Tag: soul nourishment

life challenges and changes…

As winter begins here in the hemisphere where I live, my little household has been dealing with health challenges that have forced us to slow down… but these challenges have also brought reminders of blessings, and support (seen and unseen), and priorities, and creative solutions.

As I recover from an illness at the same time my husband recovers from surgery, we’re taking this time to rest, to be together, to be grateful for what we have, and to think about our next steps.

Before I got sick in November, I had been working regularly on fiction – and I’ll be back to that very soon.

Fiction writing has been a through-line in my life for as long as I’ve been able to form letters into words. There have been some bumps in the road resulting in times not writing, but over and over I continue to get reminders that it’s one of my purposes in this life… And I’m looking forward to getting back to work on my current project.

And although I haven’t felt up to writing during this time of my own sickness and my husband’s health issues and surgery, I did make it to canvas a few times. Only for short spurts now and then, but even that much helps me stay connected to creativity and the painting flow.

This has been a time of taking it easy. Resting. Replenishing. Nourishing body and soul and spirit.

It has been a time of finding creative solutions to deal with limitations of sickness and surgery… but we’re doing it.

It has been a time of connecting even more strongly to my spiritual faith, trust, and knowing all will be well (no matter what).

It has been a time of love – love between me and my husband, love given and received to family and friends, reconnecting with people, and our cute Chloe bringing her usual joy and loving presence into our household.

And it has been a time of becoming more clear about how I’m being guided to live and spend my time, what I’m being guided to do, and what I’m being guided to let go of.

This feels like the right time for these shifts… I became another year older last weekend, the wheel of the year has just made another turn with the Solstice and we’re about to shift into days lengthening but in winter’s grip for a few months, and one year is about to end and another begin.

One thing I’m letting go of is doing work as Subtle Harmony.

Since 2010, my Subtle Harmony shop has been on Etsy with my crafts, creations, and offerings, and then a couple of years later it expanded to be my own Subtle Harmony website in addition to my Etsy shop.

But it’s time to let go of doing my work under that name, and it’s time to let go of doing certain work completely. Whether some of what I once did with Subtle Harmony will return one day… I honestly don’t know the answer to that right now. Even if it does, it won’t be with that name.

What I do know right now is that I’m being guided to focus on writing, especially fiction.

I’m being guided to continue to create – and at some point I may offer those creations again, just not with the Subtle Harmony name.

And I’m being guided to continue to focus on self care, soul nourishment, connection to joy, and living true.

What I do might look a bit different now…

But it feels very right.

♥

you will have created something…

 

 

Creativity matters. Making art matters.

It doesn’t matter if you think it’s any good or not. It doesn’t matter if you make money at it or not. It doesn’t matter if it’s something big or something small.
It’s part of soul-nourishment and self-care.

It’s part of living a fulfilling life and connecting to your inner self.

“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”   ~Kurt Vonnegut
 

Create something. Anything.

Do it for your soul.

♥

 

what self care REALLY is…

 

A while back – maybe earlier this year, maybe before that – I started to notice is that there seems to be some confusion about what self care really is.

Self care includes any intentional actions you take to care for your physical, mental and emotional health.

It’s as simple as that, which means it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, and it doesn’t have to look a certain way.

(The paragraph above that’s in bold is a definition I came across in a pdf put out by the Student Affairs department at the University of Kentucky.)

Self-care will vary from person to person – and for any one person, it will be different at different times.

Self care can mean being mindful of your diet, getting some exercise, getting enough sleep. It can be going to a meet-up on a favorite topic or spending time at a church service.
It can be cuddling with a special person or pet, listening to music, taking a long hot shower, relaxing in a candle-lit room, dancing for a few minutes in your kitchen, going to a spa, painting your nails, getting your hands dirty in the soil.
It can be sitting on a beach, or under a tree, or on the floor of your bedroom as you read a book or color a mandala.

The list is endless. It can be any or all of those things – and so much more.

And some things for self care involve money…

But there are so many self-care practices and activities that do not.

Self-care is caring for YOU. It’s doing something that tends to you and what you need (on any/all levels – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually).

And there’s no shame involved in caring for and tending to yourself.

No one can give from an empty well, no one can run on fumes, no one can be a constant light without burning out.

Self care doesn’t have to be hard.

It doesn’t have to be luxurious.

It doesn’t have to take loads of time.

Self care can be as simple as pausing throughout your day, relaxing your shoulders, and taking a few breaths.

Self care is anything that involves “any intentional actions you take to care for your physical, mental and emotional health.”

That’s what self care really is.