Selfcare: Literally stopping to smell the roses

As my stress level has risen, I've been prioritizing self care.  And today, that inspired me to go for my morning walk in the Cornwall Rose Garden where I did indeed stop and smell the roses. 

The most fragrant was this luscious deep red rose that was the first I came to after entering the garden.

Next up was this  peach & yellow rose with a delicate light fragrance.  

After three or four with no fragrance at all, I came to this lovely purplish red rose with an intermediate fragrance.  Almost enough to cause me to look for the 3 bears.

At this point, I decided the camera was interfering with the experience so I continued my walking and sniffing but no more photos.  I hope you are all taking care of yourselves as we cope with these very interesting times.

Baby stepping to success

I'm spending some of my down time right now thinking about what do I do if this eye thing is permanent.  And the fatigue thing.  How do I manage to be happy & creative within these limitations?  And one of the things that is helping me right now is a blogger/writer named James Clear.  More about him in a few paragraphs. 

One of the other things that is resonating in my head is this quote:

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, 

Your thoughts become your words, 

Your words become your actions, 

Your actions become your habits, 

Your habits become your values, 

Your values become your destiny.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

And then there was the movie "What about Bob?" which introduced the phrase "baby steps" into our family.  

What about Bob?

I've long found the baby steps approach to work.  Just keep plugging and you'll get there.  And certainly, both my career as a software developer and my years as a quilter have shown that persistence pays off.

How do I apply these now is my current question.  And James Clear's most recent blog post has some excellent information and ideas about how to create change and keep it.  Identity Based Habits discusses how to make sure the changes stick by starting with changing how you view yourself.  And do it in a small way so that it's easier to be successful.  See how the quote above and the movie connect in?    I think I'm heading in the right direction as I am changing my definition of myself as an artist from one who creates lots of work and exhibits it often to someone who regularly creates work that matters.  But it's going to take time to see how this plays out.  In the meantime, I'll just keep on baby stepping...

Now what? More lemonade...

My back surgery was in August 2013.  It's now October 2014 and the pain has started up again.  *sigh*  So, I am making some changes in what and how much I do to lower my physical stress.  This has meant moving out of my Georgetown studio so I can rest and heat my back as needed.  And this has been very sad for me, to leave the shared space and have to rethink my work.  But today, Lisa Call blogged about resetting life goals and feeling untethered.  Great timing!  What a good way to reframe what I'm going through right now.

I particularly liked this quote:   "Great big audacious dreams take time to germinate."

I will remember that when I feel like I'm floundering.

So, what lemonade am I making now?

I'm taking an excellent course on writing & illustrating children's books taught by Dana Sullivan at the Kirkland Arts Center.  Learning lots and pushing myself to broaden my ideas on art.

I'm expanding my accessories to more than scarves for the 2 gift shops I'm currently working with.  Inspired by the origami exhibit at BAM, I'm trying out some 3D fabric flowers.  Here's a pic of my first batch of tryouts.

And I'm doing a lot of thinking and germinating.

In between doctor appointments.

I hope to have some new goals by next spring.  And less back pain.  *cross fingers*

Alternatives to mall shopping for Black Friday

Grist.org has a nice list of things people do on Black Friday instead of shopping. Since I stopped shopping at the malls for Winter Holiday presents, my need to watch "Die Hard" as my Christmas movie has decreased considerably. I like the movie marathon idea as well as the nature hike. This year, we're once again doing mostly handmade or edible presents since most of our relatives and friends have too much stuff already. Perhaps you might find an idea worth doing on this list.

Meditate like a Marine

Isn't that a great title? Today's email from dailygood.org contained that title and a link to the full article about measurable mood and memory enhancement from 12 minutes of meditation a day. (They called it mindfulness training, which is a somewhat clearer name, but it's the same thing.) Controlling mood is on my mind these days as my knee surgery recovery takes much longer than anticipated and I find myself struggling to maintain my emotional equilibrium. I'm okay with the loss of daily walks altho I miss them, but adding in an inability to sit at my work areas for more than 20 minutes, so it's very difficult to create, and I find I'm getting impatient easily. My Fiber Arts class for this quarter ended last night so I have a couple of weeks to focus on healing and maybe regain my sense of being centered and balanced.

Monthly Games playing day, or doing more but buying less

I spent a chunk of time on New Year's Day playing Mah Jong with my daughter and a couple of friends. It's been a year since we played together, and we all remarked on how nice it was. I had talked with another group of friends the night before about doing regular board game playing get togethers and we picked a day, and set a time. So I suggested the same thing to my Mah Jong buddies and we did the same. I now have a monthly day playing games of some sort and I expect it to grow as interested friends get added to the notification list. So I noted with interest an article from the NY Times about people buying less, and doing more interactive things with friends. Yup, me too. The article can be found here. I must admit I've always had a tendency to prefer simpler pleasures and have never spent $1000/month on designer clothes. (Okay, $100/month on books maybe...)

Resolved: Give just a little and help a lot

Today's email brought a story from dailygood.org about a website that helps people with small needs. Modest Needs Foundation, at modestneeds.org, gives small grants (usually a few hundred dollars) to the working poor with the intent of helping the recipient make it through an unexpected emergency. Donors can give as little as $5, and the donors pick which applicant to help. What I found encouraging is that 68% of the recipients end up donating back later on. Paying it forward, indeed...

See the full story here.

Nature makes you healthier, who knew? (hint: ecopsychologists)

Today's email brought a link to an interesting article about studies done showing that patients in a hospital with a view of trees got out a day faster, used less pain medication, and complained less than patients recovering from the same surgery who had a view of a brick wall. My initial reaction is, well, duh! but a lot of psychology consists of these types of studies verifying scientifically what seems obvious about people. Even better, it's now a branch of psychology with its own journal.

Teaser quote: But if exposure to nature is beneficial, what happens when we withdraw from it? That's one of the defining questions for ecopsychology -- an emerging branch of psychology rooted in the idea that mental health requires, in addition to strong bonds with fellow humans, a connection with nature and an understanding of our place in the ecosystem we are a part of.

Read the whole article here.

Gratitude is good for you...

Today's email brought a link from DailyGood on gratitude and its effect on the parasympathetic nerve system. Turns out it's good for you physically to think about things that you feel grateful for, that enrich your life. Good thoughts, good health. What a concept.

Read the whole thing here.