The following is part of a response to a discussion at the wild thyme creative facebook page
“…much of my current artistic work is in the capture of little moments. While I paint large scale and create mixed-media pieces on a regular basis, my daily practice involves what I call Art-in-the-Crevices. It’s the sketches and songs that happen because I carry my journal EVERYWHERE. It’s the partial poem I pen while I’m waiting and the photos from my phone. Too often we get caught up in our expectations of the perfect environment and miss the beauty and truth all around us in the little moments. Honestly, it’s those little bits and pieces that keep me sane and present in my “real life”. Ultimately it’s the small captures that inform and birth the larger work.”
The little moments are where I’m living these days. Concerning wild thyme creative, I am both processing my archive and making plans for the future. {This very much mirrors what is going on in my personal life too…} I’m simultaneously reading old blog entries full of my emotions and thoughts from the past and planning & dreaming for the future. All necessary and exciting, but sometimes, I find it a challenge to just show up for today – to experience what it’s like to be in my skin, here and now.
I used to take these little “life bytes” for granted – now I give myself credit for capturing them and count it as my art. My daily prayer is that I simply show up for what’s in my world today. Here’s a tiny list {surprise!} of things I do to Stay Present:
* Write down {or draw or paint} exactly what I’m feeling at least once a day.
* Go out in the garden barefoot.
I think it’s super important to feel the ground under your feet, where you are. I go out and tune into the following:
~ what I see around my feet
~ what I feel under my feet
~ what I hear around me
{I generally stay and breathe and observe until I can feel my breath all the way down to my toes…}
* Take a photo & notes based on your observations. {I write things down because I like to remember, but the point is to tune in.}
This photo says:
* It is cold & wet. But I am not afraid of inclement weather or events.
* There are weeds in the garden & I need a pedi. It’s time to slow down and tend to self & home.
* The birds are singing. I have a voice.
* The ground is solid. I have a place to stand.
I am petite. But I am not small.
Things are a little messy. Discovery & expression are found in messy.
“Magic happens just by being present in your body.” Baron Baptiste
