Sitting

11 Dec Sitting

I’ve been finding the nicest emails in my inbox lately, from people who have bought paintings and then are kind enough to send me a note telling me why.  Such nice things to find.  Always puts a huge smile on my face.

Last week I was having a very unproductive spell at my desk, and unproductive at a time when I needed to be especially productive so that didn’t feel so great.  It was a cold sunny day so I left to clear my head for a bit. I’m trying to really get that this is a better strategy than staying stuck and wasting an afternoon, neither getting my work done nor doing anything that fills me up and leads me back to getting it done.

I made a me me me drive to Horseshoe Bay for that blessed elixir called chai.  A decadent trip but one that turned into a, “well I actually need gas too, and we need groceries while I’m out, and I should do that banking…”  Before I trudged into that other stuff and then back to my desk I decided to sit down with my chai and get out my journal.  I love my journal but our relationship is changing.  My journals from over the years are soggy with angsty thoughts and worries and vents, along with lots and lots of joy-filled writing as I figured things out, or appreciated things and people around me, or just faked it! An intense relationship for sure!  A little needy.  We’ve both decided, my present journal and I, to lighten up a little.  Enjoy the ride and maybe try not to think about it all quiiiiite so much.  All right, that’s a bit ambitious.  How about not invest in it so much that I have to sit and write about it all so much?  So now, while it still comes with me everywhere, my journal waves from my bag quite a lot, and I wave back and we say, ‘how about that weather huh?” and go on about our business.  Sometimes when I pull it out I make a list, or a sketch, or just let my thoughts wander and write about the day.  Just peaceful doodles. A way to sit and breathe and chill a little in the middle of a busy life.

So last week when I was carrying my chai and feeling a bit flat I decided to sit for a few minutes.  And in sitting looking out on the cold harbour I wondered where my crows were in the freezing temperatures, and then, for heavens sake what were the hummingbirds doing? Tiny little things. These wandering thoughts made me get my journal out and I did a peaceful little sketch of cold hummingbirds, snuggling together.   

And then my phone buzzed and there was a text from Laura of Lalli Loves It telling me that she had sold a bunch of paintings.  Fun!  The painting above was one, and it makes me grin that it sold before I had posted it here.  Instant energy booster, getting a text like that.

So I high-fived my journal, thanked it for its time, did my errands, and wandered back to my desk with a bit more energy.  And on the weekend I filled the couch with source pages, lit a fire, smiled at a cat snoring softly nearby, and painted my little heart out.