One of those I follow does beautiful brush calligraphy,
something I have been trying to teach myself. Not only is her lettering lovely
and elegant, but she adds swirls and flourishes and layers of colors that are
the perfect finishing touch. I have no fantasy of ever creating anything even
close to the quality of her work (she’s a professional artist), but I have been
having fun in my free time. I don’t have much of that these days, but I try to
take 30 minutes or so a few mornings or evenings each week to practice. Cuz as
the beautiful letterer that I follow says, “Practice makes perfect!” J
The above title of this post, in her graceful writing, was
at the top of my Instagram feed one early morning a couple of weeks ago.
Live Beautifully.
I stared at it for a few seconds and let it soak in before
scrolling down the page. Then, there it was again. And again. This person also
has daily lettering challenges, and I follow some of those who participate in
them. Apparently, “Live Beautifully” was her challenge of the day.
I had a busy day at work, but as I went about my tasks, I
kept that thought and what it means close: Live
Beautifully.
When I got home from work, I again took a few moments to
peruse Instagram while dinner was cooking. And you guessed it, there it was again. I saw
it three more times in the minute or two that I was looking at Instagram that
evening.
And in yet one more case of “How scary and mind reading can
the internet really be?” when I got on facebook the next day, there in the
sidebar where all of those annoying ads magically appear, was an advertisement
from Amazon for a book called, “Living Beautifully: With Uncertainty and Change.”
No, I am NOT making that up! I don’t know if by me clicking on a few of the
Live Beautifully calligraphy photos some signal went zooming through the world
wide web straight to facebook, but wow, how very bizarre. (By the way, I did
purchase the book on my Kindle because it was too intriguing NOT to. I haven’t
read it yet, though).
Two simple words, but they have had a profound impact on me
these past few weeks.
They have been a kick in the pants that I really have
needed.
I haven’t been living so beautifully lately. The past months have been filled to the brim
with frustrations and problems from every direction…my job, my kids and life in
general. I so often trudge through each day in an endless parade of sleep,
work, deal with problems, sleep, work, deal with problems...
My house still is not
back in order, which surely has not helped, and I have been finding it most
difficult to even enjoy being at home like I normally do when life is crazy. My
home has not been the snug and comfortable haven I try to make it be. It’s still
fairly devoid of furniture and most everything is still packed away in boxes
and bags in the basement; I hadn’t even decked my house out for fall like I
normally do because it seemed pointless when so many things are unfinished and
uncertain and in disarray. (If I had to choose a word to describe my life right
now, that would be it…DISARRAY).
I seem to be at a crossroads in more than one area of my
life. I want a job change, but I’m not sure how to go about it since I actually
love the work I do, just not the actual JOB anymore. Everything is so out of
whack and downright distressing with my parents, and I am trying to come to
terms with that in a way that I never have before. I’m having a tough time
transitioning from a mom who is used to having what is going on with my kids rule
my life to being an almost empty nester with way too much time on my hands some
days. I’m having an even tougher time transitioning from a mom who could fix a
child’s problem with a hug, a batch of cookies and putting them on my lap to
read a good night story. This is perhaps what I am struggling with most of all…being
a mom to adults and all that entails.
And then, there is my house. Back in April when we decided
to put down new floors, I was beyond excited, as I’ve written before. It is now
November, and after so many setbacks and changes of plans, the house is still
in chaos, which isn’t helping my mood any.
I have been so focused on the inside of my house that the
outside was sorely neglected to the point where I was beginning to feel
embarrassed by it while wondering every day as I pulled into my driveway what
the neighbors must think.
Most of my kitchen necessities are not yet unpacked, so I have
not been cooking very much. Since cooking is something I always enjoy,
especially when I am frazzled and in need of something to take my frustrations
away, not having what I need to make anything beyond the basics has caused me
feel out of sorts and out of patience.
I would never have dreamed back in April that our house
would be in this condition for so long. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t,
because I doubt I would have taken it on.
