The Power of Play

Good afternoon darling readers!

I hope you are doing well and enjoying a fabulous Friday!

Let me tell you about my day so far...

I awoke naturally around 8:30am, today being the only day this week I do not have to set an alarm. I wandered downstairs and found the hubby making his coffee, which meant I couldn't make mine (he drinks regular and I am strictly decaf now). So I meandered back upstairs, started checking email and pondering what to do with the day. I worked on my book for a few minutes, but was feeling uninspired so I went back online to browse some blogs.

Eventually, I went back downstairs to make my coffee and chat with the hubby about our most recent renovation project at the wellness center, the grocery list, and other such enticing topics! Finally a bit after 10am I decided to start reading through my visual journal. I used three colored index cards and labeled them "to-do, to-read, to-ponder." My visual journal dates back to March 2010 and it was really interesting to see how my ideas and my business have grown since then. By this time it was about 11am and I started to think "I'm wasting the day away." It is pretty unusual for me to spend that many hours basically doing nothing...

So I hopped in the shower and that is when it happened! I had a gorgeous aha moment!

More to come on that later, but my point here is that all of my idling and "doing nothing" lead me up to that aha!

That moment in the shower reminded me of my theme for this summer -PLAY!

Play is an important part of creating and no matter what you "do" with your life, you are creating something!
Looking back on my index cards from earlier this morning, I see that I jotted "the difference between being lazy and giving myself space" on the To-Ponder card. I think all too often we perceive playtime as laziness, especially those of us who tend to be "doers," but there is immense value in "being" without any goal to be achieved or tangible thing to be produced. Although I schedule in an Artist Date for myself every week and a 30-minute creative mini-retreat nearly daily, I still struggle with idleness - particularly when I am wanting to create something. What am I learning and re-learning is that you can't force creation AND that periods of "doing nothing" are an important and natural part of the process of creating.

So go ahead and take some time to "do nothing" today or over the weekend - you may be surprised by the results!

Notes from my mini-staycation

Hello Lovely Readers,

I hope you are doing well and enjoyed a day off today! I have been on a mini-staycation from my practice since last Thursday and have been soaking up lots of sun and relaxation!

I chaperoned a baseball game for my daughter's class, attended my darling niece's dance recital, helped my mom move, spent half a day in my pajamas doing nothing, finally cleaned off my desk, read 300+ pages of The Carrie Diaries, had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, discovered I love Seltzer water (never tried it before), held my 1 month-old nephew during his nap, went swimming, slept in, watched a parade, found fabulous black bean chipotle burgers, got sunburned twice despite sunscreen, saw Letters to Juliet, donned my new TranquiliT reversible sleeveless wrap dress, and took a long walk by the gorge. It has been so relaxing!

Now I've retreated to bed with my Planner Pad to look at the week ahead and I'm pining for more vacation! It feels like summer here already and I am dying to lounge around and read and nap and drink margaritas! I'm planning to move to a lighter schedule for July and August, working only Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and I am looking forward to much more relaxation!

Artist Date at Goat Island

Lately I have been feeling a bit stuck. Things are not happening as quickly or easily as I would like them to and I feel myself becoming irritated with this process. I've been getting caught up in the details and losing sight of my bigger vision, my intention for these businesses. It is easy to do when most of my days right now are filled with the bureaucracy of insurance companies, banks, public agencies, etc. I don't mean to knock these institutions. They are very important and necessary to what the hubby and I are trying to do here. Which is? Transform a more than 100-year old-in-some-places-literally-crumbling building into a sanctuary of peace and inspiration for our community. Anyways....I digress. The point is I have not been feeling so fabulous about the details of my daily life lately!

So, I decided to take myself on an Artist Date. An Artist Date is a solo excursion where one spends an hour simply doing whatever she desires. Sound fabulous? It most definitely is! I have been doing them for more than a year since I first worked through The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.

Yesterday I chose to pack up my books, journal, and camera and head to Goat Island, a beautiful park here in Niagara Falls. I took along a soy chai latte to keep me warm. I haven't had one in a long time so it felt like a real treat! This Artist Date combined several of my favorite things. Physical movement: I didn't want to pay the $10 for parking so I parked on the city street and walked into the park. I also did quite a bit of hiking around while I was there. Nature: Goat Island is gorgeous and filled with trees and waterfalls and tons of natural eye candy. Reading: I brought along the three books we are using for the creativity circle with Kimberly Wilson: The Artist's Way, Hip Tranquil Chick, and the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. Writing: I spent some time resting beside a tree and writing in my journal.

I had a fabulous time and truly do feel refreshed after those hours spent alone walking, reading, writing, contemplating. In retrospect, I feel like I chose this location for my Artist Date because of all the fast-flowing water. It is in constant flux, always moving, the opposite of being stuck...

I love my new bike!

Got to go for a ride on my new (to me) bike today! My sweet gramma let me have her bike and I have been anxiously awaiting trying it out! I love how it says Free Spirit on the bike - so perfect!



I was pretty nervous at first! I haven't been on a bike in at least 15 years! But the saying is true; it came right back to me. It really was a blast! I was afraid to go too far on the street so my daughter and I went down on the Robert Moses Parkway bike trail and took a nice ride away from cars, sidewalks, and all that other scary stuff! I feel like I got the hang of it today so maybe tomorrow I will give the road a try. I'm really hoping to bike to work or the farmer's market once I get my confidence up!

NKOTB & The Inner Child

So who remembers what NKOTB stands for???

That's right New Kids on the Block! Okay, I promise not to bust out the Mindy-oke (my personal version of karaoke) and sing "Hanging Tough" (even though I do still remember all the dance moves...)

This morning when I got in the car a woman had just won NKOTB tickets and she exclaimed something to the effect of, "I am not gonna lie, my inner 8 year-old is so happy right now!!!" I giggled out loud at this woman's delight at indulging her inner child.

How fun would it be to do something your inner 8 year-old dreamt up? Like dancing around to your favorite boy band or climbing a tree or staying in the bathtub until your fingers get all wrinkly or spending some time on your neighborhood swings or getting your feet/hands covered in paint... the possibilities are endless! And I am all about indulging the inner child as much as possible. We all seem to have enough work in our lives; it is important to make some time to play! So get out there, go play!!! Have fun!!!

PS The image above is of the very first painting I ever made as an adult (January 2009), complete with words cut from magazines and sticks and leaves collected from my neighborhood!