Love and Inspiration

I've been meaning to share a few things with you, work them into posts in some way or another, but it just hasn't happened. My blogging mojo has been on the fritz of late. So for today I thought I'd just pull these little bits together into one post, filled with inspiration and love.

Back at the end of January Kelly Rae Roberts shared a post on Instagram about performing even the most mundane tasks (like picking up dog poop) as acts of love. That idea has stuck with me and it's something I've thought a lot about. It takes the idea of slowing down and being present even one step further. Put love into everything you do. It's something I need to keep reminding myself.

And it's something that flows with my word of the year: INTENTION.

I came across something else that resonates with my idea of intention in this blog post by health coach Lacy Young. She posits that how we eat is just as important as what we eat, maybe even more so. It's about being intentional. Mindful eating. Not just eating, either, but preparing food, too. I've been thinking a lot about it since I saw her post and I think it's also about joy. Joy derived from our food is powerfully nourishing and it goes deeper than nutrients. The act of preparing and eating food (and growing it, too!) can be so healing. During some of the most difficult times in my life I have found refuge in the simple act of creating and eating a meal. Paying attention to the details. Listening to all of my senses. Some of my most joyful times have also involved creating and eating good food with good people. Cooking and eating can be so pleasurable, but often it becomes a chore or another to-do to fit into our busy lives. It shouldn't be that way.

One of the designers providing inspiration during the Spoonflower Design-a-Day challenge was Rochelle New. Her prompt was Block Prints and I was immediately drawn to her aesthetic (and smitten with her dog!). I hopped over to her blog (named after that sweet dog) and found lots of inspiration there. I was especially inspired by her post Don't try, just do. It's interesting because I always thought I disagreed with Yoda on that one (yes, I'm a big nerd, but you probably already knew that). Of course there is a "try"; I love to try new things. In Rochelle's post she points out that trying implies two options and one of those options is always either not liking what you're trying or not finishing what you're trying. Trying implies the possibility of failure (which is Yoda's whole point). Doing doesn't give you the option of failure. Doing doesn't give you the option of not finishing. Doing gets things done. There's no pondering and planing and hemming and hawing. There's no wondering if you're going to like it or not. There's just action. And accomplishment. And that's a good thing. It's all about mindset and yes, it, too, is about INTENTION. If you find yourself making excuses for not doing those things you want to try, you might want to take a look at Rochelle's post (and then get busy!).

I have to admit that I don't often watch videos that other people include in their blog posts, but I have a couple I want to share because they're just so lovely. First is the trailer for Katie Daisy's beautiful new book. Pure joy.

How to Be a Wildflower Book Trailer from Gabriel James on Vimeo.

And second is a video celebrating Kelly Rae Roberts' 10 years of business. Certainly inspiring.


Kelly Rae Roberts Promo from Susan Roderick on Vimeo.

Finally I wanted to let you know that I'll be popping back in tomorrow with an announcement of my own celebration (Tomorrow is my birthday! And it's a big one!) including a once-in-a-lifetime offer good tomorrow only. (If you're a newsletter subscriber you'll be getting your invitation today and an extra day for the special offer. Be sure to check your inbox! If you're not yet subscribed, it's not too late).

Wishing you joy.