Julia Cameron of Artist Way fame would not be surprised to know she’s inspired me. Her insistence on writing three pages every morning and taking a weekly “artist date” has inspired many a writer.

But she might be surprised to know that she has also inspired my choice this week of a bathroom rug. The design, which looks like one large single marigold, takes me back to a time ten years ago at a writers conference, when I noticed her taking an intentional detour on her way to the dining hall simply to examine a single marigold growing in the garden. I watched as she stood there for a very long time, taking it in. Art, I realized at that moment, sometimes comes to us from slowing down.

It will be nice to look at the rug and remember.

Yes, the weather was wonderfully warmer, but the real inspiration came from my fellow participants during a two-day Group Vision Day that I attended this week in Naples, Fla. Such amazing folks came from around the country to envision their dreams and map blueprints for them to come true! Led by coaches Debbie Phillips and Rob Berkley, every one of the visioners was plotting big dreams that would in some way benefit others. I am grateful to be touched by their magic!

I’ve finally figured out how to solve the problem of six remotes to a single entertainment center, and I cannot stop myself from passing this brilliant solution on: tear apart the entertainment center.

Not a fan of TV in the living room anyway, I decided to move mine to the kitchen. It’s not so comfortable to watch in there, which is a huge benefit. I now limit my daily dose of depressing news to the time it takes to fix a salad and quick dinner. (Not to worry, there’s another set for great movies downstairs in front of the exercise equipment).

The unexpected benefit was this: With the TV came only two of the six remotes. The others belonged to a DVD player and VHS player (too big for the kitchen), and a CD player and speaker (just two remotes). Divided up, they’re almost impossible to screw up. Well, I think. The giant dismemberment required disconnecting all the wires. And who knows when I’ll figure out how to reconnect them. Till then, I’m living the blissful two-remote life and listening to the radio (no remote, just one button).

Snowy Vision

It was hard to miss the metaphor. Four of us, holed up for a “visioning retreat” in a Morrow County farmhouse over the weekend, got stuck in the snow both coming and going.

On one level, as we looked out on sparkling white farm fields, we were inspired to plan 2010 with high hopes. On another, we were literally spinning our wheels.

As with all times of stuck-ness, there was plenty of advice.

“Gun the motor!”

“Turn the wheel the other way!”

“Try backing up!”

In the end it was a unified push from my friends that un-stuck the Prius from the top of the hill and sent her handily down the driveway.

Hard to miss the metaphor on that one.