Living Simply - No Beginning or End so Jump Right In

I've been thinking about how each of us can live a more simple and sane life. It isn't easy. We have our reasons why we have to do or buy this, that or the other thing. We are able to explain and justify why, for the time being, we're sticking with the status quo. We assure ourselves that one day, when the credit card is paid off, the kids are grown, or once we get organized, we will embark on our journey to a simple life.

Choosing to live simply isn't an all or nothing venture. There doesn't need to be a starting line because there isn't a finish line. It isn't a race. Most of us are running too many races as it is. We run sprints when someone hits the panic button and marathons the rest of the time. Many of us are so busy multi-marathoning that we are running in circles looking for the darn finish line.

If we accept that there isn't really a finish line to be crossed, maybe we can also accept that we can allow ourselves to change our pace, our goal and our name-brand sneakers. Maybe we can even stop right here, right now in the middle of the track and watch as other runners pass us by. What if we decided to walk the rest of the course?

What if, after having slowed down, we noticed a path leading away from the crowd of runners and chose to follow it just to see where it leads to. Would you feel as though you missed out on something? Or would you feel thankful that you were able to experience something that the sprinters and marathoners missed?

Maybe you're not ready to hang up your running shoes altogether, that's fine. For today you can jog instead of run or walk instead of jog. Here are some ideas that I love to get you off the fast track and choosing a more simple path.

Visit your library - Libraries are quiet. You can borrow books and magazines for free. This is a fun family or couple's outing.  (Its also a great way to temporarily escape a chaotic household.)

Turn off the radio in the car - listen to an audio book during your commute or just enjoy the solitude or better yet - car pool.

Walk the dog - What? You don't have a dog? Visit my favourite animal rescue Eat, Play, Love Animal Rescue they have oodles of puppies and adult dogs looking for a foster home or their forever family.

Bake cookies or cupcakes for a neighbour - Attach a note "Just thinking of you"

Make your own Christmas or birthday cards

Make a simple meal from scratch

Use cloth serviettes rather than paper

Avoid shopping as a form of “entertainment".

Make a "retreat corner" in your home - a chair with a little side table, a candle, a pretty journal.

Read my post On Being


Before you fall asleep each night - think of one thing about the day to be genuinely thankful for.

Small steps that allow us to live more slowly and simply help us to appreciate the individual moments that  make up our lives and  remind us that we don't have to run our lives as a race. 


Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a simply wonderful day,

Sandra

The Farmers' Market - Simple Abundance

Yesterday I visited one of our local farmers' markets with my daughter and grand-daughter.  There is something special about an outdoor farmers' market at the end of the season.  The weather is crisp, the crowds have subsided (especially mid-week) and the colour of the fall produce is rich and vibrant.  Many of the stands will close at the end of October so shopping outdoors for fresh local produce has an "enjoy it while you can" feel-good quality.

If you hurry, you can still squeeze in a visit or two to your local farmers' market.  Buying local, meeting a farmer, enjoying a feast for your eyes as well as for your table.... what a great way to spend an afternoon.

Thank you for stopping by My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a bountiful day,

Sandra



A New Art Gallery Address for My Turquoise Kettle Life

I'm excited about the new address of my on-line Turquoise Kettle Art Gallerytm. Originally it was easy to have the art gallery posted as a page on my blog, I liked the idea of having everything in one location.  However, having a blog space solely dedicated to my paintings allows me to organize them in a more coherent manner.  For example, if  someone wants to see only still life paintings or mixed-media work, the labels on the right hand sidebar facilitate that search.  Similarly choosing "All Paintings" pulls up all the work posted on the Turquoise Kettle Art Gallery tm blog.

At the moment there are only a few of my most recent works posted.   Stop by regularly to see what's new in the gallery, in the meantime, consider this your personal invitation to visit The Turquoise Kettle Art Gallery.

Thank you for your visit.

Have a wonderful day,

Sandra

The Benefit of Painting in Community

In our hectic, fast-paced, consumer-driven society, it's common to feel overwhelmed, isolated and alone. Many are re-discovering the healing and empowering role that community can bring to our lives. The sense of belonging we feel when we make the time to take an active role in our communities can give us a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.
-- Robert Alan

I've recently begun to get together with a small group of painters on Tuesday mornings to paint under the guidance of artist and friend Anne Van Mierlo. Anne was instrumental in encouraging me to pursue painting years ago, so it is wonderful to once again find myself soaking up her enthusiasm, expertise and love of painting.


The room that we have been meeting in is a beautiful light filled space with high ceilings and huge windows overlooking wooded grounds. The bonus is that it is just a ten minute walk from my home.


While I love the solitary aspect of working in my own studio, painting in a group has reminded me of how valuable it is to get feedback, encouragement and often times that "push" beyond my comfort zone. Our morning always includes a time of critique when we explain what we are working on and welcome the input of the group. Finally, there is the benefit of having a scheduled creativity time outside of my home that precludes the temptation of distraction.



