Living a Happier, Healthier Life
Dear Colorful Friend,
I opened my doors this morning to air filled with bird song, cherry blossoms and wild current. A curry plant wafts it's strong scent through the screen doors and hopefully keeps the deer from munching on the tasty greens beyond.
The moody weather dictates my days—when it's nice, I'm outside digging trenches for an irrigation system and designing a deer-friendly garden on top of the new septic system. When it's raining and stormy, I clean and sort through cupboards, boxes and five decades of treasures. You see, mom made the courageous move into a retirement community after living in the same house since 1965. Now it's my turn to hang paintings, buy rugs and furniture, paint walls, plant gardens and design a future art studio. Moving into my childhood home feels like I'm coming home.
But like all moves, there is oh so much work ahead. That's a good thing of course, I wake up with lists a mile long and fall in bed each night exhausted. Though I have to say, living between two houses comes with it's own set of issues (where are my shoes, the measuring cups, the printer for printing out shipping labels?)
And so dear reader, this is why my online course creation is on a back burner, and why I'm taking more time that normal to ship your orders. Yes, I AM still working on it all but I do have to offer you an apology for being a bit scattered.
‘Cherry Blossoms’ 24”x24”
I’m turning off the news
One of the things NOT on my to-do list is reading the news. Once again, it's been affecting me on a profound level—affecting my sleep, my mood, my productivity. In fact, two articles I read recently (yes, in the news!) opened my eyes to what this was doing to me long-term. One article listed the seven traits of people who live long, healthy lives, and among other things (that you probably already know like exercise and eating well and maintaining strong friendships), not ruminating was top of the list. I've always been a big ruminator—whether it is a personal issue, or broader national / global one—definitely something I need to sort out. Reinforcing the message was another article comparing anxiety and mental health between villagers in 'less developed nations' and folks in 'developed nations'. Guess who spends less time worried about the state of the world and who has better mental health? (Makes one wonder about the term 'developed nations'.)
So I'm giving myself permission to turn off the news (don't worry, my hubby keeps me informed of the important soundbites, and yes, I did buy iodine tablets to send to my bestie in The Netherlands, and yes, I'm donating to causes that I hope will help where help is needed). But for the most part, I'm disconnecting myself from day-to-day immersion in things I can't do anything about, and focusing on ways to uplift myself and the people around me.
Voila! turning off the news, diving into hard physical work, remembering to slow down and breathe is doing the trick. When I feel myself start to obsess, I simply put a smile (fake or real — interestingly fake smiles actually work) on my face and tell myself to STOP ruminating.
Then I pour through color palettes and start creating because you guessed it—staying creative is another on the live-long list!
Card from ‘Seek Beauty • Create Joy Words of Wisdom’ deck
How about you—are you a Ruminator too?
Some tips that help me and might help you:
Try turning off the news, or at the very least limit yourself to 1-2 times a week—like a soup opera, it's very easy to catch up
Catch yourself in the act—when you find yourself ruminating, stop, put a silly smile on your face and tell yourself (out loud if you can) "STOP RUMINATING!"
Fill yourself with positivity—look for positive words and images (perhaps you'd like to pull a card from my Guidance Card deck or dive in and take my instant access online Seek Beauty • Create Joy course)
Slow down and breathe in the beauty around you: listen to bird song, smell the rain, and allow the colors of a flower to uplift your mood
Create—just 15-20 minutes a day can infuse you with a dose of Joy hormones!
I hope these simple actions will help you release tension, fill you with joy and give you energy to tap into your creative self. By doing all of this of course, you will already be living a happier, healthier life!
Here are some color palettes to inspire you:
