Lost in the Circle, Found on the Line: A Collaborative Journal Experience

Today, I’m super excited to feature Maria C. Wheeler, the author of Lost in the Circle, Found on the Line: A Collaborative Journal Experience. She has some great advice to share!

This is a short, but powerful journal with prompts for the decades of your life and themes to get you writing. Artsy and interesting. I enjoyed it immensely! This is the type of book that is better to have a physical copy with prompts to encourage artistic expression in many ways. I actually used it to journal some memories of my decades and appreciate how beautiful it is to do so!

Without further ado, here is Maria C. Wheeler and her journal: Lost in the Circle, Found on the Line: A Collaborative Journal Experience

Guest Post and Interview by Maria C. Wheeler

As the oldest of five children, I quickly learned to become the responsible one, helping my mom with countless chores and sundries of life, all the while angling to vanish from the throngs of chaos. From a very early age I preferred to roam around the neighborhood fields and woodlands, hunting for creatures under and over the existing lushness, humoring my obsession with collections of nests, leaves, shells, turtles, salamanders, birds and insects. For me, those were the moments when time stood still….I was a born naturalist living in suburbia, poised to escape as soon as I possibly could. My first heartbreak was the realization that the natural world I knew was to be forever altered through the mechanisms of faulty zoning regulations and short-sighted local government, intent on commercial and residential development at all costs. The open spaces, the creatures, the freedom of wandering vanished forever and with that a special quality of life was gone. That sadness of loss propelled me to get out of town and garner a degree in Wildlife Ecology from the great state of Maine. I learned to appreciate further the beauty of the wilderness, animals that roam free, and respite that comes when we’re in balance with the natural world. It is at the very core of being content.

‘Lost in the Circle, Found on the Line: A Collaborative Journal Experience’ was inspired by years of writing, observing, and drawing, all done in the vein of self discovery. These vehicles propelled me to overcome obstacles by taking the time to think, reflect, and create a book that helped me learn about my true self. The resulting journal positively impacted my life, increased gratefulness, and highlighted those core master values I felt were important to influence my life and, in turn, change the world for the better. I strongly believe the interactive creative nature of this book facilitates connection to help others discover their full potential and elevate sensibilities to a higher level. To create is to inspire others to create with the resulting artifact as my gift to you which becomes your gift to yourself and ultimately the world beyond.

I am a visual artist trained as a Garden Designer and educated with a degree in Wildlife Ecology. As a result of wearing three hats, this journal engenders a unique nature-inspired creativity with the circle as a prominent symbol for unity, strength and connection. As an artist I know that the mind/hand connection is a powerful way to open consciousness and thought processes, challenging perception and making the abstract tangible. It helps you to problem solve and captures what needs to be said without words. My work as a Garden Designer encourages observational skills and the importance of developing a plan to provide harmony and order. And, as a naturalist and ecologist, I learned that healthy ecosystems always involve interacting organisms, connected through the cyclical nature of the seasons. The natural world is a gift for us to reflect upon, appreciate, and develop love of its extraordinary beauty. Art, design and nature are all elements connecting us to patterns, which in turn create structure necessary for us to become our best selves. We must know who we are to be able to give – in order to receive – with exponential potential. This is the tenet behind this collaborative journal: each of us have something to learn, to share, and to recognize that we all live our lives in full circle.

My greatest influence is music. As an art form, music has an ability to transform us into our most creative selves. The vast variety is so very inspirational, from classical, to jazz , to blues to pop and rap, music has the power to elevate our mood, calm our demeanor, inspire and encourage reflection. I was trained as a pianist which influenced my love of many forms of musical expression. I firmly believe learning to appreciate music is one of the great gifts of the world.

My favorite part of writing ‘Lost in the Circle, Found on the Line’ was assembling the draft and organizing with the poetry and artwork. This book is the product of many years of journaling, writing, drawing and living a life. As such, I developed a strong power of an idea as an organizing force: We are the creators of our lives with the process being the fulfilling part; to develop creative habits that lead to introspection. This journal becomes a chronicle of your life – with writing, poetry, drawing, painting, photographs, collages and more; a collaborative beautiful artifact, empowering us to promote our authentic best selves, for our selves and the world beyond.

I consider myself a reader, and especially enjoy fictional novels. Wallace Stegner, especially, ranks among my favorite authors as an environmentalist, historian, and talented writer. It is his command of expressive language, descriptive scenery and poignant storytelling that garners one’s attention from the first line to the very end; an art form harnessing extraordinary stories, withstanding the test of time and cementing themselves into our very being. ‘Hard writing makes easy reading.’

My biggest passion is cooking. Or rather, good eating, as ultimately, that is the aim of preparing a good meal. It is the joy in the process of planning, chopping, melding, sautéing, and improvising…. The anticipation of those flavors bursting into a smile and heightened by the communal pleasure of sharing with friends makes the world go round. Cooking for and eating with loved ones ranks among one of the most satisfying primal connections of all time. It is love incarnate.

When I am feeling stuck in a creative venture, I find it helpful to disengage from the project. Walking away and not thinking about it for a period of time encourages novel ideas. Consciously thinking about ‘nothing’ clears the mind and opens it to a refresh. It really works!

My dream vacation would be Comino Island, Malta. With its remote location and its blue lagoon, it’s been described as heaven on earth and that sounds perfect to me.

Advice to my younger self: some relationships are seasonal and endurance is about retaining your spirit through the storm

Relationship Advice: empathy is everything. It allows us to feel, it allows us to understand another person, it allows us to be loving and kind. Integrity is integral. It indicates trustworthiness, accountability, and reliability. You know when you know.

Favorite quote:

‘Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.’ Ernest Hemingway