strongly identify yourself as a Teacher to others, you might look for images of trees, apples, acorns, books, etc. all of which convey the symbolism of "knowledge." Likewise, if you are highly connected to the idea of harmony, peace, and tranquility, then images of landscapes, vistas, skies, water, etc. might do the trick.

Here are some questions to get you started:

What are the emotional themes of your life? e.g., victory, betrayal, uniqueness, strength through adversity, giver, achiever, loyalty, independence, misfit, ugly duckling, swan, underdog, golden girl, invisible, abundance...what others can you think of that are not on this list?

What are the archetypes that you strongly identify with? e.g., mother, artist, athlete, healer, lover, teacher, mystic, architect, storyteller, hunter, farmer, merchant, daughter, queen, songstress, muse, princess, leader, ruler, heroine, pioneer, writer, thinker...what others can you think of that are not on this list?

What animals, insects, fish, and birds are you drawn to? What about them makes you attracted them? What animals are you afraid of or phobic to? Why?

What are your dreams for your life? Who do you want to be? What do you want?

What are your favorite symbols? Why do you think you are interested in these particular symbols? Research their universal meaning. Here are a few symbols to consider: heart, acorn, cross, leaf, candle, top hat, tree, pinecone, wheel, clock, lantern, bell, steeple, money, playing cards, egg, nest, hive, star, moon, sun, rainbow, vase, gate, mountain. What other symbols do you relate to that are not on this list?

What are your favorite colors? Research the spiritual and healing meanings of the colors in your life.

Where have you been and where are you going? What have you let go of? What have you held onto?

These questions will help you get started with creating your first Soul Collage. My Soul Collage represents me and no one else. Make sure you create a collage that represents you in whatever way you wish. Have fun with the process -- thinking and reflecting, collecting images and phrases, and then cutting, gluing and creating a unique and compelling visual representation of you.

I would love to see what you create. Please share!

You Know What To Do...

The Pinwheel Girl says “you know what to do” in Stage 2 of her transformation as she begins to unfold. What do you think she means by this?

When I wrote Stage 2 of The Pinwheel Girl Takes Flight, I was deeply aware of all that I knew, had ever known, was sure of, and yet had forgotten, overlooked, and dismissed. The realization was a both painful and a startling one for me as it was a clear indication I had been stuck for a long period of time in a state of habitually devaluing my knowledge, my "knowing," and my intuition.

The drawings in Stage 2 show an often stunned Pinwheel Girl who can't believe this forgetfulness and lack of clarity. And yet evenso in this stage she encourages you to dig deep enough back into that reservoir of self-knowledge to "point it out" to yourself and others -- to "reveal something" -- and then begin to "move!" with it because afterall, really, "you know what to do" for yourself and others -- deep down inside you know and you always have.

Even after writing The Pinwheel Girl Takes Flight and intensely experiencing all seven of the stages of transformation myself, I still struggle many times heeding my own wisdom and knowledge. I see many women all around me doing the same. We know what to do, but we don't do it. In Stage 2, the Pinwheel Girl encourages you to excavate your self-knowledge, your "knowing" and your intuition that has, for many of us, literally become buried alive amidst the constant clang and clamour of our modern lives.

The Pinwheel Girl whispers the following questions to me all the time, and moreso when I find myself slipping back into the unfolding of Stage 2. I sense that they are familiar ones for most of us:

What do you know what to do that you are not doing right now?

Where does the knowledge of “knowing what to do” come from?
How can you tap into it and hear it so that you “know what to do?”

Why do we so often ignore what we know

"...the answers are this way and that, here and there..."

Stage 2, Unfolding, from The Pinwheel Girl Takes Flight ~ Every Woman's Journey Through Seven Stages of Transformation

http://www.pinwheelgirls.com

The Sky Was Divided in Half ~ A Pinwheel Girl's Realm

I had a magnificent experience today in an airplane on my way to San Francisco. I am not sure I will be able to describe it well enough to give it its due justice but I would like to try. I had been in the air several hours already en route from Chicago and had been reading a delicious book which I had been devouring for several days. Deciding to take a little break from several hours of reading, I briefly looked out the window before taking what I thought would be an instant and much needed nap. But I could not believe my eyes at what was given to me outside the airplane window and so I spent the next 30 minutes absorbing all that I saw there, writing notes and sketching.

The sky was divided in half. Literally.

