Saturday, April 30, 2011

Yippee!!!!

What is joy?  As I drove to work the other day I saw it.  At least it was joy for the dog in the back of the SUV with his head hanging out and ears flapping in the wind.  That dog was experiencing pure, simple joy.  That sight got me to thinking about what joy is for me.   I have come up with a small list of things that are pure, simple joy for me that I would like to share.  Maybe some of them will work for you too.  Hugs, fresh baked cookies, a good laugh, petting an animal, sharing, making something with my own two hands, love of any kind between anyone.  There are probably many other things I could put in my list, but this is a good start.  Well today I have to admit that I had a wonderful moment of joy that is topping my list today.  I made my first sale on my Etsy website.  That is a great feeling.  I am experiencing the joy of moving forward in my life and nothing could be more satisfying since my life has been in constant transition for the last 18 months.  Yippee!!!!  So what gives you joy?  I would love to hear.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

How much is too much? And how much is not enough?


Tell me if this sound familiar to you.  Have you ever noticed that when you are making things, like jewelry, you are conservative in using beads and crystals and just the stuff in general needed to make whatever it is that you are making.  Maybe it’s just me, but I am always afraid to use my stuff because what if I want to use it later for something else.  Maybe I’m just crazy, but this seems to be a battle I have every time I sit down to make jewelry, or bake cookies, or make any sort of thing.  Let me just say, I have to have an ample supply of whatever it is I need to create to feel like I can create, so I always seem to have extra of most things on hand and then I am afraid to use it because I might want to use it later.  This does lead to storage and space issues which I am always battling.  So I have come up with a new resolution.  I HAVE TO USE WHAT I HAVE.  I understand, intellectually anyway, that there is more out there to be gotten and that because I run out of something doesn't mean that I can't get it again.  I guess I just don't seem to craft and create from a very intellectual place.  While in some ways this is probably good since creation is an emotional process, that emotionality might be better served tempered with some intellectuality.  Thus my new rule.  We will see how this goes.  I will keep you posted.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Life Cycles

One day I realized that my life goes in 10 year cycles and that every 10 years I experience a shakeup in my life.  And I am not talking about a little shakeup, I am talking a Japan sized quake.  Everything changes and you are left with what feels like rock and ruin.  But somewhere out of that comes opportunity and rebirth.  In the last year of my life this happened to me again.  It seems that with the beginning of each new decade I must restart my life.  So here I am restarting again.  I have decided to follow my heart and pursue some dreams that I put off for practical reasons.  Really when it seems that everything is falling apart anyway, who cares if something is practical or not.  To bring you up to speed, I lost my job, went back to school to learn to be a veterinary assistant, I have always wanted to work with animals, and am starting my own internet business selling my homemade goods.  If it sounds like a lot, well it is.  But I have not been this excited or motivated in a long time.  I am truly excited to see what this new cycle brings and I know it will be amazing, because the good news about the 10 year cycles of my life are that each one gets better, more exciting and more successful.  So bring it on universe, show me what you got.