Jan 19, 2020

The Art of Living

In the beginning...

Sometime back in February 2019, on a day I called 'boredom,' I was continuing my spring cleaning and found an envelope containing words and letters cut out from various magazines. Apparently, I had this envelop for years because it was old, tattered and crusty. Anyways, the cleaning stopped (sometimes I have the attention span of a 2 year old) and my new interest was suddenly to make something with my new found treasure. Well if it looked that old and crusty it must have been treasure, just saying. So, I got to 'pinterest-ing.'

Well look-a-here, would you believe I had a few pins saved on how to create 'Word Art?' Ha! I don't think a 2 year old was as excited as me...yes I do get excited about some very simple things. Life folks. Sometimes it's the simple things in life that makes us happiest. Anyway, I digress. So I gathered all the tools required including an old picture frame I had (which I also spray painted) and got to work. Sometimes you are lead to do things and you just never know why. Now some of that 'why' came to light. Firstly, I had cut out and kept these words and letters because someday I was suppose to create a word art that I would someday write about in my blog (that I'd someday have) and display on the wall in my home office - as an inspiration that helped to piece together some of the puzzles of my life at the time I was doing it. See. There is a reason for everything under the sun.

The Art of Living ...

I stood staring at my piece of word art hanging on my wall and the words 'The Art of Living' jumped out at me. I stared at it for while and thought, 'what does the art of living mean, how do I want to craft my life of living?'. Yup, my thoughts began to run wide, because that is what one does at 11:45pm, November 2019, with a cup of tea in hand and work the next morning. But while staring 5 more of those word pieces popped out at me. Simple Abundance👉Beyond the Ordinary👉Live the Life you Love👉Thinking Ahead👉All Is not Lost. I wrote them down and said someday I will get back to it.

Fast forward to January 18, 2020, 11:45pm, AGAIN, and here I am, compelled to share what these 6 word phrases meant to me then and more so now.

The Art of Living: It took me a while to figure out what this meant, for me, to me, about me. And it's pretty simple actually. Do the things that sets your soul of fire; in your relationships, at work, with family and friends and most importantly, in YOU. Live a little. Love a lot. Laugh nuff. Volunteer. Mentor. Give back. Rest. Relax. Have fun. Meditate. Be happy. Be grateful in and for all things (Gratitude is a muss). 'What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven't even happened yet.' ~ Anne Frank. That's my Art of Living for 2020 and beyond. What's yours?
Simple Abundance: If you've read my Women Over 40 Series then you'd have an idea of how simple I want my life and surroundings to be. I've found that the older I get the less complicated I want my life to be and the more grateful I am for everything. 'Gratitude turns what we have into enough.'~Anonymus. Simplicity and Gratitude.
Beyond the Ordinary: For me this meant doing things I have never done before, pushing myself beyond what I believed I was capable of. In 2019, while resting out my redundancy, that meant believing in myself and my capabilities beyond what I thought possible. It meant pushing my own buttons, and fully accepting that not everybody will like my point of view. It meant learning that I have so much more to give in this world, if only I allow myself to be open to the thought and the process. Thank God for friends and family who believe in me more than I believe in myself at times.
Live the Life you Love: Dedicate yourself to your own personal growth and well being. Do the things that make you happiest, irrespective of what others might think. Sometimes it is hard to do this when you are so use to doing everything for everyone else and 'pleasing' everyone else. Stop and think for a bit, sometimes you have to realize that saying no, is a complete sentence and that it is ok to do you.
Thinking Ahead: As much as I agree with the statement that you should live in the moment, I also believe you need to think ahead. What do you want for your life; emotionally, physically, spiritually, financially and any other 'ally' you can think about. It does help to make your life a bit easier, especially when the unforeseen happens.
All Is Not Lost: Oh GOSH! I remember when I was pasting this one, I was 5 months into my redundancy, 20 applications and only 2 interviews that didn't materialize. It was heart-wrenching because at that time, I began to question every decision I had ever made in my life and I did lot of 'what if's.' People if you are currently doing a 'what if' right now...STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT. It will kill you. Learn to live in the here and now and make the best of it. What if's can't help you, they only make you miserable and sick. Right after pasting those words, the next ones were: creating, new, passion, renewed, inspiration. And out of that was born my website and blog and my instagram page. That formed a part of my 'Beyond the Ordinary.