The top half was the most beautiful blue I have ever seen. It was the kind of blue that enters you. It was a deep azure, radiant, soft, crystal clear and yet there was nothing crystalline about it. It was the kind of blue that feels like a perfect blue, a healing blue, the blue of our bluest dreams...our beautiful sky...and there it was...all around me for miles and miles and miles...

Underneath it, exactly half way down in my visual field, was a thin dark gray line...a dividing line...subtle and almost imperceptible but nevertheless still faintly there. A thin gray line. That's all.

And then below the thin gray line, filling the lower half of the sky, there was nothing but pure white. Not grayish white. Not dull white. Not yellowy white. Just pure, unadulterated white. There were no shadows, no shapes, no undulations, no rippling...just a massive sea of plain but luxurious white. It was the kind of white that is not too bright so as to hurt your eyes but that had a glow about it in the softest yet exhilarating of ways. Of course, this white was that of cloud matter, but there was no "cottony" effect, no voids or openings showing our Earth below, no billowy rolling or uprising of white gaseous clouds...simply stated this white had no details. It was just pure, unadulterated white. And, like the blue above it, it went on for miles and miles and miles...

It was one of the most beautiful, panoramic vistas I have ever seen. A divided sky. One half blue. One half white. Beauty, so simple, yet so profound in its starkness that I felt an energetic shift in my heart, behind my eyes, and in my cognitive mind. I felt myself spiritually weeping from a state of grace and happiness. In many ways it felt like I had found a physical view of Heaven and I felt transcendent...in the flow...connected...whole...and at peace. I had happy eyes. I had a happy heart. And I had a happy soul.I stared at this precious vista for at least 30 minutes, jotting notes to document my thoughts, feelings and reactions to it, and trying to sketch what I was seeing using only a black ink pen.

I heard my Inner Voice whispering to me "memorize it, memorize it..." as I gazed. I saw a blank canvas and I want to paint this when I return home even though I have never painted anything before. I want to try.

I began to think about the concept of "halves" which led me to that of duality. I think about duality a lot and how so much of what I experience minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, and year to year, is fraught with duality. Two sides of the same coin. Opposite sides of the scales. We often think of duality in terms of "high" and "low" but obviously the concept is broader and deeper than this. I thought of all the times when I was faced with duality and how I, like most other people, would prefer one half of the duality over the other -- the pleasant half, the fun half, the pretty half, the easy half, the secure half. The heights. And I thought of all the times I was forced to confront the half I did not want to. The other half of the duality that made me feel weak, despairing, confused, frightened, tired, weary, and forlorn. The depths.

I began to make a list of all the dualities I've had to face over the last few years of my life, years in which I've made major life changes and begun a major transformation.

Death and Rebirth
Silence and Voice
Calm and Activity
Inner and Outer
Creation and Stagnation
Loneliness and Connection
Distance and Closeness
Love and Apathy
Surrender and Fight

And many, many more.

As I thought of these dualities, it occurred to me that they were staring me right in the face in the blue and white of the sky I was now gazing at out my airplane window...each color in equal measure beautiful, profound, and staggering in its awesomeness, its ability to move and propel me forward and deeper, and its ultimate calming and transcendent effect. It occurred to me that a new, more positive metaphor for the dualities we face and struggle with was this beautiful Divided Sky...the sky divided in half...equal parts blue and white. This was a much more positive metaphor than the constant maneuverings of a set of scales clanging up and down out of balance or a coin that endlessly tosses leaving us guessing at its outcome.

And so it is with duality -- each side beautiful and profound in equal measure, each side capable of moving us towards states of renewal, growth, vigor and vitality even as we experience rapture, and even as we suffer. The two are equal and create the balance just as in the blue and white vista before me.

Jolted back into my current reality by the Captain announcing that the seatbelt sign had just been turned on again, I realized I had been in a state of total bliss. This is the seventh stage of the Pinwheel Girl's journey...I am not sure if I have captured well-enough the essence of my experience up in the seventh stage of the Pinwheel Girl's realm of serenity, redemption and grace...but that's where I was. I hope so.

I also hope, if you have not, that you will one day see A Sky Divided in Half...that's where the Pinwheel Girl is...waiting for you.

Warm Winds To You All.

Hoping for Red Roses? The Gift of Self-Love Is Better!

I have been thinking a lot about Valentine's Day. It a stressful time for many women. Our culture puts much emphasis on the notion that you are only truly loved if you are recognized, affirmed and gifted with traditional tokens of romantic love on Valentine's Day that the media works very hard to sell to us.

