Happy New Year!
I trust that everyone enjoyed a lovely holiday season and am anticipating all the wonderful things that the new year has to offer. Everyone seems to ask others about their New Year's resolutions over the next few days. I am not sure that I entirely like the idea of resolutions as it seems to be tinged with a bit of a negative aspect. The idea of establishing some guidelines to help achieve a final goal seems more positive and one that I am happy to consider. With this in mind, I would like to share a few of the guidelines I hope to follow in order to make the most of each day.
Making the most of each day is my mandate and in order to do this I need to feel rested. I openly confess that I am a bit of a night hawk and always have been. Getting to bed a decent hour has never been high on my list of priorities, but I am going to try to set a reasonable time to make my way to the bedroom. I am hoping that within a week or two I can establish the pattern of going to bed, reading for a bit and then falling off into a restful sleep. This little routine will bring about two positives for me. First, I will be setting aside some time each day to read. I have always loved reading and found that I did not set aside the time to enjoy books over the last year. By reading for a spell each night prior to dozing off, I can make my way through the many books sitting on my shelf and at the same time, allow myself to wind down and more easily fall asleep. The second positive is that I will be establishing the regular bedtime that is necessary for me in order to get the amount of sleep that I really do need. I know that this will allow me to recharge and help in my quest to make the most of each day. So, starting this week, a book or magazine will be set on the table beside my bed each day and I will make the effort to be propped up in bed with a pot of tea by 10 p.m. each week night.
Truthfully, this should not take too much effort as I have a small mountain of books that are calling to me and the thought of reading some wonderful fiction or making my way through some enticing art technique books gives me great pleasure. How did I stray from such a pleasurable pass time? Reading will help my body settle into a calm state allowing for the easy transition into a good night's sleep. I will let you know how this works over the next few weeks and hopefully, I will be able to report that I am following these guidelines and feeling better physically and mentally.
A new year seems a good time to issue a challenge to myself. So, this year I plan to make five new greeting cards each week. I have a wonderful supply of card stock in a rainbow of colours which should allow for some interesting cards to be created. I love making cards but tend to make them only when I need them rather than play with my supplies and make a card just for the fun of putting various elements together and see what can come from my efforts. My plan is to create a card and make a copy or two of it which will lead to building up a nice supply to dive into when the spirit moves me to send out a card to a friend. Rather than wait for an occasion, I like to send out cards throughout the year to let family and friends know that I am thinking of them. Not everyone sees the point of doing this and I realize that recipients do not always see the effort behind each greeting. However, I plan to motor on and continue sending out my "I was thinking about you" missives since I get a lot of pleasure in not just the creative aspect, but also in the writing of a few lines to connect with a friend that I might not hear from as often as I might like. Another positive from this is that I will have 5 cards to share with you each week and so next Sunday will be the debut of some new cards making their way into the journey.
I have some other guidelines that I hope to test out over the course of the year, but will share these with you as they progress from guidelines to regularly scheduled travels on my journey. Some of my guidelines will involve taking on some healthier ways to approach life which I am hoping will mean that 2012 will be a healthier year in general. The generous doses of positivity should yield a better crop of finished projects in all types of art that seem to be intriguing me currently. I will confess that coloured inks tempted me prior to the onset of the holidays and I am looking forward to some quality time spent playing with them in not just paintings, but also in working on learning some artistic penmanship. Illuminated script has always been something that I wanted to try but never set aside the time to investigate or work on the necessary skills required to accomplish such beauty. This will be the year to make time for this and to see if I can create an artistic alphabet on some wonderful paper. So much to think about and work on! I can already see the ink spatters on my blotter and stains on my fingers. How fun is that?
What challenges do you anticipate trying this year? Do you prefer the idea of making resolutions over setting guidelines for yourself? I would love to hear what your plans are for 2012 and maybe we can all work our way through some creative journeys. Drop me a line and I will share your thoughts with everyone so we can see where your personal journey is leading you. Your comment just might be what will lead to another reader finding some inspiration to take them on their initial journey into artistic pursuits of a definitely pleasurable nature.
Have a great week! Rutheemac
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