Wednesday, April 3, 2013

five spring inspirations + resolutions.






inspired by...
resolved to.

i. the fresh and clear, rich and earthy, sweet and peppery smell of spring.
breathe in this season. take walks, run in the morning, wake early to the sunrise. watch shadows stretch and lengthen with the sun, brew a long cup of tea, sit on the deck under light dappled by the first of buds and be still. have morning devotions on the porch and read a book on the front steps and pull a sweater tighter if you need to, but get outside. there's a whole world waiting and a new season unfolding and if you don't stop and look, you might miss it.

ii. the here and now before summer.
cultivate an explorer heart. go to museums. sit in coffee shops all day for the sake of people watching and order just one more latte or cappuccino or whatever it may be. make up stories and buy a cheap film camera solely for snapshots and go out to breakfast at mom and pop restaurants. buy concert tickets and go to the library and make lists. take your family on adventures that may just be a walk to the park. remember that small adventures are all part of the bigger story of your life.

iii. homemade, handmade, homegrown, from the heart.
make more. carry a sketchbook around for the purpose of seeing again in graphite and sketch at least a page, daily. pull out old watercolors and be okay with paint on your fingers. take up a new hobby and practice art and be okay with not being da vinci (no one is but him). read poetry and write your own, study the work of old masters, pluck out a tune on the piano. step away from the internet and give yourself room and breathing space to create by first being inspired by your own life.

iv. green food, whole food, clean living.
throw out Easter candy, stock up on produce, plan gardens. get in the dirt and pluck out the last of twenty twelve's weeds. make a meal plan and splurge one night on something extravagant and different, try new things. chew slower and try to pinpoint each flavor and drink more water. rest and move your body daily and eat good food. buy a different type of tea for each day of the week and spend time cooking meals that taste better because of the heart that went into them.

v. rich and true friendships.
write more letters. call your friend back immediately. write that email. take a friend to lunch or to coffee and spend an afternoon talking, even if it's only over a salad from Panera or a burrito from Chipotle (it matters). don't wait until it's your turn to speak but listen, really listen. put together a care package or a birthday gift or just get a small gift to say, "I'm so grateful for your friendship." plan summer adventures and Skype if you live far away and take time to invest in others lives as richly as they've invested in yours.

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