Some days my love of figurative work wanders away and I find myself mucking about with abstract. I'm trying not to get too caught up with my style; rather I am just enjoying the process. I'm very happy with how things have been going these last few weeks and have finally taken a few photos of my recent work to post on my Art Gallery page.

Square Pear
20 x 20 Mixed Media on Gallery Canvas

I'm reminded that we are created to be in community no matter what our profession or lifestyle. A pastor once described community as a place where we, like rough stones, have our hard edges made smooth by jostling amongst other rough stones in our community. At its best community helps us to find a sense of belonging, a place to share our burdens and our gifts, where we are encouraged to test our wings without fear of failure and a place where the good that is generated expands beyond the parameters of the group. Whether a group of friends, a volunteer organization a faith community or a professional association we can all benefit from community. Have you found a place of belonging, a community to call your own?

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have an amazing day,

Sandra

A Life of Your Own - Why it matters that you live authentically

I wanted to share with you an excerpt that I read today from Steve Job’s  commencement address  to the Stanford University graduating class of 2005.  He spoke based on his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and encouraged his listeners.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

We are each given our own life and it is a gift.  A gift to use, enjoy and share.  How then does it happen so often that we end up giving away our lives?  Perhaps it is because we have focused on wanting to please our parents, our teachers, our friends, our pastor, our spouse, our boss.  We are so good at knowing how to meet the expectations of others, yet struggle to know what we genuinely want or need for ourselves. 

We give our lives away when we settle for imitating other people.  We throw away our authenticity when we lack a clear picture of who we are and we agree to pursue the goals that other people set for us.  We are dishonest with ourselves when we go along with the demands of the group (or the one) who think their idea of fun/success/urgency should be our idea of fun/success/urgency.  We turn our back on the gift of life when we become involved with immature people who, depending on us for their well being remain emotional infants unwilling to assume responsibility for themselves.  Rather than moving them toward maturity, our good intentions and self-sacrificing actions are poured into their bottomless pit of neediness. We forfeit our lives when we refuse to make time to meet our physical needs, when we ignore the signs that we are running on empty emotionally, and when we resist the stillness and the quiet that allows us to connect spiritually.

Find a place of stillness and quiet

We do all these things because it seems easier.  We postpone having the difficult conversations and delay making the decisions that may offend people or cause them to become angry.  Embarking on a journey to a more authentic life is daunting.  It requires silence and time.  We need to think and to filter out all the noise and rubbish that people want us to believe and buy into.  We need to establish our own true north.  We can begin by asking ourselves a few questions: What kind of person do I want to be?  What is important?  Who do I enjoy being with?  What brings me satisfaction?  What makes me feel peaceful? 

Follow your own path

With a long weekend ahead of us, maybe you can carve out a little “you time” to realign with your authentic self, finding” the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Thank you for stopping by My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a wonderful day,

Sandra

October, Time to Review and Renew

I love the month of October.  While there is no longer any denying that summer is over, the beauty of autumn is now in full swing; apple picking, colourful leaves, pumpkins, Thanksgiving dinner and fires in the wood stove.  I find that there is something deeply satisfying about preparing for winter; taking stock of what we will need to winterize the house, packing away the outdoor furniture, uprooting the droopy annuals from the gardens and raking up heaps of fallen leaves.

I also love that final push to bring to fruition any outstanding plans or goals that are on my list for the year.  While I try to be flexible about goals, realizing that over the course of the year direction and focus can change, I like to take a good hard look at what I set out to do in January and which goals I’d still like to accomplish.

So this morning with an extra large mug of tea in hand, I reviewed my 2011 plans.  These goals are written in a beautiful hardcover journal with gilded pages.  If the goals are important why not give them a suitably impressive place to be recorded?

My theme for the year was “Faith, Focus, Discipline and above all Love”.  I dedicated one page to each of the various areas of my life such as: Fitness and Health, Family, Marriage, Finances, Creativity, etc.  Each page contains a brief list of things I wanted to focus on or accomplish in that category.  Periodically throughout the year I looked at each page as a gentle reminder of what I had hoped to do.  I make notes, cross things out, check things off so that I can keep track of my direction and progress.  I also keep one page for each month to record important things that have happened, achievements and failures.  I have used this system of goal setting and accountability for many years and find that is works well.

How am I doing?  There are areas that I am satisfied with and other areas that are less impressive.  The encouraging thing is that I have nearly three full months left to finish up projects, cross others off the list or take small steps to get goals I've procrastinated on started.   

One of the projects that I am trying to complete is the mosaic table that I began back in July.  I’d like to be able to use the table indoors during the winter for playing Scrabble or having dinner in front of the fire.  Because mosaic work is messy I want to finish the table outside on the verandah rather than indoors.  I’m also certain now that I do not have enough tiles to complete it and will need to find tiles of equal thickness to finish the project. 

Mosaic Table in Progress

All in all I feel a sense of excitement about what is ahead.  I know that some things will be carried forward to next year, but with a couple of baby sized steps each week I'm hoping to realize a few more goals this year that are  expressions of faith, focus, discipline and above all, love.

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today,

May your day be filled with love,

Sandra