This unprecedented time calls for unprecedented levels of self care. I say that with acute awareness that I am fortunate enough to do just that. Fortunate enough to have a home to “shelter in” and enough client work to soldier on. I have come to realize there are several practices that are keeping me sane in my shelter of one. Yoga is the first. It keeps me balanced and feels amazing. Writing daily is another—it allows the kind of unedited and repetitive release that only paper pages can bear. I’m learning to slow down. This for me is counter intuitive. So sometimes it hurts.
But there have been a few lovely side affects. I have set up a photo studio in one room in my house. I’m slowly and yes painfully learning to shoot still life. I have also begun painting again, but in a completely new way. I am painting what I feel— not what want to see. Painting in this way is taping in to an experience of color and light on an abstract level that I have never felt compelled to do. I’ve always been a rule follower. But with desire and intention I feel comfortable. With no guardrails. No rules. Just me, some music and my big fat feelings.
I always tell people one of the reasons I love creatives so much, is how much they feel. Creative people are like giant sponges. The great thing about sponges is they absorb everything. The bad thing about sponges is they absorb everything. Nama—stay.
