breathe

In part of  a comment I left for Quinn Macdonald recently on her post about time, I said - 

 "I think thoughtfulness (actually being in this moment) and simplicity are aspects of life to be developed and cherished - and in this crazy high speed world we all need reminders to breathe..."

White teapot.  Oil. (For Sale)

This painting symbolises two things I do where I get to slow down and just 'be' - drinking green tea in the morning, listening to the birds in the park, and a glass of red wine at night...

I recently re-evaluated how I use my time.   And I realised you cannot 'bank' time.  I can't 'save' time and put it away ready to be drawn upon when I need it the most (on those days when: I want to paint, need to get the shopping done, cat to the vets, children to music lessons I'm running low of fuel in the car and we something on the table for dinner kind of days)

But I can be a better manager of my time, and put effort into the things I really want to do... which means I need to know WHAT it is I want to do... which lead me to a re-evaluation of goals, and how I currently use my time.

Because if I want to create work I am proud enough of to invest in getting them framed - I need a game plan...

What a difference framing makes! For the Aunties - mixed media.

Goal number 1: get fit.  We are heading into spring and fast into summer here in Australia - requiring (for me at least) to do a stocktake of my summer clothes.  I also found the scales recently and put new batteries in them, and discovered I had a very 'good' winter... and although I don't have a lot of extra weight to loose - I need to put on muscle, tone, and build strength. 

Step to goal 1: I joined the gym.  It was the first time I have stepped foot in a gym in over 20 years.  I'll let you know how I go... I have the assessment and program planning appointment today!

Goal number 2: commit more time to art. 

Step to goal 2: I made myself a timetable.  I needed to allocate time for: running the house, homeschooling, art, life drawing and gym.  There are really not that many hours in a day - not when you start adding in lots of things to do!

Today, I also remind myself to slow down, enjoy each moment, and breathe...