One Balanced Life

     
Last week I started a watercolor class as I entered the room it felt almost surreal…the smells, the space, the art debris littering the counters. It was if I was transported back two decades…Mr. Adams art room. Probably in an attempt to keep me out of trouble Mr. Adams offered me a job cleaning up the art room after school a couple of nights a week. I would rinse out brushes and clean up the pottery wheels and tools. And oh how I loved those quiet afternoons (if he talked at all it was in the form of a mumble and mostly to himself)…the ritual of the running water and stacking everything. They brought me peace and a sense of calm(and it sorta kept me out of trouble).

As I sat last week listening to my very serious German art instructor I smiled to myself. It felt like coming home. That is what happens when we return to the things we love doing. To the things that bring us energy. It is what happens when we return to places that feed us. Granted I can’t return to Mr. Adams room but I can pick up my brushes, create a space of my own, and create rituals…like I did back then as I cleaned up the art room.

Reflect on the things that bring you energy…running, writing, meditating, shopping, whatever. Think about the places that feed you…perhaps a place from the past, a space outdoors, or even the mall. Find sometime this week to return to something you love doing or to a space you feel a sense of peace. When you do this create a ritual for yourself that honors the time you are taking for you.

On my art desk sits a wooden box, given to me by an artist friend of my mother’s when I graduated. My ritual involves opening it before I write, meditate, or create. Tucked inside is a note and a ceramic jar in the shape of heart which is inside a beautiful cloth bag tied with a string with bells. I love it.  It is my inspiration and has been for over 20 years. The note reads…

“When I was your age, I was free, boundless, energetic and creatively in love with life. I was a productive artist. I am still full of expression. But my hands cannot put the visions onto paper. In you I see so much strength and lovely uniqueness  – I can not beg you enough to direct your energies – to create, to contribute to our mother planet – before you are old like me. (note: I have started to laugh at this part as I am probably her age now and better get going). Time is a blessing. In this box is an oil that is mixed by me…Somalian Rose from an African friend, Patchouli from a Mpls. Friend, a meditation oil from a Rasta friend in Jamaica. The combo is a statement of inner peace. It represents the values written on the bottle. Do not wear. Keep in tact – in the box. When you are alone…thinking, meditating, deciding, or creating – take it out. Use the aroma to bring you the peace and inner strength that it brings to me. The smell will grow on you. It is beauty. It can transform sorrow & pain – because beauty is the language of the heart.”

This morning I opened the box and closed my eyes. The smell of the oil still fills the room, as it did two decades ago. I like to think it is a bit magical as the smell hasn’t faded a bit. As I take in the scent I find myself feeling the beauty of the day. Today I slipped the heart out of the bag to see if the words were still there…faded and smudged they read…Unity, Harmony, Joy, Peace, Love, Overstanding. Ahhh inspiration.

May your day be filled with all of them.

Happy Inspired Monday!