Get In The Driver's Seat

I once read a sentence in a book that described people as "passengers" of their own lives. I thought the imagery was beautiful...and devastating. It's so easy to hop in and let someone or something else lead the way, but what if we had a little more control? What if we turned off the autopilot and made decisions that started steering us towards our ultimate happiness?

This summer my partner and I bought a camper van. We tore everything out and rebuilt it, making it our own adventure home on wheels for the next year or more. Admittedly, I haven't tried driving it yet, but I did help map out where we're going and imagine the dreams that we'll chip away at with the freedom of this lifestyle. Starting now, I'll be creating and delivering online wellness content for you, so we can continue to forge our happiest and healthiest paths, together. I'm clear on what lights me up and what brings me down. I know who I am and I know where I'm going and I'm proud to say, that most of the time, I am in the driver's seat of my life. 

Life doesn't have to just happen to us. We can take pit stops, twist and turns, shift gears and still be putting the pedal to the metal in the right direction. Have you ever thought you were meant for something different than you're doing right now? Have you ever been confused or frustrated by expectations of others? your own? I certainly have. Have you ever told yourself you couldn't because you're not "enough" in some kind of way? These thought patterns can creep in and build road blocks that seem next to impossible to move around. I'm not saying that we all need to pick up and live in a van, or quit our jobs. It can be much more subtle than that, but I invite you to double check, who is in control? We can navigate towards our goals with more clarity and confidence. It can be as simple as  knowing you want to spend more time with your kids, or a desire to learn to cook the way they do in your favorite restaurant. Maybe you do want a bigger shift, a career change? Going back to school? We can't get there without knowing where we want to go and what we want to accomplish, but when we do know for sure, the rest can be smooth sailing. 

Set intentions as your road map. Grab your journal and a pen...

Write down the answers to these questions: 

1. What brings you joy? What brings brightness to your days? What can't you live without? These can me simple, big or small, it just has to bring a smile to your face.

2. What would you do? If you could go anywhere or do anything right now what would it be? Don't take into account any obstacles here. This is a dream for you, without thinking of obligations that may get in the way, however real those may be. Explore your biggest dream.

4. What's holding you back? Time to break it down. What stories are creating a block? What's in the way? Are these things really true? How can you navigate around them, through them or with them to make your wildest goals a reality.

5. What's one thing you can do, now?  What's one step that you could make today towards more joy and happiness? Baby steps create big shifts.

Only you can fill up the tank and go. So please, buckle up and don't be a passenger of your life. You're the pilot, the captain, the engineer. Your thoughts, beliefs and actions mark your destination. It doesn't matter which road you choose, it just matter's that you are behind the wheel. If you promise to remember this, I promise I'll learn to drive my camper van. 

Let Creativity Take It's Form

I always knew I wanted to be an artist. My parents are both artists, my mom a talented painter & illustrator (see her fabulous mandala paintings here) and my dad a painter, musician & mastermind of model trains. Creativity is  "in my blood" as many have told me, but its a fire you need to feed to keep burning. I thought my artistic path would take me to full blown career, illustrating children's books and editorial ads, what I studied in college and recieved my BFA in. At that point, I didn't really know what the word "art" meant to me, something on a wall in a gallery or a museum? A difficult way to make a living? Now I have a different definition. When my life started to shift towards yoga, I was excited to find a way to pull it all together...now I know, yoga and art aren't different at all, they are one in the same! Creativity is a lifestyle. 

To me, art is an expression of a fire lit inside of us. Something to be shared, a delight of the senses, an offering, a practice that invigorates us daily, something to be invented and molded as a reflection of  YOU. 

There are infinite ways to be creative, we don't have to know how to build with clay, how to hit the high note or what colors look good on a cake. We don't need to be married to the same medium for our entire lives either, we can thrive off imagining, constructing and giving life to our ideas in a million different ways. We can stir up a delicious meal for ourselves, write down our thoughts, find interesting ways to heal our bodies, make travel plans. It's all ART. Innovatively delivering these things to the people around you is the same as signing your painting, putting it in a frame, hammering a nail in the wall and hanging it. What do you feel passionate about dreaming up for yourself, and can't help but let it bubble over for others to enjoy, learn, or indulge? 

I still paint, not as much as I'd like to, but I spend time my planning and theming my classes with something new and fresh, I find ways to sew it all together, I'm putting myself out there in a creative way online. I make jewelry, I practice self care, so I have something to give, I travel and see new places to feel inspired. Find the art in life. We don't need to be talented or "have good genes", we just need to make a habit out of creating. We need to make the space for it. Can we do what wakes us up and makes us feel alive? Alive in our moments so we can soak in the beauty and pour it back out, onto a canvas, into a journal, into the ears of an audience or onto a loved one's plate. Put on your smock, let it be messy and most importantly let it take form. Let it be yours.