Today I had a moment. A moment when everything felt right. I need to try and remember what this feels like.
Monday
Sometimes I forget that simple can be beautiful. It's what so often keeps me from cutting/drawing/carving when I don't feel like I have time for detailed. This card for a friend who did something awesome.
Tuesday
Awareness. I realize that I never truly understood what it meant. Now I'm learning...and oh how powerful that knowledge is.
Wednesday
Thursday
A friend remarked recently that my creativity was a good barometer of how I am doing holistically. I believe there is truth to that statement. This...for my brother. To accompany a few very old, very cherished books of music passed on by a friend to me for him.
Friday
It's been a week of 'am I going' or 'am I not going'. If I went, it would have been a mad scramble to prepare for it. I knew the indecision was stressing me but I didn't realize how much until the eye tic started. Finally, at 6, the decision was made...not going. It'll take a couple days for the stress tic to go away though.
Saturday
_ _ _ _ _
Now playing: Angel Mine by Cowboy Junkies
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yes, indeed, those simple cuts are lovely. simple elegance. would someday love to learn how to do that well.
ReplyDeleteThanks C! Each one only took about 30 minutes although the piano turned out to be more challenging than I anticipated (it didn't help that my blade was dull and I was too lazy to change it). I'm guessing with your attention to detail, you'd pick it up quickly. What I'm learning is that the materials are key (as with about everything we do!). I can shoot you some info on that stuff whenever you want.
DeleteAwareness.... oh I'm sure you can imagine that made my heart swell. That word is so dear to me.
ReplyDeleteLove your paper cuts.
I knew when I wrote that statement that you would appreciate it. And I've thought often of you the past few weeks as I've learned more and more what it means and the power it has. I wonder if you went through the same journey when you chose that word for your year?
DeleteYes - at least 100 times! And now find that there are times the awareness takes my breath away, when I can find that moment of putting the pieces together.
Deleteyour last sentence really resonates with me - i need to establish a similar routine in my life! can i ask what time you get up in the morning?
ReplyDeletebeautiful cuts, i agree - simple is absolutely beautiful!
Well, what time I get up tends to depend on how late I work the night before. Generally, when I am working from home like now, I work late so get up between 7 and 7:30. I'm trying to push that earlier but I am SO not a morning person and it's hard. Depending on the length of my walk and the length of my practice, I start work about 1 to 1.5 hours later. They key, though, is that this morning routine seems to give me the energy to be way more productive. So I may be working an hour less a day than I did before I starting this morning routine, but most days (there are exceptions of course!), I'm way more productive (because normally that time is spent trying to wake up and focus rather than actually being productive...that whole 'not' a morning person thing). Realizing this was a huge step for me.
DeleteRemember though that I have way more flexibility in my life than most (well, when I'm home and not in the field!). Since I basically just work all the time and don't have kids or pets, I can shift my schedule around far easier than most. That said, if you could find that time in the morning even for a walk with Luna, I'd say you'd experience a benefit.
Awareness. I love it.
ReplyDeleteIt's huge. Really huge.
DeleteInspiring, Rachel. I especially love the way you turned your challenging Wednesday around.
ReplyDeleteThanks Denise. It's a slow journey but I'm finally figuring out some things with the help of a friend. As for Wednesday...it took me a ridiculously long time to realize that if I just wasn't getting any work done, I needed to stop and do something that I enjoyed. Maybe I only need that for an hour or maybe, like that day, I needed to take the whole night off. Taking a full day off now and again like I've been doing more recently took me a lot longer to figure out the benefits. So yeah...still working through it all!
DeleteBeautiful paper cut! I love paper cuts that aren't too fussy, but are dramatic.
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous outdoor photos. These make me long to get out of the city for a bit!
Thanks Jodi...such a compliment on my cuts! I like that...not too fussy, but still dramatic. Here's wishing you and yours can make a break for it sometime soon...out to the woods and the fresh air!
DeleteI love the card. Beautiful simplicity and I love your routine. I have quit my job so my routine is not bad either nowadays!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Raina! And wait, what??? I'm going to email you soon requesting more information on the quitting job thing?!?!? I think for now I'll just say congratulations because I know that job was taking it's toll on you.
DeleteAlways, always happy to read these posts. I learn a lot about your life, or at least I think I do! Thank you again for the most beautiful yarn, and the most delicious chocolate. And for your friendship. I cherish that most of all.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jacey! It is me sharing more about my life. Maybe a little cryptically in some instances but still that is progress for me. I do love this style of posts though...I enjoy working on them through the week.
DeleteI love your paper cutting (is that what it's called?). Beautiful and simple.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love, that first picture.
What's the "practice" in your morning routine? Just curious. :)
Yup, paper-cutting! And thanks. Simple can be quite beautiful!
DeleteI'm lucky -- where 'the girls' are held, they do some deer capture work and so they bait them in. Often when I go up, there are dozens of deer around. If you move slow, they are pretty tolerant of pictures and letting me get fairly close. This is a buck that I've seen the past few weeks...he is way more calm than his doe friends and so I've gotten some pretty decent shots of him.
The 'practice' is yoga. I'm going to post more on that very soon.