After seeing that “Live Beautifully” quote, and really letting
those words embed themselves into my brain, I realized that I have been putting
things I enjoy on hold until:
My house is finished…
Things at Share slow down…
Issues with my kids are resolved…
Issues with my parents are resolved…
I have the money to __________...
Yada yada yada…and on and on and on.
I realized there always seems to be something that I let stand in my way.
And that is not living beautifully.
Pondering all of the ways I have not been living beautifully
lately segued into giving some thought about what living beautifully means to
me. I have narrowed it down to a short(ish) list:
*It means coming home each day to a restful home. (Even if
it is not in perfect shape and there are unfinished projects)
*It means spending time with and talking to people I love. (Even
when life is kicking my butt and I don’t feel like I have much to offer other
than a foul mood)
*It means taking time each day to notice, really notice the blessings and
beautiful things around me. (Even when they are next to impossible to find)
*It means feeling good about what I do each day. (Even
during times when work is stressing me out and I am feeling more hate than love
for my job)
*It means doing things for the people I love to let them
know how much I love them. (Even when I
am exhausted and want to hibernate and/or run away)
*It means making time to do things I enjoy. (Even if I am
super busy and the only time I have is 10 minutes in the morning to have coffee
on my porch before work)
Like I said, I’ve been thinking about how to live
beautifully a lot in the past few weeks, and I have to say, it has made a
difference in so many of my days. Again, I have written a shortish list.
*Even though there is still a hole in my kitchen ceiling due
to an unresolved plumbing issue and the baseboards and molding around the
French doors are unfinished, I was tired of looking at my beautiful new kitchen
that was still “undecorated.” I bought a new tablecloth, futzed up the top of
the cabinets, bought a new lamp, and hoped that making the kitchen look warm
and cozy would help me to ignore the giant hole in the ceiling. It didn’t quite
do that, but it is much homier now, and I try to not look up very often. 
*Even though I still don’t have blinds or curtains or a rug
in the family room, I have slowly started putting that room back together.
I found these candles
on clearance at Michaels, and I had to have them because they really add a warm
fall touch to the room at night. They also make me think of Brandon and the
beautiful aspen trees in Colorado. I was inspired by something I saw on
Pinterest and purchased the metal bin with clear glass bottles. I added some
fake greenery and some colored flat marbles that I already had, and I love how
it turned out.
I also bought a Rosemary bush. I haven’t yet unpacked the
other items that are normally on this table, but the plant smells so good, AND,
I can use snips of it when I cook.
*Even though my dining room is completely bare other than
the table, I decided to go ahead and pretty it up for the season like I enjoy
doing. I always have fun trying to be creative and mix and match what I already
own to come up with an interesting table setting. I picked the acorns off the
ground at the park the day of the Share walk.
I have probably written more than enough for one post, but I want to share
a few more photos.
*I finally decided to clean up the porch, weed, throw away
the leftover dead summer flowers, and make it look fallish. (Even though my
front door looks like crap because the door frame needs to be replaced and the
door itself needs to be painted)
Once I decided to decorate for fall, I went all out. Again
inspired by Pinterest, I put together this basket that sits by my front door. (Even
though the staircase it sits next too is ugly and still unfinished!) There are
a few pine cones in there that I gathered a few years ago when I was visiting a
friend in Maine. They were in her back yard, and every fall when I get them
out, they bring back such fond memories. I also tossed in a few cinnamon pine
cones from a bag I bought at the grocery store, so it smells delicious as soon
as I walk in the door. The other nice thing about this basket is that I didn’t
have to buy one thing (other than the cinnamon pine cones) because I used what
I already had in a new way.
(Ugly staircase!)
I will close with one last photo. Remember how this post
started, with my admiration of an artist and her brush calligraphy? I was so
inspired by her words and artistry that I made my own version of Live Beautifully in my own brush
calligraphy, embellished by my own art work. I’m no artist, and I will never be
one, but I don’t think it turned out too shabby. I framed it and found a place for
it in the corner of my desk. My hope is that it will keep on inspiring me to
live beautifully.
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