Today we launch the Kickstarter to fund the new limited-edition, signed, numbered hardcover, Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery. Scroll down for details.
From the Introduction:
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.
- Melody Beattie
I first began to think of gratitude as a philosophy of life, and spiritual practice, when I interviewed Balbir Mathur, co-founder of the non-profit Trees for Life, in the mid-1990s (see page 12). Its wisdom didn't immediately sink in. It is a spiritual practice, a journey with an elusive destination. As humans, we are, I am, hard-wired to find fault in myself and others. It stems I think from self-protectiveness. When we encounter unfairness or dishonesty, as others disappoint us, our first reaction is often to get upset, focus on it, even obsess over it. In the process, we lose sight of the gift that our brief existence on this planet truly is — a spark between two eternities.
Out of this growing realization twenty years ago, I, with my then partner Annie O'Shaughnessy, created the book The Heron Dance Book of Love & Gratitude. It was the most popular of the twelve books Heron Dance Press published. Since then, as the role of gratitude as a basic philosophy has grown in my life, the time seemed right to explore the subject in a deeper way. This book is the result.
. . .
The Kickstarter
In order to fund the printing of the new, limited-edition hardcover (Smyth-sewn, dust jacket, premium art paper, printed by a high-quality art book printer), Heron Dance is launching a Kickstarter.
You can read more about it here, but the featured items and bonuses include:
· Signed, numbered copies of both the upcoming Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery, An Art Journal, and the book published earlier this year, Nurturing the Song Within.
· Wire-o bound versions of both the Nurturing Diary Planner and Using an Art Journal to Probe Deep.
· PDFs of the two hardcover books.
· Signed, limited edition prints of ten of the images in the Meditations on Gratitude book, available in three different sizes.
. . .
The transition to a paid Substack has been delayed a few days. I want to get one more free one out there first.
In the meantime, you can sign up here. All paid subscriptions entered prior to this transition will be transferred over to Substack on the date we go paid.
There are details on both receiving a free subscription for those who can’t afford $5 a month (it’s easy, just ask), and credits for previously paid amounts on the Join Us page here.
Support options:
$5 a month
$50 a year
$150 Founding Membership includes two upcoming books
Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery, An Art Journal
Using An Art Journal to Probe Deep.
The cost of subscribing to both of my Substacks, A Pause for Beauty and Creativity as a Way of Life is twice that indicated above.
You can make a one-time or recurring contribution here. Any contributions received prior to October 1 will be credited against a subscription.
And thank you.