Forging a New Path
One of the best ways for me to find myself is to get lost. It sounds a bit cliche I know, but it’s true. Making the decision to stay offline as much as possible over the summer was intentional. I felt the need to get off the path I had been on for the past few years because it wasn’t working for me any longer. Finding a new one, more suited to where I am currently in life was what I needed.
As life continues to move forward, the kids grow up, interests change and schedules shift all the time and I wasn’t good at keeping a meaningful pace. I was just barely keeping up with the world around me and that was not healthy for me or my family. So, when the old way of doing things doesn’t make sense, it’s time to find a better way.
Initially I resist change and dig my feet into the earth wholeheartedly and oh so convincingly. Funnily, this allows me time to make sure the impending moves are mindful. Then, almost like clockwork, I get on board and head full force into the change even if the details aren’t all worked out. I trust the process while I plan and imagine it to the fullest potential without looking back. I embrace the change!
As I had hoped would happen during my time off, I realized what had been missing from my life and causing me to loose focus with my priorities. I moved my creative pursuits to the bottom of my list. Allowing others’ needs and wants to come before mine was a bad habit I fell back into and it was time for a change. I needed to pay attention and fine tune what filled me up so I could keep moving forward and upward with my life.
I knew I needed to step back and take a good hard look at where I was and make some adjustments to my life and how I lived it. A few things were definitely not in line with what mattered most to me. I created a list of everything and anything that I felt to be important and necessary in my life. Then streamlined the list by summarizing items that can fall into a more broad category coming away with a list of my most basic needs. It will open your eyes to who you really are and where you want to go if you aren’t there yet and nothing is set in stone so it’s OK to be flexible and open when looking at your needs. Just be honest with yourself, that’s the key.
Here are some things I discovered along the way. This is not my basic needs list, but a little insight into some of the thoughts that passed around my journal while making it and how I worked on creating my final list.
- I am happiest when I am creating through words, art, pictures or dance. I must do these often!
- Dancing is part of my DNA.
- I need to downsize and be even more minimalist than I currently live.
- I need to be around like minded people. Open, nonjudgmental and down to earth human beings.
- Continue to remove the noise of negativity in all forms from my life.
- Nature is my muse.
- Discovering new things excites me and is a vital part of my way of life.
- I am perfect just the way I am.
- You are perfect just the way you are.
After plenty of soul searching, I have started to put the wheels in motion to make things happen. I am already part of an amazing group of creative women online and now a local group of creatives here in my town. I need this type of community around me to share and exchange ideas, support and laughter. I have taken art classes and writing workshops and will continue to expand and educate myself. Flexing my journalistic muscle, I will be acting on a chance meeting over the summer after meeting an artist and author who decided to take a hold of his own creativity at 80 years old! He will be my first interview. And some more adjustments with family, life and areas that needed to get back on track.
Another major change will be shutting down TerraSavvy after trying to decided if I could fit my new path into the one I had already set up here online. This place was intended as a resource tool but my needs have changed and the way I want to share has changed too. It became a distraction keeping me from getting into what really made me happiest. Creating things. Posting recipes and talking about the latest in eco-freindly soaps is cool and all but not how I want to spend my time.
I need to create words, pictures, art, and who knows what else I will discover along the way. I want to keep sharing my stories, and others’ and create new ones with an audience and have a community around me for conversations and ideas. It became clear I needed to do this on a new website dedicated to my creative life. A simpler, cleaner site with a focus on writing, art and pictures without advertising, sponsors or too much narrative to distract. Even though distraction serves a purpose, especially in a creative way, no more wasted distractions is a motto I am trying to stick to.
Thank you wholeheartedly, for taking time out of your day to spend it here over the past few years and I hope you will join me once again to share your own stories and creative endeavors over at my new space!
My website is still getting fine tuned, but will be up shortly!
I will make sure to send out the news via Twitter, Facebook and back here as soon as it’s up and running!
Live Well