You know what I am talking about: Valentines addressed "To the One I Love" complete with at least a dozen red roses (two dozen is now cosidered "standard"), heart shaped boxes of chocolates, scented candles, lingerie, perfume, candlelit dinners, gems or pearls, and romantic romps amidst satin sheets in luxury hotels. And then there are the matching red sateen his-and-hers pajama sets. Sexy games complete with feathers and risque dice. Heart-shaped lockets. Diamond rings. Cute teddy bears holding watches and earrings, pink phones, pink ipods, and weekend getaways to Vegas. The list is long and wide.

Hmmm. Don't get me wrong. I think all of these gifts are WONDERFUL and I would love to receive at least a few. But, as hard as the media might try to convince us that these are the gifts that should be purchased for us, and that these are the gifts we want, and despite the subtle and not-so-subtle hints women will offer up, or even the boldest of "What I Want for Valentine's Day" lists placed on a kitchen counter, the reality is -- for millions of reasons -- MILLIONS and MILLIONS of women will not receive any recognition at all on this holiday designated for Love...

I sent a Pinwheel Girl Valentine last year to 100 women. The message was simple: "...I know you...you're an original..." The card featured a joyously dancing Pinwheel Girl holding out your heart to you, the reader, in the palm of her hand. The point, I hope, was clear. "Here it is," she was saying. "I'm giving your heart back to you in case you lost it, forgot about it, gave it away, or had it broken.""Here it is...I'm handing it back to you."

But understanding that the Pinwheel Girl is really a metaphor for YOU, for Every Woman, she is really saying "you have always had your own Heart in your own hands...it's always been there...and you will always be the keeper of your own Heart...not someone else...so what you thought was once lost or might have been unrecognized is really still available to you...and here it is..." In case you forgot that, she arrived on this Big Holiday of Love to remind you that you still have your Heart, it is there for you for your own taking, and the key to a great and not-so-empty Valentine's Day is to recognize your very own Heart yourself.

The feedback was astonishing. Since when do you get thank you cards, notes and emails for sending someone a card? I did. I heard from MANY of the 100 women who said "Your Pinwheel Girl Valentine was the only Valentine I received this year...THANK YOU."

The Pinwheel Girl Valentines are about self-love; this is the best kind of love of all...not a selfish, self-centered kind of self-love, but a self-love that is about self-care, self-esteem, self-respect, and self-preservation. The Valentines bear a simple message, one that reminds us that without self-love we cannot truly love another, and therefore gifts of flowers, chocolates, cards, lingerie, and the like, eventually feel empty and simply "not enough."

This year's Valentine image features the Pinwheel Girl holding not one but seven bright red hearts and tossing them into the air (the wind) above her head...seven hearts for seven stages of transformation. The image has a similar energy to last year's card -- simple, calm yet exhilarating, and streamlined. The theme is "...Love is in the air...feel the breeze..."

She reminds us that Love is literally everywhere and it comes to us in many forms. There is more to Love than just the romantic version stereotypically celebrated on Valentine's Day. Love is in the air, in the wind that animates us and makes us who we are, it is everywhere, all around us, every day, but we must look for it, seek it out, and feel its breeze touching us, often at unexpected times from unexpected sources. If we do so, we will feel love and loved -- whether or not we receive red roses, exquisite wine, candlelit dinners, or any of the other traditional Valentine's gifts.

The 2009 Pinwheel Girl Valentine comes to you in the form of an animated video this year!! I hope you like it. It is only a minute or so long...take a look and then reflect on your own self-love and the love that surrounds you everyday...and then pass this message and video on to another woman you know, a sister, friend, cousin, aunt, mother, godmother, daughter...so she can "feel the breeze" too...I know you...You're an original...Love is in the air...Feel the breeze...

Here is the link to your Pinwheel Girl Video Valentine! http://animoto.com/play/MSjgbJEufpNVCtwfFbyxgQ?from=share

Happy Valentine's Day!
Warm Winds To You All!

The Pinwheel Girl is Nude! Why is that??

Anatomy of a Pinwheel Girl

Oftentimes I am asked why is the Pinwheel Girl nude and why doesn't she have breasts? Where are her hands? Feet? Does she have a face? Despite some "absent" features, her anatomy is very recognizable and simple -- You know instantly when you see her that she is female. But there is a lot of symbolism to her form. When I created her, much of her outcome was serendipitous. It wasn't until I started really pondering her detail and lack of detail that I realized how much was there in the void.

Pinwheel Girls are faceless so they represent Every Woman. Besides, sometimes we feel faceless when we don’t recognize ourselves. Their bodies are all similar, but some are more full, some more lithe, appealing to different shapes and sizes of women. Pinwheel Girls are feminine; they are round, with wide hips, full arms, and pubic hair, but no breasts. Sometimes women don’t have any breasts. And let's face it, there is so much cultural emphasis on breasts today. I really wanted the Pinwheel Girl's emphasis to be on her total energy, her messages from the wind, her quiet repose. Breasts would be a total distraction!

Some Pinwheel Girls have hands and some don’t because sometimes we lose our grasp. Some don’t have feet either because sometimes we lose our footing. But one leg is always grounded on nearly all of the Pinwheel Girls while the rest of her is fluidly moving. Even in motion, we should be connected to the Earth, but not stuck to it. Some Pinwheel Girls take leaps…and fly. That is necessary, too, for a fully-lived life.

Some Pinwheel Girls have hair and some don’t. Mythically, hair is a sign of strength and everyone knows that when a woman changes her external appearance, such as her hairstyle, it is a sign of sometimes secret changes that are occurring within her or of impending changes that are on the way but have not yet arrived. Wisps of hair on the Pinwheel Girls sometimes look like cracks in her skull. That’s for all the times we have banged our head into the wall. Sometimes the Pinwheel Girls are bald. They know how it feels to be vulnerable without any hair.

Has someone ever said to you “What is the matter with you? Do you have a hole in your head?” Maybe you have even said to yourself ‘I must have had a hole in my head” when you realized that you did something you wished you hadn’t. The metaphor is a true one…we do have a “hole” in our head, albeit a mystical one. It is located at the top of our head, in our crown chakra, the 7th chakra. It’s purpose is to allow the highest form of spiritual energy into….or out of…our bodies. See if you can find the “hole” in the Pinwheel Girl’s head. It sometimes looks like a lock of hair. The Pinwheel Girls want you to remember that you have a very important hole in your head…so that you can fill yourself up with all that you should.

The Pinwheel Girls are nude because that’s their natural way of being. You have to get under your own skin in order to heal, transform and empower yourself. You have to bare your soul, so to speak. You have to dare to look at yourself before you can transform. When she jumps off the stick, she births herself. So, check out her belly button. That’s the nail hole. It is a point and it makes a point. Think of it perhaps like this: The "point" that is made by every pen at the beginning of every written document or in every illustration, painting, or sketch is symbolic of all things to come. It is the beginning. When pen meets paper, it makes a point. And then the rest follows. When the Pinwheel Girl jumps off the stick which has kept her stuck, and births herself, the "point" is made and the journey begins.

"...one day you will say you remember me..."

Stage 4, Expansion, from The Pinwheel Girl Takes Flight ~ Every Woman's Journey Through Seven Stages of Transformation

http://www.pinwheelgirls.com/about

Born in a Windmill ~ The Original Pinwheel Girl

I recently found out that my mother was born in a windmill.

She’ll be 87 years old soon. She was born in England in 1922 and I have to say that I was quite stunned to find out her literal birthplace. She casually mentioned this little known piece of family history over Thanksgiving dinner. It was pretty momentous because, of course, not only had I just written, illustrated and published a book about pinwheels, which are derivatives of windmills, but I had also just finished photographing windmills of the American West and started assembling some photography books of these mythic icons, likening them to “giant pinwheels in the sky…”

It struck me as a truly wonderful and magical synchronicity…87 years ago my mother was actually born in a windmill, the kind that had a large, round red brick base several stories high, with windows and doors in it, and four large wings, or “sails,” at the top of it that turned to the wind and then started to…Spin….

My mother, her older sister, and her parents, lived in the windmill on the upper floors. My grandfather was the windmill’s caretaker. How interesting. 87 years ago my mother was born in a time-honored structure that I was now curiously exploring -- and doing so without the knowledge that it was a critical part of my own heritage, story and legacy. And then 40 years later my mother would have me, far away from the Hales Towermill on a completely different continent, 16 years after the birth of her youngest child….and then 47 years after that I would write my first book… And call myself the Pinwheel Girl….

