I have had a lot on my mind during this the first month of 2012. One thing I have been thinking about is simplifying. I am ready to make some changes. Isn’t leaving a simpler life a hugs aspect of what art and creativity are all about? Artists are those who stop facing the grind of life and experience the emotions and watch and see what the rest of the world is too busy to see.
I already live a pretty simple life, there is no cell phone reception where I live and I am two hours away from any kind of shopping experience. The things that I am wanting to move away from are Facebook, and Instagram, and other such nuanced forms of self expression. I am tired of watered down friendships and shallow relationships. If you wish to take the pledge here is the blog I found it on read through Sonya’s call to simplify your life. Here is the pledge and I will outline the ways I am implementing it in my own life. I believe simplifying my life will allow me to be more creative, not less. Purchasing less will inspire me to make more. If you wish to make February a simpler month post a comment here to let me know!
I pledge to live a simple life through:
– decluttering;
Yes please! One of the negatives to being a creative person is I see the good in everything…what it can be used for. What other purpose it can hold. Sometimes these things pay off. I used an empty bottle my father in law gave me to make my new soap pump. When I don’t find a way to re-use items they sit on my shelves cluttering up my home. I am going to give up on a few things and give someone else a chance of finding a way to use them.
This bottle fit perfectly with the pump from an old lotion bottle. The result is fantastic and exactly what I needed to hold my dish soap. I try to be creative in every aspect of my life even those I don’t enjoy like dish doing.
– using less;
I have been wanting to simplify and use less I haven’t figured out what to use less of. I have been wanting to drink a bit less coffee. I have been drinking tea instead. This also allows me to use my beautiful tea cups that I purchased when I was studying in St. Petersburg Russia. I am enjoying the addition of tea drinking to my day. It is good to limit my coffee consumption. As a mother of twins and an older child I hold onto what little comforts and caffeine I can get.
This tea cup is from the set I purchased while studying abroad. The design is called “Moonlight” and is breathtaking. I love anything hand made and these cups are painted by hand.
– learning to be sustainable in all aspects of life;
This is a difficult one for me. I don’t use a lot of toxic things in my life but there is no way to recycle where I live. Any creative ideas are appreciated. At the moment all my mind can come up with is getting my kids potty trained (use less diapers) and use fewer ziplock bags.
Create gifts…don’t buy them. Use what you have around you to make something personalized. Instead of buying a baby hat…make one.
– slowing down and finding joy in little things;
For me this requires less time working during the day and more time spent with my kids. It is easy to get wrapped up in my own creative pursuits. My kids miss out when I get distracted during the day. I have already been trying to spend intentional time with them. Drawing, playing with play-dough and building train tracks. Basically, I try to be creative and fufill my need to express myself while spending time with my kids.
It is so rewarding to see their beautiful happy faces when they have time with me. So I am going to be more intentional and have them watch little to NO movies or television during the day.
– reconnecting with my inner self;
For me this means spending more time in scripture. I want to know more about who I am in Christ…who I am without him…well lets just say I know that person well enough already.
– spending more time with my loved ones;
Whoops! I already covered that one! Ok, more time with my Love, my husband. Last night we planned on watching a movie together and instead we spent the evening talking…how wonderful is that! I want to be more intentional about my time with Chester. He is my best friend and sometimes I forget that and get lost in the other aspects of life.
This is one of the images my husband and I had taken recently. There were quite a few that I liked but this one, and felt fit this aspect of the pledge the best. Spend more time together!
Another way of doing this is through hand written letter. I am trying to do more of this. I usually draw images to add a little more personality to my letters.
– elevating experiences above possessions.
Get outside! It is snowing, cold, wet and glorious. I am going to get myself and my children outside. Even if the result is my children crying because their hands are cold. No reason to avoid being outside simply because I don’t want to deal with the aftermath of being in the snow.
Also buy less…I don’t buy much but I will endeavor to buy less and focus on things that bring experience with them.
Read more…
I hope this post has been thought provoking. I will post more relating to this as February rolls around. Go out and live life, create something beautiful!
