We are doing the 30 day journaling + meditation invitation for the month of August. An explanation of this project is here. I'll be posting an update here every day (M-F) for the month of August and I'm also doing short videos on Instagram to share things I am learning along the way.\
And check out the new Creative Dream Incubator RedBubble shop! THE MOST encouraging notebooks, zipper pouches, mugs, magnets, stickers + art prints.
Look around your life. Is anything changing?
Are you starting to feel differently about anything? Are you starting to ACT different in any part of your life?
I started my commitment to "slow the fuck down" in July. For most of July I found this extremely challenging, for a lot of different reasons.
This month it's a lot easier and I am noticing something really interesting.
I am working on a project (the Year of Dreams 2023).
Usually I would:
- break everything own into small steps - to help me not feel overwhelmed or worried I will lose things
- each week try to do AS MANY steps as possible - basically race to the finish
It never FELT like a race, it FELT like being excited to get the project done.
BUT... after 6 weeks of deliberately slowing down, looking back to that, it FEELS like a race.
What I do now is just pick a few things to do each week, in terms of the more administrative details. Plus make time to play with the creative part of it every week. Let my actual energy levels and creative flow guide the timeline.
It's definitely taking more time than I had wanted it to, but I am actually really happy about how I FEEL while working on it, and I am happy with how the project is evolving differently, with more time.
The other thing I am noticing: creative capacity issues.
Pre-pandemic, I was always looking for ways to increase and nurture my creative capacity and this work FELT nurturing.
During the pandemic, 2020 and 2021, I was dismayed by how small my capacity became. I felt like I wasn't resilient enough.
2022 I am ACCEPTING my capacity is what it is.
For the summer, with this commitment to slow down, I've stayed away from the edges of my capacity.
Which, as I've said so many times, is soooo uncomfortable for me.
But 6 weeks in I am getting the hang of it.
And I am noticing this beautiful thing: my capacity is changing.
By not pushing it to the limits every day, it's... I don't know, healing? It has space to breathe? It's happier?
My creativity feels deeper and more playful.
As I've been working on the Year of Dreams - new ideas are coming in. It's like there is more space for my ideas to grow and evolve.
I am just loving this.