I wonder sometimes why I never knew that my mother was born in a windmill until now. She never mentioned it before despite recounting hundreds of stories from her long and interesting life. I guess there are certain things that we don’t need to know until we need to know them. Certain morsels and tidbits and nuggets that, when revealed at just the right moment, offer a richness so deep that it makes your heart soar, that you feel like you are sitting in the palm of God’s hand, that you feel the intense interconnectedness of every single thing in the Universe at that precise moment in Time and will remember it forevermore…Discovering my mother’s unique birthplace was one of those morsels...

Since then, I have contemplated the meaning and significance of her name…Iris Violet…and its connection to my beloved Pinwheel Girl…Iris means “rainbow” and the Pinwheel Girl offers seven colors of healing, a “rainbow” of therapeutic stages of color to stimulate various forms of transformational energies.

Violet…my mother’s middle name….is the color of the final stage of the Pinwheel Girl’s transformation…the stage of enlightenment, serenity, and redemption. It’s the end of the seven stage journey, your reward…the jewel of the process.

I wasn’t aware of all of this when I was creating the Pinwheel Girls. I didn’t think about my mother’s name. I just created what I felt needed to come out and be “born” or “birthed” in the wind…And then there is her sister, Grace….who also lived at the Mill House as a preschooler. “Grace” is what you give and get when you practice, over and over, the seven stages that the Pinwheel Girl emotes.

And then finally there was my grandmother, Olive, who lived in the Windmill. I never met her because she died of Tuberculosis (and so did all of Olive’s sisters) when my mother was 8 years old. Her namesake, the olive branch, is an international symbol of peace, and everyone knows I am Pro-Peace/Anti-War, my Pinwheel Girl Holiday Cards are all about Inner Peace and World Peace, and that Peace is the ultimate gift you receive when you complete the Pinwheel Girl’s seven stages…

All these connections…synchronicities…symbolisms….discovering all of this during my own journey to transformation has truly been magical, enlightening, redemptive, gracious, and colorful, and rewarding in ways I never ever would have imagined.

I have always said that the Pinwheel Girl is Every Woman. Indeed she is. But of course she is me and I am her. And she is you, your sister, your mother, your daughter, your friend, cousin, and niece. And she is also every woman who has ever pretended to be less than she is, who has ever weathered a windy storm that seemed endless and dark, who has ever lost herself at the expense of other people’s needs and wants, who has ever abandoned her dreams and forgotten how to retrieve them because the dull ache of life fogged up her view.

She is also every woman who has ever triumphed, who has ever regained what was once lost, who has ever healed herself, rebounded, and found the strength of her human spirit, who has ever fought back and not only survived but thrived. She is every woman who ever made an original contribution, bucked authority, and showed up. She is most certainly every woman who was ever born with the wind in her face. Like my mother. Born in a windmill. The original pinwheel girl.

“I made it…you will too…you come from the wind…and the wind is strong…” Stage 4, The Pinwheel Girl Expands, from The Pinwheel Girl Takes Flight ~ Every Woman’s Journey Through Seven Stages of Transformation

Photo: My Mother's Birthplace ~ Hales Towermill, Suffolf, England

Peace is Within Reach...

I hope this greeting finds you well, in the holiday spirit, and ready to celebrate the season!

This year's Pinwheel Girl Holiday Card and corresponding "message from the wind" was inspired by the Big Sky of Amarillo, Texas and the yellow-petaled Mexican Hat Flower...it is the second in a series of Holiday Cards I designed to inspire thoughts about world peace, as well as individual peace within ourselves, and what it takes to find both.

I took two trips to Amarillo recently to photograph windmills ("giant pinwheels in the sky") and to interview the American Cowboys who build, install, repair and maintain the windmills of the Texas panhandle. While there I became mesmerized with the peacefulness and serenity of the Big Texas Sky...endless blue and endless clouds by day...endless black and endless stars by night.

I also was enamoured with the gentle way in which the Mexican Hat Flower reacted to the constantly driving wind of the prairies. The flowers were in a perpetual state of bending, swaying and bobbing in the forceful winds, yet they never lost their footing...they appeared so peaceful there, colorful, calm, serene, yet actively tossed about. It seemed to me that a feeling of peace, and indeed world peace, requires a lot of bending and swaying while maintaining a solid foothold.

I thought of all the times I have been in the dark in a state of what felt like an endless night. All the times I have looked up to the blue of the Big Sky for replenishment, courage, and strength. All of the times I have had to bend to find some kind of resolution. And all of the times I have had to sway to find some kind of conclusion. And I thought all of the times I have found peace when I really needed it from all of these actions, places, and thoughts.

