Dear Beautiful Souls…
I was thinking about you all last night as I snuggled on the couch with the puggeries, my book in my lap, just kind of musing about the day. The interesting thing for me is that for some long time now I have been so scattered all over the place, afraid how I could pull things together to make a living, and kind of all over the place with it, that many of the things that I love, that define me, have fallen by the wayside. And now that my business has a structure, and I have a business coach to help me pull things together, I am defining times to do my work and I am getting a lot done faster and experiencing a sense of ease I haven’t known in a long time. I have a long way to go, this is the work I will do for the rest of my life and I will continually be working, but now time is opening up for me so that I can bring back in the things that I love that have gone by the wayside. What are those things?
First of all the thing that calls to me is my fiber art. For years I have been handspinning art yarns, doing freeform knitting and crochet, creating fiber art, weaving, spoolknitting, and more, but in the last year and a half I have gotten away from it and I miss it terribly. To feel the fibers in my hands, to spin them on my spindles — I am a spindle spinner and have a vast collection of spindles, but I long to learn to spin on a wheel. I have 2 wheels but have never had any luck with them, I intend to learn soon! One of the things that happened for me is that the work that I did was so complex, and took such a long time, that I came to realize I couldn’t make a living as a fiber artist because I couldn’t produce enough fast enough. Now I want to create for JOY. If I sell some things along the way that will be grand, but not my purpose!
And I want to devote more time to my art, drawing and writing the stories of my 100 ladies for The 100 Ladies Project. I need the work of my hands to balance the work of my head and that is the way I best stay centered and well.
Not long ago I wrote a blog post about a series of exercises I did with my journal classes. The series is called Hurdles and it is a 3 part exercise. This series helps us define what the hurdles in our path are, what the things in our lives are that sustain us, and how we use those things to get us over the hurdles. The problem is when we encounter the hurdles in our lives all too often we completely forget about the things that sustain us and limp along in pain, filled with fear, depressed, when if we used those things that uplift us, that fill us up, that are healing, we could far more easily cross the hurdles. And often, it is these very things that we let go of because we feel that they are not important, or as important as the task at hand, and even that perhaps spending time doing them is taking away from the work we need to be doing. The thing is, feeling full, being uplifted, having something that, even for a short time, takes us out of that place of worry, dread, fear, or carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders makes all the rest easier to bear. It is so important not to let go of these things.
For me, as soon as I realized that there was no way that I could support myself doing fiber art I stopped doing it in the mad dance to find something that I could do to create income and I have had a very hard year and a half or so. It is important to contain the work that we do to a set amount of time, and take time off, to meditate, to garden, to be with loved ones, to sing, to dance, to do whatever it is that sustains you and makes you whole again, even if only for awhile, and to keep doing it, keep making time for these things, to create a climate in which we can stay whole and sane and well in the world. And so I am going to do my work and then turn it off and draw, paint, spin, weave, do all of these things that have brought me so much joy over the years. I will never let them go again.
So the question came to me to ask all of you ~ What has slipped out of your life that you miss, that had/has meaning to you, that would enrich your life now? I would love for you to share this with me in the comments below. I think in today’s world having a balanced life is one of the hardest things in the world. I’m going to talk about this in my podcast today — that just came to my mind.
Would you share with me the things you love, and how you find balance in your lives? I’d love to know…
Blessings and Love,
I miss structure to help me be more productive.
I miss meditation with Tom Kenyon sounds.
I miss time on screen porch.
Alana, I can understand that. How might you be able to find those things again and weave them back into your life? 🙂
Hi Maitri!
Some of the things I love that help me find balance in my life are: NIA classes (movement to music based on five different movement forms), yoga, meditation and journaling. What has slipped out of my life is singing. I used to be in contemporary church choir for many years but since leaving the church several years ago I have not sought out another place for that. I don’t sing much at all these days. Since I spend quite a bit of time at home by myself I don’t talk as much as I used to either. (I am no longer working, where I used to talk a lot.) So now, if I’m out at a social gathering for several hours I become rather hoarse just from talking more than usual. So, it’s my voice that seems to need a new outlet for expression.
Oh Joan, you know, your missing singing so resonates with me. I grew up singing too and in high school and college was involved in musical theater. When I was first married I was always singing everywhere, around the house, to myself, in the car to the radio, but it eventually petered out and I don’t know why and now days go by at a time when the only talking I do is to my animals. Funny how all that goes. I think we should both start singing again, even just around the house! I think it’s really good for you, lifts your spirits, raises your endorphins and your mood. How about this. Let’s make a pact to sing. I’ll have a go at it and you come back and tell me if you have. What kind of music do you like now? OH! I have to correct myself, isn’t that funny, I don’t know why I didn’t say this but I do sing in the shower and sometimes in the garden, but almost shyly, like I’m only singing because no one can hear me. But it is so seldom I even forgot at the beginning of this post… (I sing Amazing Grace a lot in the shower.) 🙂
Blessings,
Maitri
Namaste, Maitri! This is one juicy post, but my energy’s not in a place to speak directly to it at this moment. I’m having one of those days where I’m standing on my head riding a roller coaster; I think you know what that’s like! Still, I wanted to honor the sentiments expressed, say Hello, and send a hug and some happy energy to those two lonely spinning wheels your way. Maybe someday I can help you set those wheels in motion. Fiber is a passion of mine as well: fiber and writing, like blood in my veins…
Erica! Hello dear soul! How I wish you lived here!
You know I joined Ravelry in hopes of finding knitters or spinners. I knew spinners might be hard but there isn’t even a knitting group except a small one in a shop. I finally heard back from a couple of people after weeks who live here and they said they couldn’t believe there weren’t knitting groups here. I mean Wilmington isn’t some teeny town, there are over 100,000 people here and 2 small knitting shops. Sigh…
And I do know those days honey. I wish you’d strap yourself INTO the rollercoaster at least and not stand on your head. 🙂 I’m so glad you dropped in to say hello. Do come back if you’re feeling up to it. I’d love some fiber friends!
Blessings,
Maitri
Wonderful post, Maitri!
Writing and drawing by hand – in little journals that are easy to carry with me. I have years of such journals but have gone almost totally digital. The movement of hand and arm, the scratch of the pen – such delight in those. Right now I’m concentrating on writing and photography and juggling contract work. The first two are soul-and-spirit times for me. So I won’t put the little journals on a “should” list but will clean and refill my fountain pen, pull out a half-filled journal and keep them near at hand.
Oh Cathryn, you are so right on!
And you know I love fountain pens but one of the things I dearly love and haven’t used in a long time and want to pull out again are my collection of dip pens and bottle of ink. Oh, the slow art of dipping and musing while you write creates such space for deep thought. A time for reverie. The art of handwriting is almost a lost art, and I so miss the days of letters. I’m old enough to remember writing long long letters to friends and waiting anxiously for the mail for the letters that would return. The last while I have just kind of groaned over the mail which consists of piles of catalogs I didn’t order, ads, and bills. Oh how I miss those letters!
So yes, DO pull out those journals. What deep delight they will bring you…
I send you so much love…
Maitri