Did you all at one point try to tell me that I was going to carry the main writing duties of our blog? Well you were WAAAAAAAAY off the mark weren't you? :)
A is our professional blogger dreaming up a new business and going for it, C is saving the world as usual and still has time to count her 1,000 gifts, K is brimming with her standard amount of creativity, craftiness, and damn ambition ( homemade butter... seriously?) and well I'm just sitting here a little befuddled. It's not really that I think you have it all together. I know, I know...you don't. But I stop to reflect and this is what happens:
I just see February's calendar, how many days til the weekend ( thanksfully ONLY 1 at this exact moment), where do I even start on my to-do list at work tomorrow, how many months left in Charlottesville, what house are we going to buy, I am tired of cooking and laundry, I need to exercise, I need to be a better wife ( you can read between the lines on this if you like-- I'm trying to keep things G rated, but mabye you can guess... I've had a cold this week...it's been a while). Well, I digress but you get the picture.
But I just wonder how you have time and maybe even more importantly energy to reflect, dream, create, etc. I ask this while I'm half watching House Hunters International ( I don't know what country because I'm only half watching, but there are some amazing houses with crazy views) so maybe I can begin to answer my own question by turning off the television! But, I defer to you my inspiring, lovely friends: When/where are you most inspired? What is your secret to reflecting on life, beauty, etc? What gets your creative juices flowing the most? Any thoughts on any of the above questions I would love to hear. I better see some comments or this will be my last post ever!
Sincerely Yours,
E
E,
ReplyDeleteDo not be troubled because we all hit that place at some point, and I feel like I hit it more than I should. It is so stinkin easy to get caught up in everything that is happening to you (the schedule, the future, the relationships) and to forget to stop and smell the roses. As corny (yes, I did just use the word 'corny') as that saying is, it is pretty right on. For me the first step is turning off the TELEVISION! And that is not an easy thing to do; I have found myself glued to it ever since we moved up here, and while I was working, I just wanted to come home and zone out to the TV. However, I really do think that it is quite a stumbling block in the creative sector and just life in general. It is actually something that Mitch and I are working on because we found that he would come home from work and we would eat dinner in front of the TV and not talk. And before we knew it, we barely talked about anything after work that didn't relate to what we were watching. And that is no good for any relationship.
For me, I also need to get out of the house. I need to go sit at a coffee shop and contemplate life or go window shopping at my favorite stores. It is so much easier to appreciate life and beautiful things when you are out among them. And when you are "smelling the roses" your creative juices will inevitably start flowing...or so I've found.
I don't think there is necessarily a magic key that will open the box to everyone's creativity; however, I think when you do anything that challenges your mind and gets you out of yourself, you enjoy life more and a lot of times that will make your brain work on a different level. So go grab a book and go to Shenandoah Joes or go shopping at O'Suzanna or just go on a walk downtown with your hubby. I bet it makes you feel better! Love you sweet friend!
**On that note, I am going to take my own advice and head out of the house this afternoon!
Thanks for sharing, Amanda! Very good thoughts. We actually got a great camera for Christmas and I told Peyton I want to go out and play with it tomorrow. Photography is a great way to smell the roses and get your mind in the right brain even if you're no good at it ( like me). I agree, it's almost like a discipline which I'm sure you'll have to figure out with a creative business but you have push yourself into it sometimes instead of waiting for inspiration to hit you. Well, now I'm getting inspired to go get inspired! Much love.
ReplyDeleteE,
ReplyDeleteMy heart is full as I write this - outside on the back porch of my parent's house, a glass of wine beside the computer, and a spectacular Texas sunset slipping behind the hills bidding farewell to this day of rest. As I watched the colors morph from bold orange to pale pink, I thought about your question of inspiration.
Isn't it a battle, dear friend? A battle to tear ourselves away from the tyranny of the to-do list (it currently holds a dictatorship in my life!) and the gnawing feeling of not living up to being a good (fill in the blank, there are so many things that I could insert here), and just sit, rest and soak in beauty.
I am with Amanda on the need to get out of the house. I find those attempts for me are inevitably harpooned by the "just one more thing and then I'll go out or sit and rest". Just one more load of laundry. After I empty the dishwasher. Just one more e-mail. After I pick up the living room. You get the picture.
But how grateful I am for the grace that beckons to me - whispers to me that there is so much more - that perhaps the greatest thing I could do all day is to revel in the beauty of His creation: whispy clouds, tree-lined streets, a toothy grin, a soothing lyric, wrinkles on a wise face, the aroma of a candle (preferably capri blue :)). Though it's a bit more chilly where you are, I hope that you catch glimpses of the outdoors this week that take your breath away and INSPIRE you!
Because you, friend, have inspired us. Let's be honest ... book club, hot yoga, cookie swaps, "keep calm and carry on" ... these are all your brain childs! And we love you for it.
Can't wait to hear what inspires you next!
Love y'all - C
Thanks, C, for the encouragement! So true. A couple things I would like to clarify. I don't think we would call hot yoga an inspiration unless hell inspires your heart. And I'm going to throw cookie swap to K-- her brain child. But a lovely and inspiring idea for sure. Love you girls!
ReplyDeleteEmmaline
As time goes by, I find myself with fonder memories of hot yoga. Like right now, I just remember the high you got after you came out and the accomplishment you felt because you had just survived 90 minutes in a 105 degree room. Or how stiff my body felt the week after we quit going. But mind you, these fond thoughts have not motivated me to go join a bikram studio up here. :)
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