Friday’s are my self-care days. I don’t schedule meetings or calls. I take quiet time to just be. To unplug. To not feel obligated to do anything. It may not be for the entire day, but even just having a few hours of white space helps me recharge from the week. When I don’t gift myself with this weekly mini-retreat, I get cranky and resentful. But when I allow myself to indulge in some breathing space, I can relax, enjoy, and even get inspired!
Today I treated myself to a much needed mani and pedi. Feels good to be able to wear sandals and flip flops proudly again! I also enjoyed a lovely walk in the sun with my dog.
Here’s my cute pooch Emmett hanging out in the front yard with me. Oh, he’s such a sweetie. Cuddles with Emmett are also a good part of self-care Fridays!
How do you practice self-care? What’s different for you when you enjoy breathing space?
P.S. – I had the pleasure of being interviewed on a few podcasts recently. If you’re wanting some creative inspiration, take a listen:
“I don’t know where to start.”
“I feel overwhelmed.”
“Nothing seems to fit together anymore.”
“What’s this all for anyway?”
“Umm… no really, WTF am I doing?!”
Ahhhh, the all-too-familiar (and at times paralyzing) signs of being at the start of something new.
I’m having to retrain myself to be with and move through this amorphous inception phase again. After months of wearing “book” blinders while I focused intently on one specific goal, now I can finally set my sights on the many other creative projects I’ve been dying to get to.
But why has it felt so hard? Why have I been resisting and avoiding? Oh, yeah, it’s because I have no idea what I’m doing! How could I? I’m just getting started. The only way to know more is to do more. To take more steps forward, dabble, and play until a picture starts to take shape.
So, I sat myself outside for a couple of hours, opened up a my laptop, and just started typing notes to myself. And I finally started to gain some momentum. Sure, I’m still overwhelmed by all the things I want to do and how I’m going to do it. But, I’m not feeling stuck anymore.
The cool thing about chaos and the unknown at the start of a creative project is that really anything can happen! (Well, anything can always happen in the creative process), but somehow it feels especially juicy at the beginning. Now I hear myself saying:
“I wonder what could happen next?”
“Yahoo! I get to do it any way I want to!”
“Anything is possible! Rock on!”
My pal Mindy Tsonas just unveiled her newly redesigned wishstudio, a gorgeous online space brimming with creative inspiration.
I’m blown away by this beautiful virtual community space that Mindy has created. It’s an inviting place where creative souls can gather and where wishes grow wings. Lovely! In addition to the wishstudio blog (where I’ve been a contributor for the past couple of years), there are now online workshops (I can’t wait for the wishfull*retreat happening at the end of the month), discussion boards, an inspiration lounge, and lots of other yummy goodies. Please stop on by and check it out!
The wishstudio is also featured in the spring 2010 issue of Artful Blogging. It was the perfect thing to snuggle up with while I nursed my cold last week. I loved reading about how the wishstudio got started and Mindy’s dreams for where it’s heading in the future. Here’s to wishes coming true!
The fabulous wishstudio hostess, Mindy Tsonas, has dreamed up a yummy event full of art, connection, and inspiration. The first ever wish*full virtual art retreat takes place April 30th-May 2nd. Join like-minded souls from around the world for a refreshing, creative weekend, all from the comfort of your own home!
Online workshops will be led by fourteen artists/teachers including: Kimberly Wilson, Christine Mason Miller, Leah Piken Kolidas, Susannah Conway, Hope Wallace, and me. Course descriptions are now up and early registration is open. Would love to see you there!
In the fall, Lisa Sonora Beam, Kimberly Wilson, Britt Bravo, and I asked you to tell us what your ideal creative women entrepreneur gathering would look like by completing a survey. We were thrilled that 300+ of you shared your ideas with us! Thank you!
Here are some highlights of what you said:
- Your preferred formats would be a retreat, or an online event
- You are in the beginning stages of starting your businesses
- You would like both early stage and established entrepreneurs to be a part of the gathering
- You want to clarify your vision, network, and learn hard skills (i.e. social media, finance, licensing)
Based on your input, we’re thinking about holding an in-person retreat and an online event in Fall 2010. We’ll keep you posted as things evolve. In the meantime, if you have favorite retreat locations you’d like to recommend, let us know! We’re continuing to vision and plan a fabulous experience for you and we can’t wait to connect with all of you vibrant and inspiring creative women entrepreneurs.
And congratulations to the winners of our raffle (you should each have been notified already via e-mail by your awardee):
