Morning Pages

Morning pages. Julie Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” suggests dumping your mind chatter into a few pages each day first thing. Journaling as an artist has always been more of a creative dumping for me: an idea here, a drawing there, concepts, inspirations, and extrapolations of things I read or hear daily. Morning pages are an opportunity to release the junk and dump the unnecessary thoughts. It is not a “Dear Diary” or recounting of the previous day’s activities or thoughts, although it can spiral into a dumping of something that did happen or affect you in some way. It has been a daily practice for about six months now. I think I can genuinely say it is now a daily habit and has been incredibly valuable in processing emotions and working through problems, whether personal or creative.

Through journaling, I have come to realize that change in habits and thoughts happens only with reflection. Sometimes, the inspiration to make a change can happen in an instant while thinking in the shower or taking a walk, but it was the process of reflecting on that thing that led to the ah-ha moment.

reflect. write. think.

daily inspirations and Maya Lin

Quite often days are spent rushing from place to place, task to task, and rarely do we reflect on that movement. I find that besides the little moments of joy between the rushing, a lingering morning cuddle with my son, a great chat with my kids, a walk in the woods with a friend, there are so many inspiring and fun things to experience that boost the daily grind. This blog will be a place where I share the things I find that inspire, offer educational information, and simply get you thinking.

Yesterday I read a piece about Maya Lin’s new installation on climate change, “Ghost Forrest”. I think about this subject a lot. It has always been a concern and major topic for me since I was a kid. A member of Greenpeace since I was a child, an advocate for the environment and environmental defense fund as a teen and always striving to live green since college at least. I lived in Boulder, Colorado at a time when things were rapidly moving toward a green life. I feel grateful to have been able to be motivated by folks I met along the way who helped shaped the way I live and am teaching my kids now.

https://www.frieze.com/article/maya-lin-ghost-forest-2021

Books. Piles of Books.

How do you read? One book at a time, two? Maybe three? If you are like me, you will have piles of books by your nightstand. I sometimes manage to plow through a book in one sitting, or at least in a day or two. However, for the most part, I keep a few around that I tend to work through over time. A few of those books are staples. They keep me grounded in that they are more philosophically based, offering snippets of inspiration or reminders of words to live by. There are usually one or two non-fiction reads and at least one or two books of essays or poems. Typically I will have a book of engaging fiction and one that suits my need to read total brain numbing trash. (Although, thanks to my avid reader of a sister, those books are vetted for content and a high writing standard. At least, that’s what I tell myself to justify the books).

I think drawing inspiration from multiple sources is a good way to engage your mind and connect your actions and thoughts. I write a lot after having read and I find it to be a motivator for the coming day when I read first thing in the morning. Reading can set the tone of your day and it can help sooth you to sleep at night. There is also the wonderful luxury of curling up with a book on a lazy day and not re-emerging into life until it is finished and your body is completely restored to a relaxed state.

This blog will have posts with book recommendations and inspiring quotes from the pages. I may simply post a book just because I am excited to read it. One of my favorite blogs is Maria Popova’s Brain pickings. She writes just as well (if not better) as many of the authors of the books she reviews and comments on, and she has excellent taste in both fiction and non-fiction titles.

Currently in my piles:

un-stuck yourself

Sometimes we get stuck. Sometimes that stuck-ness takes over our lives. It holds us back from the things we desire most, from the life we want, from the people we love. Sometimes stuck happens with work, with creativity. Sometimes stuck permeates your entire life. How do we “unstuck” ourselves?

We clear space. We move, we breathe, we open up. We accept that we are not perfect and neither is that person posting on social media about their perfect life, and neither is that artist we think is always having exhibitions or that entrepreneur who just made millions on the sale of their business. We begin one step at a time. Make time, create space for the thing you want. Do one small thing every day to change. Create habits. Good habits. In order to make drastic lasting changes in life, one must begin with the small step. Repeat that small step over and over until it creates space for the next step. One foot in front of the other and eventually the movement will make you unstuck.

Vision Board

I believe in the power of positive thought. I believe that manifesting change and living from a higher space energetically happens when you write your dreams and wishes and look at them every day. I have a personal vision board. It helps to remind me daily that I have a vision. I have dreams. I have a higher calling and that if I want to manifest my dreams into reality, I need to stay true to certain values and actions. Everyone gets off track and trips a bit. We are human. It’s normal.

My vision board is in my office on a huge whiteboard painted wall directly in my line of sight. I know it by heart. I try my best to live it. It is in no particular order. A vision board can be a mission statement, an intent, mantra or any kind of list that helps to keep you going. A vision board can include “ways/things/ideas to live by” or it can be extremely specific and include tasks for achieving goals. Whatever helps to get you going and keep you tuned into the source, go for it. Write it down. Edit it. But, make sure you post it someplace you will hold yourself accountable to it.

VISION BOARD:

1 Create at least one thing every day

2 Listen to my heart + gut instincts. Trust. Stay true to myself.

3 Live less but better. Waste less.

4 Actively pursue new inspiration.

5 Just do the work.

6 Stay Healthy: Physically + Mentally.

What’s your vision?

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Yes, that is a compass on the left.

The beginning

It can be tough to start. But its best to just, start. The center of infinity is that; a continuous fluid energy comprised of starts. There is no end as everything has the ability to begin again.

And so it begins, inspirational writings and images, art and design. Beauty found in nature, wellness and research. The things that excite and embolden to create a real and whole life. The ideas that provide guidance through tough times or thoughts. This is meant to be a recording of all that inspires, all that motivates and all that creates the space to grow energetically, artistically and as a human.

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