I recently read a quote out of the book Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach that resonated with me, ” Love is the spiritual energy that induces elevation- the transcendent moment in creation when craft becomes art.” Performing everyday chores and projects can feel more like labor than love at times. Although I love blogging and sharing my favorite finds and recipes sometimes it can feel more like a labor than a craft.
I’ve been having a hard time finding joy in the everyday the last few weeks. Needless to say it can be difficult to come up with things to write about when the intention of your blog is finding joy in the everyday. I shared this with my husband and he actually found the irony in it about 3 years ago when I began my blog, but he gives me an A for effort. My natural tendency is to find the sarcasm in every day. I haven’t totally given up my efforts, but I plan on making a few changes.
I will still share things and stories that inspire me and recipes. My most popular posts are recipes. I love a good recipe, but I don’t love to cook. I enjoy the challenge of food photography. It is definitely an art and I’m still learning. The recipes I share are quick and easy and I also feature those of friends. Instead of spending a ton of time and effort on numerous social media, I’m going to focus on the ones that I truly enjoy like Pinterest.
I want to produce more art in my life. If I’m not putting love into something I create or do, I can’t expect others to love it. I’ve come up with a list of little acts of love to myself and others that I can do every day. They aren’t necessarily considered art, but I think there is an art to living well, feeling joyful, and being an artist of the everyday. We can’t all be Robin Leach having caviar dreams and reporting lifestyles of the rich and famous, but we can do little things to enrich our life.
Light a candle and fill your place with a scent you love.
Splurge on fresh flowers every now and then.
Do something that inspires you for at least an hour a day and yes, this could be searching Pinterest.
Send a note or card to a friend. Remember snail mail?
Call a friend and chat for 10 minutes instead of texting or better yet if I have time meet them for coffee.
Get outside and walk, garden or just look at nature.
Pick up a little treat for a family member when you are at the grocery store you know they’ll love.
Really listen and not perform other tasks when someone is talking to you.
Focus on gratitude when performing tasks that you don’t enjoy. For me it’s laundry and washing dishes.
Savor food when eating instead of just shoving it in your mouth.
Add some fruit to plain water. See my 10 ideas for infused water.
Try something new and don’t beat yourself up about it if it doesn’t turn out, at least you tried.
Take time to be still and pray or meditate.
List three things you are grateful for every day and smile!
Thank you Joy for this post. It somehow reminds me that we all need to maybe slow down a bit and be grateful for what we already have.
For some reason it can be so hard to do sometimes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
This blog has been such a cool process for you. As a friend it has been neat to watch you and your blog grow and evolve. I like this new spin you are taking on it, it definitely feels like you are in a good place with it and have figured out your blog’s purpose.
Your list of little acts of love is such a good reminder. It truly is the simple things in the everyday that make life enjoyable but for some reason as simple as they are we sometimes forget!
I appreciate your thoughtful comment Anne. I seem to be constantly evolving. I guess that’s a good thing 🙂
Dawn, for me, this is one of your best posts yet.. Thank you for sharing and I’m going to dig out my copy of Simple Adundance and read it again. Have a lovely day.
Thanks for your kind words Helen. Another blogger actually inspired me to pull out my copy of Simple Abundance again. It’s one of those books you can go back and reread and getting something new from it every time. I just start at whatever day I’m on and read it one day at a time.
Love your message today! I so need to slow down and just enjoy. I love reading your blog Dawn it’s one of the highlights of my day.
Thanks Keri! I appreciate your kind feedback. I’m happy you enjoy reading my blog 🙂
You make a very good point. We do need to slow down and enjoy the everyday more. I know I need to. Sometimes we need a reminder. Thanks you, Dawn. By the way, I would never have known you don’t love to cook…your recipes are wonderful!
Thanks Michelle. I love to collect recipes and I think I like the idea of cooking more than I actually enjoy doing it. However I love to eat!
The chore I like the least is changing the sheets on the beds. So I try to turn on some music or listen to an audiobook so I distract myself… I’m very auditory, so this works for me. I say blog about and share about anything you love, because I always enjoy your posts:)
Thanks so much Seana! You are one of my biggest cheerleaders!