Welcome to Tuesdays with Chel.
Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is in the seed.
-Muriel Rukeyser
I just wrapped up my first intensive painting class, which I devoted all of the month of October towards.
The painting class itself was a deep source of nourishment for my creative soul, and I have no intention of letting up on my new creative commitment now that it’s over. The class showed me that creativity wasn’t just something that should happen if and only if there was time for it after “everything else” got done, but something that is a necessary part of my daily schedule and a non-negotiable.
But a few things went by the wayside in the last few weeks – things that nourish me, that fill my soul, and that ground me.
For example- I haven’t picked up a (non-art) book in over a month. I have a little stack of unread magazines that are growing higher each week as the mail arrives, in fact- I haven’t opened much of the mail at all. My crochet was mindless- too busy to make conscious choices about yarn colors and stitch I basically crocheted the same scarf four times only to pull it all out and start over again each time I finished it. My cup of afternoon tea remained untouched on most days. I haven’t meditated in months.
It’s time to dip my toes back into daily life, into life outside of the classroom and canvas. I’d like to reclaim some nourishing habits and thoughtfully add them back to my daily life, a little at a time. November is always a good time for this. It’s the calm before the holidays, and the changes that come with daylight savings make it a little easier to wrap things up a little earlier in the day.
I want to give myself time to curl up with a good book. Sip my cup of afternoon tea. I want to journal more. I want to take time to go outside in the evenings and watch the sun set. I want to find a grounding/meditative practice that I can engage in every day. I want to plan the holidays a little bit at a time so the next few weeks feels full of happy anticipation and not stress-ball city. I want to continue making art every day and continue the education and exploring that goes with it.
As November begins, I am deciding to claim it as a time for nourishment. I’m trying to be mindful about everything I choose to engage in. Some things can’t be avoided, of course, but the way I approach them can be done with care and thoughtfulness.
Chel Micheline is a mixed-media artist, curator, writer, and avid gardener/reader/swimmer who lives in Southwest Florida with her husband and daughter. When Chel’s not making art or pondering the Bliss Habits, she’s blogging at gingerblue.com (come say hi!) or posting new things in the gingerblue etsy shop.
I spend so much time online with blogging and business but I find satisfaction there. A good movie or selective TV shows are my way of relaxing although it often takes me 3 sessions to watch a full movie because I fall asleep. Spending some time tending my garden is a necessarily regular but enjoyable way for me to clear my mind.
I too have a growing pile of magazines but apart from my National Geographic most are best for browsing rather than reading. I know I have something to look forward to when I make time to look at the mags. Books I tend to save for holidays away from home as I normally read so much online. Chocolate and cakes are a very special treat for me, since being diagnosed with diabetes, and much more satisfying than when they were a regulated but regular part of life. I never keep them in the house but go out to a cafe about once a month and indulge in coffee and cake.
Although daily nourishing activities are important so are these kinds of saved up treats.
Loved reading this comment! I find it fascinating to know what nourishes others. Thanks so much for sharing this. I love gardening, too. I do it daily because I sort of have to, but it’s become an essential part of my emotional well being.
Lovely post. Just one of the things I love about working at home is that I am able to take mini breaks during the day – read for half an hour, take a walk with my dog, etc. I’m an early riser and am normally up hours before sunrise so one of my favorite things is to have my first cup of coffee out on the deck enjoying the cool early morning hours and last bit of the moon. Wonderful theme!
Thank you! I’d love to expand this into 2014. Make it a year of creativity and nourishment for the soul. I’d love to look back on a year from now and see that I’ve managed to do that!