Life is short. And long. I’m especially noticing this in this crazy of 2020.
The days are long. But we’ve blinked and more than half the year has passed.
In these times, and always. It can be easy to sit back and dream. To dream of better days ahead, simpler times, a return to our ‘normal life.’
To put off our planning, our doing, our action until the time is JUST RIGHT.
But, if 2020 is here to teach me anything, it’s to embrace the pause. Embrace the imperfection. Embrace the unknown, the mess, the chaos and figure out how to build the life I envision amidst these days.
How can we shift our thinking to balance dreaming with doing?
To take action to living the life we imagine, TODAY.
Not in some faraway imagined future perfect version of our lives.
How do we take small steps to bring our perfect life into focus NOW?
How do we lean into the pause of these days to live our best life in small ways, each day?
How do we feel the stillness and see what there is to discover? To see with fresh eyes, even in the everyday around us.
How to look for the things we might have missed in the go-go-go of our former lives.
How to approach each day as an adventure. An adventure of daily life. An adventure in gratitude.
For me, I like to practice two things in these days to keep me moving forward, connected to the beauty + dream I want to build in my days - taking action to move towards that!
Mindful gratitude, noticing the smallest details of beauty around me.
The clouds.
A perfect pink in the sunset.
The beautiful way the light hits your morning coffee.
A meal cooked that's inspired by our favorite local (or faraway) restaurant.
A neighborhood walk to find the perfect leaf.
A fun night at home with family, trying out a new activity.
Setting goals, small and big.
During this time, I’ve been rethinking life. Work, art, relationships, where and how we live. It’s easy for me to put off any changes until life returns to normal, BUT, instead, I’m using this slower pace, this smaller world to make changes towards that life.
Fresh paint on our walls to brighten our days and refresh this space that we’re in day after day.
Building new hobbies, mostly outdoor with my daughter - embracing the Texas heat instead of waiting for the perfect California weather we long for.
More time for art to move me towards the artist’s life I envision. Inviting my daughter into this practice, who is more fearless and free in her art than I am - and letting her be my teacher instead of the other way around.
Turning one of my paintings into a wallpaper to explore surface design in a new way!
This ‘great pause’ is giving me a chance to observe my life, my days, my energy. To organize my future around what brings me joy, light, love and to release what isn’t serving me any longer.
We have the chance to discover (or invent) new ways to explore, to live, to celebrate, to love, to find inspiration in our environment, in the people around us, and through our experiences.
So, you and me, let’s pivot. Let’s dream. Let’s do. Let’s make our lives over day after day until we’re closer to that imagined future we dream of. Messy, chaotic, imperfect as it truly is - that’s the life I want to live.
What do you say?
Until Next Time,
Jill Xx
