Flow

Using the Vision Kit app, this is the other vision collage I created. Something simple, something just right. This is to remind myself to relax, to soothe myself with music, to take a pause, to act from a place of love, to connect with others, and to nourish myself. The statement is about accepting every moment as it comes, and to discover and work with my natural flow, my circadian rhythm.

What do you do to nourish yourself?

Stir-Crazy Sunday

I was having one of those restless days. You know, the kind that sneak up on you - an unexpected day of no commitments, no one asking you to do anything, and there are no deadlines to meet.

My husband's parents have staying with us for the past few days. We were supposed to spend today, their last day, with them. Instead, they left bright and early to beat tomorrow's weather. It was a visit full of fun, and now here I am, with no one to host, and no plan B.

For someone like me, who gets busy busy busy, this can be dangerous. On top of it, I am getting over a bad cold that kept me wrapped in blankets on the couch for most of the day. It's a recipe for a melodramatic type of stir-crazy, and Husband sent me out the door by mid-afternoon. He couldn't take it! Lol, I can't say I blame him.

I headed to a coffee shop, and using my reusable coffee mug, I got myself a soy mocha. I snuggled into a cushy chair and opened up the iPad that was my graduate school gift to myself. I discovered the app "Vision Kit", and I took a couple hours to think about the direction of my life, and what I really wanted to focus on for the future. Honestly, I have been thinking about these things for some time. And, it's been coming together, as I begin to really find my voice, and to live life as I want to live it.

The Vision Kit app is simple. You create a statement, or affirmation, and then decide on a selection of images to surround the statement. You can use photos from your camera roll or the web. Despite my artistic inclinations, and my usual preference for tactile art, this simplicity was just what I needed.





Each image refers to an art form, creative doing, or subject matter that I love. Nothing more to explain, right? I may print this, and hang it above my desk. For inspiration.

I created a second one, that I will share with you tomorrow - it requires more explanation.

For now, I can say the exercise was helpful to overcome my cabin fever. I returned home and created a delicious dinner of tofu-shiitake ramen. I topped it with the kale I bought at the winter farmer's market. Then, I put out all the ingredients for tomorrow's bread baking, and for creating apple pie filling (which I plan to can for future use). I also thought about how I will create restorative downtime, and continue work on my manuscript.

How do you overcome the stir-crazies?

A Blog Set with Intention

Before I begin this, let me tell you right now, that I live a wonderful life. I have a loving and fun husband, fabulous friends, a number of fulfilling interests, jobs that engage my creativity and expertise, and a supportive family. I didn't always have these things - I've had many painful experiences. They are nothing that I will divulge here in the interest of (a) further cultivating healthy relationships that have resolved old wounds, and (b) letting go of old frustrations and griefs.

The bottom line is, that though I have endured abuse, loss, and family tragedy, I am not experiencing any of those things right now. From time to time, I have tenacious anxiety issues, and my go-to coping mechanism is anger. I have hurt people close to me when I lash out or react in a passive aggressive manner. I feel that in my natural state that I am actually an open and loving person. I am quick to laugh, and I find joy in things both simple and elaborate. I would rather trust in the good of everyone. I imagine there are a lot of you out there, that are like me.

This blog began as a therapeutic tool to record the successes and celebrations in my life. It was a way for me to look back on all the vital, positive, and transformative experiences of my life. In time, I didn't need to do it so often. In time, it became a bit of a chore.

As I begin living a life steeped in values of my choosing, committing actions which fall in line with my values, and build an indomitable will against those things which would like to force me astray, I remind myself of how far I have come. As we live a life that is a result of both chance and choice, I can say that I have made some of the best choices in my life in these past few years.

This blog, henceforth, will be about living a joyful life with intention. I will plan my days, though I always allow for spontaneity. I will remind myself to experience each moment as life unfolds. I'll do my best to set goals and follow through on commitments. I'll record my experiences here.

So, what might this blog look like as I set this intention?

I might share a moment among friends, or a finished project (or...unfinished ones!), I will most likely share moments about my backyard poultry, and art, and love, and all things good. I might also share frustrations and sad moments. I don't need this blog to be a highlights reel, as much as I need it to be real. I don't expect to accomplish everything. I can't.

Though I would really like to. ;)

So, this is me, perfect in my imperfection, always a work-in-progress, and in each moment alone, a completed masterpiece. From my heart to yours.