Inspiration for a joyful and creative life

©Sally Evans Sunlight Through the Leaves

Each year I like to pick a theme for the year.  It helps me to focus on what I want and how I want to live.

I’ve been working on getting my life less complicated, less cluttered, and moving more toward spending my time in a way that feels fulfilling and enjoyable.

One of my big changes last year was to spend more time creating.  I am definitely moving in the right direction!

In order to spend more time enjoying making jewelry, art, projects for our home, and inspiring others to create, I have continued to work on ways to keep things more organizing.

My sister and I have been working together and experimenting with creating systems for work and home that simplify and make day to day tasks easier.

I look forward to tweaking and playing with that even more because I am really seeing a difference.

We both realized how creating limits has given us more freedom.

Examples of that include the number of projects I am working on at one time.

And while that may sound simple to some of you, believe me that has been a work in progress!

I just wrote a post about having a Fresh Start on my jewelry and art site.

I wanted to start the year but clearing my creative spaces which include my studio, the sewing room, and my office.  I include my office because that is where I write and it helps to not be surrounded by piles of things to do.

The idea is to continue to make choices that feel good and that allow me to simplify the day to day tasks and make things easy to maintain.

That allows me to enjoy having freedom to do more of what I want, whether that is to create jewelry, art, make a flower arrangement, play with my family and friends, or make some beautiful pillows for our bed.

And the most important part is practicing being in the moment and enjoying it, no matter what I am doing.

I think it is going to be a great year!

What is your theme for the year?  What do you want to practice?

I had the most delightful day yesterday.  There wasn’t a big event.  There wasn’t even a special occasion.

It was an ordinary day that brought me so much pleasure.

I got up early to work on my drawing and went to my Colored Pencil class at the Botanic Gardens.

We are working on this fun drawing with 4 different vegetables in small squares.  I’ll post pictures of it when it’s finished.  It is taking me hours to layer each color to get the depth and richness but I get lost in the process and time goes by so quickly.

After my class, I strolled through the gardens looking for a shady spot to eat my lunch.

Everywhere I looked, I encountered something that beckoned me to photograph it.

Since I’ve been working on drawing lately, I am noticing even more details than usual; the variance of color, wonderful textures and shapes.

I kept finding inspiring things to photograph, even as I left the gardens.

On my way to run errands, I decided to stop at one of my favorite flower and gift shops, Happy Canyon Flowers, just to see their beautiful displays.  I wasn’t disappointed.

I needed a few groceries and went to Whole Foods.  I wanted to pick up a couple more “specimens” to draw for my project and got a whole new appreciation for picking out fruits and vegetables!

Instead of enjoying just the idea of eating the produce, I was looking at it in terms of drawing them.  I carefully selected things based on their beautiful color and form, quirky little stems, etc.

As I continued with a couple more errands, I found myself appreciating everything and smiling.

My last stop was the library to return a book and pick up my next read for book group.  I decided to check out their drawing section.

They didn’t have a great selection of drawing books but instead I found a stack of really cool books on metal projects.  I couldn’t help myself and checked out a big stack of books to take home and peruse.

So, while this may have been an ordinary day, I found myself filled with inspiration at every turn.  I felt a great sense of satisfaction and gratitude.

That is what brought me such delight.

What little things or experiences can you bring to your day that would bring you that sense of joy?

The other day I was having a conversation with my friend and she said she was afraid of doing something because she didn’t want to be disappointed again.

The only way to avoid disappointment is if you don’t have specific expectations.

Even in unimportant matters when you have an expectation and things turn out differently, you can be disappointed.

If someone tells you that they just saw the funniest movie, and you have to see it because you will just love it, that is what you will expect.  Even if it is a good movie that you would have liked otherwise, when you don’t love it, your expectations won’t be met.

Does that mean you should lower your expectations?

I don’t think that getting in a habit of having no or low expectations is a good idea.  However, it is worth practicing letting go of specific expectations.

This is a bit tricky and that is why I use the word practice.

There is a balance of having hope and visualizing that things turn out well without getting attached to things turning out a specific way.

Letting Go of Specific Expectations

The other day, my husband took our son and me out on a hike overlooking the Indian Peaks mountain range.  He has been saying that it was one of the most beautiful hikes he’s been on ever since he went on a company outing there a few years ago.  He has repeatedly told us how much we would love it.

The starting point of the hike is a 2 hour drive and in order to park anywhere near the trail you have to get there early.

He got us up at 5:30am on a Saturday morning.  I am not a big fan of getting up early or having to skip my morning coffee routine, which is a long, leisurely ritual.

We drove to the recreation area and found that the gates for the road were closed for the season.  It is at 10,000 feet elevation and they don’t open until June 30^th when they hope the snow has melted.

I was rolling my eyes thinking I could have been snug in my bed dreaming of a café latte.

Instead, we walked along the road that circled two small lakes since the hiking trails were still covered in a thick blanket of snow.

It was a beautiful, perfect day.  Not too hot, not cold, just right.  The mountain peaks were iced with snow set against the pristine blue sky.  It looked like the Swiss Alps.

It wasn’t the plan or what we expected but it turned out to be a great day.

What about the Big Stuff?

That was a small example of something that might happen on a day to day basis.  But what about the bigger stuff like getting a new job, relationships, moving, starting a business, or choosing what you want to do with the rest of your life?

That is when you consider what matters to you and make your decisions based on who you are and what you want now.  Not what happened in the past or what might happen in the future.

You can start moving toward the direction and the outcome that you want, while being hopeful and trying to let go of specific expectations.

The specific details of your goals, dreams, and desires might change as you are in the process of creating what you want.

What if it turns out better than you thought it could?

What if it looks different than you expected but is just as good?

What If you are Disappointed Again?

Once again, your disappointment will be because you thought it should turn out a certain way and it didn’t.

If you were painting a picture and decided it wasn’t what you wanted yet, you could continue to make changes to it until it reflected your vision.

Or you could begin a new canvas using the knowledge and experience you gained to get the result you want.

Another option is that you could choose to create something different than your original vision.  Your vision changes and evolves as you continue in the process.  It could be better than what you started out to create.

The same things hold true to creating what you want in your life.  And the only way to is to begin the process.