Happy Thursday! I hope that this blog post finds you doing well and enjoying life. I’ve been relishing my weekly assignments from LifeBook 2013 and am thrilled that the course has me returning to my table frequently to play as I work on the current assignment. While I am currently behind a week–if I get week 6 done before Sunday, I will be back on track again–I find that it’s an amazing catalyst to keep me creating and exploring. It’s also brought back the joy to art for me and for that I am incredibly grateful. Thanks to Tam and all of her fantastic co-teachers!
So, this week, I worked on lesson 5 which involved creating a game board for my life in 2013 and some playing cards with my goals on them to keep me mindful of what I hope to achieve. We were supposed to choose a theme word for the year and I originally thought my theme would be “balance.” However, it seems that was not to be…the words “beautiful abundance” appeared on my page and it quickly became clear that this was my theme for 2013. It seems to me that, more than anything else, 2013 is my opportunity to see the abundance of beautiful goodness that surrounds me and makes itself available to me, if only I accept it. Super cool realization and some deep stuff if you start to think about it.
A year ago my life looked pretty bleak, I was feeling pretty low about everything, but especially about myself, and while I knew I would survive it, I had no sense of what my life would look like a year later. I’m happy to report that a year later my life is pretty well filled with sunshine, even when the skies outside are overcast with heavy, snow-laden clouds.
See, all that change that I was going through a year ago left me rather uncertain about things. Through some very painful events, I quickly realized that I needed to learn to value myself and redefine myself on my own terms. I’d like to say it was easy and that I’m done with all that messy business, but that would be untrue. Because of who I am at the core, I must work on my self-value and self-definition every day for the foreseeable future. But that’s okay because the work I must do every day and have done for the past year has drastically changed my life.
The moment I started valuing myself, defining my own life course, setting my own definition of success and beauty and “ideal,” some very amazing things started happening to me. In short, the Universe started sending amazing people, experiences, and opportunities my way because I was standing up to be myself without flinching–and because I was open to the possibility of goodness and that I was worthy of good things.
Here’s the game board for you to peek at:
Super fun, super messy and totally stretching the edges of my style! Usually I lean toward crisp and clean and not a lot of “stuff” going on in the background…not on this one! Definitely a bit more grungy than the pieces I’ve done before, but I LOVE IT. Still lots of bright colors…more stamps, more layers, more risk taking. (I don’t think the “clean” backgrounds I have done thus far is a deliberate choice. More along the lines of not knowing how something will turn out and wanting the result to be “good” and so I don’t do anything at all.) Anyway, it was a blast to create!
Now the cards that go with the game board…
So my goals this year are to:
- Recognize beautiful abundance. We’ve already talked about this one, but it’s so important. Really see the abundance around me that is mine for the asking, if I am willing to accept the goodness that comes to me.
- Redefine beauty. Finding myself super tired of the air-brushed, Hollywood starlet, hyper glamorized ideal of beauty out there. Who looks like that? And better still, why do I want to be a plastic version of what everyone else thinks is beautiful? Yeah, I don’t. I want to be beautiful ME and encourage others to be their very own kind of beautiful. End rant.
- Art every day. Make some sort of art practice a requirement for my own personal sanity. Even if it’s only 5 minutes of lettering on my lunch break. I will make art every day.
- Meditate daily. So, this is going to be a tough one for me. Not that I don’t enjoy meditation–I do. And it makes me feel SOOO much better about the world and my place in it…but I find it’s really hard to carve out 5 minutes every day to sit in silence and simply be.
- Yoga. Yeah. It’s the stuff that makes me feel like a million bucks when I do it but I fight myself the entire way to the mat. Working on that in 2013. Even if it’s only one Sun Salutation, I commit to doing some yoga daily in 2013.
Anyway…that’s my art update for today. I hope that you enjoyed my ramblings and if you have the itch, I highly encourage you to join LifeBook. It’s about $100 or so for an entire year of art instruction and community and it’s not too late to start! Join us…
This week I challenge you to see the beautiful abundance around you. What could be yours for the asking if you are willing to accept it?
Creatively yours,
Rachel
For me, being creative isn’t a hobby–it’s something that I feel pulled toward, compelled to do, and couldn’t stop if I tried. (There was a bleak, dark period in my life where I did, indeed, try to stuff my creativity and be “sensible” and “grown-up.” I was positively miserable and I certainly wasn’t a joy to be around. A vital part of who I am was missing. I suggest you avoid trying to squelch your creativity. It’s messy and painful and unnecessary.)
Seriously Whimsical Studio 