Life moves fast. This is not new news. What is surprising is realizing months have gone by and you haven’t spent quality, intentional time with yourself, thus losing your connection to yourself and what helps you thrive. (This is me speaking to me, but if it applies to you- keep reading).
Every so often, when life gets busy or I unintentionally become swept up in a potential connection, I find that I have drifted away from my myself. As soon as I realize that I’ve been distracted from my own self-discovery and growth, I recalibrate and recenter to make time for what makes me feel alive in order to return to myself. A few years ago, I made a list of things that make me feel alive- sunshine, live music, comedy/laughing, learning, and creating being the big hitters.
Above: a note I wrote to myself hanging up in my desert studio
Every month, I’ve started doing just-for-fun challenges for myself where I try something that I’ve been interested in (it could be truly anything- acro yoga, sewing classes, cirque school, it’s all on the table). My curiosity leads me and I just take a step in that direction. Honestly, I never know where I’m going or where it will lead, but I’ve surrendered to trust that it will make sense and I’ll end up where I need to be if I follow what feels good.
One of my May just-for-fun challenges was taking an adult art class. I took myself on a solo artist date to LACMA. That week, it was a collage class led by an artist who has some of their work currently on display in the museum. I walked in to a brightly lit classroom where magazines and scissors lined a group of tables assembled in a large U formation. It was a free-flowing class in that there was no talking- not that it wasn’t allowed, but everyone was focused on precision cuts from old National Geographics. It was a two hour parallel play session between people from late twenties to late sixties all just wanting to wind down and express themselves in a pressure-free way. I absolutely loved it- the space to create, the atmosphere of others also dedicated to doing something for themselves, and a new outlet I haven’t sat down to intentionally explore yet. I would definitely recommend signing up for a class that’s intriguing to you!
Here are the handful of pieces I made during the class:
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