it's all about practice (and never being perfect!)

I swear the first warm day and I am bustin' out of the stall like a young colt ready for wider pastures!

Are you feeling this energy surge?  

 
Even though I have learned from this wise woman the value of cycles of hibernation and rest balanced with action and engagement, I was beginning to feel like a neglected houseplant deprived of sunlight and water.  Wilted on the edges, roots tenuously hanging on to crusty dirt.  Winter is my knitting/sewing/needlework season.  I think the repetitive actions mesh with the more meditative mood of the season.  It's like I am marking time one stitch at a time.  A colorful mantra of "I am ... I am ... I am  ..."  

But there comes a point when I shake off the trance and look around, wondering "what happened?"  Few photographs and even fewer paintings emerge when I'm in my cocoon. Little writing except for the bits I squeeze out here.  Some effort towards letters and cards - my mission to keep the postal system afloat still high up on my list -  but also somewhat neglected.

I could feel dismay at all that seems to have lapsed from my life, but I've learned it is part of the cycle.  In yoga one lesson is that there will be loss of ground gained, setbacks, illness or injury.  It is all part of the process, part of life.  It's as if the challenge of starting anew infuses new and powerful energy into the process.  I feel excited to be embarking on new projects  which, in truth, are old projects revisited.  It is always about practice for me and I have to keep in mind that what matters is not the specifics of the practice, but the process of committing; choosing to show up and doing so with alert eyes, ears and heart. 

part of my 30 day photo challenge - day six: 2:30 pm

I've been revisiting blogs I've loved in the past and adding new ones to a list of "spaces that nourish and inspire me."  I am pretty old fashioned and have never used a reader (not even sure what it means or does!) so my process is hunt and peck and remember blog addresses (thank goodness my laptop remembers!) I am flexing my techy muscles and may just learn some new skills to streamline my system!  But I like browsing the stacks the library and tend to do the same on line.  Anyway, I am visiting those writers and photographers who get my juices flowing.  I am feeling the words loosening in this Spring thaw.

I've joined a 30 day photo course with Catherine Just and am remembering how much I love the pauses that such a practice invites into my day.  A daily photo practice also sharpens my eye, helping me to polish and improve skills that have gotten flabby.  Rather than despair, I am enjoying this creative workout. I think that is the key for me: enjoying the experience of exercising my creative muscles and feeling strength and ease returning as I work.

day three: 2:45 pm

Work, which is really play ... which is really healing and the experiencing of knowing myself whole, happy and alive.

day two: 11:30 am

What is awakening for you this Spring?  Let's tend to our gardens together, finding community and support in sharing our practices. I'll water your plot of ground should you need a little break; I trust you will help me tend to my overrun bed of wildflowers and flowering weeds.  

day five: 5:30 pm

I share a few more thoughts on the transformative experience of creativity here on  Jess Greene's space Seek Your Course.  Do drop by and say "Hi!" And if you are needing to strengthen your techy muscles, Jess has created a whole slew of programs to support creatives utilizing free applications such as Evernote and Trello to help us organize the chaos that creative inspiration invokes.  I'm signed up and excited for these tools!