So that is how this year's Pinwheel Girl Holiday "Message from the Wind" Card came together. I hope you like it. I wish you all a Happy Holiday and a Bright New Year but most of all I wish all of you the gift of inner Peace in a World at Peace.

Who is the Pinwheel Girl?

The Pinwheel Girl…

Is never aggressive, always feminine

Never critical

Accepts life for what it is, but dreams anyway

Is courageous and compassionate both

Is not too hard on herself

Is encouraging

Moves forward and through

Is tolerant and accepting

Has wounds…but is a learner

Gets stuck sometimes…but perseveres

Cries and laughs

Dances and then stands still

Reaches

Heals…herself and others

Loves her body and her Self

Is introspective…but reaches out

Feels everything

Knows and releases pain

Ever present, always accessible, never ending

Is Real…

She sees things…

She hears…

She knows…she just knows…somehow…

She learns through flashes of insight…

She feels

She knows it is so hard to pretend to be less than you are…

She is strong…because she is so sensitive…

She is needed…because she sees things…

She hears…

She knows…she just knows…somehow

She says don’t pretend to be less…

Always be more...

http://www.pinwheelgirls.com/gallery

The Pinwheel Girls Launch at Chicago's Historic Merchandise Mart

It was an amazing experience to launch at the Merchandise Mart Living and Giving Gift Show in July of 2008 and I am so glad I participated...first I have to say that it has been an incredible journey of both struggle and empowerment to write, illustrate and self-publish a book...so to see my book out on the shelves of a suite at the Merchandise Mart was indeed a dream come true and a very powerful and emotional moment for me...It reaffirmed for me that dreams do come true...if you have a dream to begin with....

The Show was the culminating result of many years of hard work, grit, determination, sacrifice, and belief...I can honestly say that I have no regrets whatsoever about the path that I am now on...I am thrilled with the book, the companion line of Pinwheel Girl Gift Products, and the new sense of creativity, skill set, and stretching that I am doing as a result of this project...there have been struggles to be sure, but there have also been victories...

The suite was just stunning...it felt like a real boutique...and the products merchandised very well...there was strong interest from many shop owners and retailers...we met so many simply amazing people...networking became my favorite activity at the Show....it was just so compelling for me to hear everyone's story of product development, their moments of inspiration, their path that led them there to the same place and time as I...We met members of the press, including Gift Shop Magazine, and made contacts with people connected to Chicago Radio Personalities, the Chicago Tribune, and many women's groups and networks. We handed out hundreds of Pinwheel Girl flyers and price sheets.

We met one of our country's original Feminists from the Women's Movement of the 70's when she approached the suite -- and she told us the story of how she burned her bra and threw it into the Chicago River on the front steps of the Merchandise Mart along with several other now famous Feminists of that time...she encouraged me to keep the Women's Movement moving forward with my book and products for women...

We met entrepreneurs who were just as proud of their products as I was of mine...and there was a wonderful camaraderie that developed by the end of the Show...sharing email addresses, helping one another pack up, going out to dinner together, having a drink, staffing the booth for those who were solo so they could take a break, learning tricks of the trade, and sharing stories...we swapped products with one another, made plans to reconnect, and encouraged one another.

There were many women who connected deeply to the Pinwheel Girl...those who come to mind include one woman who was a recovering addict, another who had just experienced a traumatic betrayal, another going through a mid-life divorce, and another who was enthralled with her newly reclaimed empowerment...it is these women and others like them who will create the momentum for the Pinwheel Girls as they move forward....it was interesting to me how the Pinwheel Girl always finds who is looking for her...when women connected to the Pinwheel Girl, I saw the tears in their eyes, the aura of recognition, the relief in discovering that they are not alone...

My sisters, Carol and Jeanice, and friend, Penny, who supported me at the Booth were incredible Pinwheel Girls themselves...empowered, creative, thoughtful, gracious, and pushing their intellect and skill sets into new realms...we all learned so much and brainstormed regularly about our experience...There is still so much to do ahead...lots of tasks, and even more commitment to getting the product out there for women and girls to discover...This Show is just the beginning!

Thanks to all of my friends and family who have been diligent supporters. I firmly believe that we must all encourage one another...so I cannot express adequately enough my thanks to you all for all of your help, guidance and belief in me. Thanks for helping me make my dream come true!!

Warm Winds To All Of You!
http://www.pinwheelgirls.com