karenika

Art Journaling – Week 31

And here’s the next page:

The full text reads: take a moment to delight in the wonders of the world.

More coming next week.

I am creating art journaling pages each week for now. You can read more about this project here. This set uses the Fabriano Roma papers.

I know I have likely written about this before but it’s fascinating to me how often certain patterns come up again and again in my life. It seems like certain lessons need to be learned again and again. Even when you know they work, you get into this state where it’s as if you are new to it all. And you’re surprised all over again.

Starting is one of those patterns for me.

I know from experience that there’s magic in starting. If there’s a new routine you want to add into your life, you just need to start. If you want to learn something new, you just need to start. If you want to change a behavior, you just need to start. If you had an idea that you’ve been holding on to for years, you just need to start. If you’re afraid, you just need to start. If you’re scared, you just need to start. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you just need to start.

You just need to start.

There’s magic in starting. It’s as if the world is watching and as you start, it changes shape to align to your wishes. To your goals. Things just tend to unfold. And as the obstacles come up, there’s enough force behind your momentum that you can conquer them.

This is not to say you need to go all in. You don’t need to quit your job, leave your family, move out of the country, or do anything drastic. You can start small. Tiny, even. Seeds don’t become trees overnight. They take time lay roots, connect with the earth and grow slowly. Deliberately.

It may take a long, long time for a seed to become a tree. But if you don’t start the process, it will never, ever actually become one. And much of the process might feel incredibly slow but once the seed is in the ground, magic is happening. Things are moving.

Only once the seed is in the ground. Once the first step is taken. However big or small.

I’ve seen this again and again in my life. The one day I decided to get up and exercise changed my whole life. Back then, I didn’t think “I will exercise every single day for two years.” I had never exercised before. I couldn’t even run to the end of the block. Let alone a 5K. I had been carrying my excess “pregnancy” weight around for seven years. I didn’t have an end goal in mind.

I just started.

I got up and exercised. The next day, I did it again. And again. And again. Until my streak got long enough for me to believe in it and not want to quit. Until I was able to run a 5K without faling apart. Once I conquered the five straight months, it became easy to keep going for the sixth. It only happened cause I started. Because instead of spending the next morning sitting on the couch, annoyed about my inability to tackle my weight/health issue, I actually took a walk. I did something about it. One tiny thing.

I started.

Trust me when I say there’s magic in starting. You might be a planner, a todo list maker, an adventurer, a dreamer, or someone who just likes to see how things go. It doesn’t matter if there is a long term plan or not.

All that matters is that you start. You take that one, tiny step today.

Right now.

Do not wait.

Start.

I am confident you won’t regret it.

The Savor Project – Week 46

And here’s the next spread :

this week’s shots are extra blurry, i just couldn’t get them right for some reason.

here’s a closer up of the left side:

this page is about the hat Nathaniel likes to play with and then his being sick and then a tony they like to play with called “crazy creatures” which Nathaniel calls “crazy features.”

And here’s the right side:

Here it’s yogurtland which we visit regularly and then wreck-it-ralph which I saw with the kids while jake was out of town and my balance class for the coaching certification.

Art along the bottom as usual.

Another great week. Happy Savoring.

The Savor Project was supposed to be a weekly project for 2012. You can read about my setup here.

A Book a Week – Bitterblue

Over the last few years, I’ve become a huge fan of Kristin Cashore and was eagerly awaiting Bitterblue. Even though she wasn’t my favorite character in Graceling, I still wanted to read more by Kristin Cashore and I’d take anything.

She so so so didn’t disappoint.

Not only was Bitterblue awesome, I was delighted to find that she brought all three books together skillfully and made me love her all over again.

Even though these books are more fantasy than my usual taste, they are absolutely fantastic and wholeheartedly recommended by me.

Clearing the Space

It’s been a long time since I wrote one of these posts. My hibernation has been well-used but I miss writing here a lot. I usually spend some of my evenings writing these posts and now my nights are full with coaching clients and class. Whatever time I have leftover goes to family. I still miss these because, for me, they are a way to stay connected with myself and with my life. So I will try to find the space to write them again as I find my new schedule. (Which is an altogether different topic for a different day.)

My last coaching class was all about perspective and looking at a particular concern you have from many different perspectives and seeing how each of them felt. And then choosing one. The issue I decided to tackle was self-compassion. I am relatively good at forgiving others (especially people I love) and I give them many many chances. I tend to believe in the basic goodness of people and think that most people do not mean to cause harm onto others.

But I am much harder on myself.

I don’t like to let anyone down. I don’t like to be the cause of anyone’s pain. I don’t like to mess up. And when I do mess up, I am not so good at letting it go. I feel disproportionately disappointed in myself. I beat myself up and then hang on to the pain and sorrow for a long time.

One of my big goals for a few years (and especially for 2013) is to be more present and pay attention to this moment. Not get hung up on the past and not to worry about the future. I really, deeply believe this is a crucial step for peace.

So when I was thinking about all this during my class, I decided to do a daily ritual to help create more self-compassion in my life.

Each night, I sit on my bed, light a small candle and say “I forgive myself for all the mistakes I made today. I am now letting this day go so I can begin tomorrow fresh.” And then I blow out my candle.

Then I write down three things I am grateful for from today. Things that are specific to my life. I was writing them on paper but now I write them on my ipad which automatically emails them to me. This way when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I see is the candle I blew out so I can remember that I let the bad go. And then I go downstairs and one of the first things I do in the morning is check my mail so I am greeted by the three things I was grateful for so I can remember them again and feel the joyful wash of gratitude.

I think letting go of the bad and highlighting the good both go a long way toward self-compassion. I would prefer not to have a little fire but I love the physical motion of blowing out the candle. It feels like letting go. It feels like an ending. And I want it to feel that way. That’s what rituals do for you. They create the clearing you need so you can make space for new things.

I’ve only been doing this for a few days but I do feel its magic and so I wanted to document for myself and also share with you in case it might be something that works for you, too. If you have other ways of clearing the space and welcoming the next day from scratch, I’d love to know them so I hope you share.

In the meantime, I am taking this very small step to being more present. Letting go of each day and allowing myself to welcome the new day fresh and open.

And welcoming the possibilities.