The Space of Color
I love fall. All the color! I live in Colorado, so the golden Aspen amaze me, with their fiery red and golden hues…sassy! All that color got me to thinking….
Importance. Goals.
What makes your heart sing?
What makes life meaningful. It is about being authentic. It is about taking up space. But what type of space? And how do I know if that space is authentic?
For sure, we live in a world of “shoulds”. You know what I mean, yes? And you can fill in your own should-type-moments: You should eat healthy, you should exercise, you should read that great novel…etc. etc.
And these aren’t necessarily bad; health and knowledge and movement, eating your spinach! Whatever it is.
But why do we do something? Am I doing it because I should? Or am I doing it because it makes my soul pulse with color and excitement? Because it fills me up with joy?
Do I eat my broccoli because I have to? Or because I want to?
But here’ the thing, sometimes we have to do things because we need to care for our children (getting up in the middle of the night isn’t great for my overall sleep, but of course I do it to comfort my child. I don’t even question whether I “should” do it. I do it because I love him and want to be the parent to him that I should)!
Those are the “good” shoulds. Take your meds, yes, eat your broccoli, love!
So let’s put those aside. As adults, sometimes we just have to put on our adult pants and get it done.
I’m searching for deeper things. The things that we fill our time with when we, instead, put on our yoga pants, after the kids are asleep, after that report for work has been written. You know, those moments of stillness. Those precious moments when we can breathe and just be.
They may be few and far between, but I’m finding if I seek them out, I do find them. It may be getting up at 4am to exercise…yes, I am one of those freaky people who love the stillness of an early morning!
It’s my precious time, and I defend it, fiercely!
I began taking stock a few months ago. By the end of the day, I was feeling drained and not myself. I’d lost my joy. The color had oozed out of life. I’d left it somewhere, so I decided to go on a journey and find it again.
What brings color to my life? Here’s the list I came up with:
- Reading
- Writing
- Exercise
- Yoga
- Laughing
- Cooking
- Eating healthy
- Eating ice cream!
- Music
- Hot tea
- A roaring fire in the fireplace
- Playing with my child
- Meditation
- Prayer
- Getting off of Facebook
- Talking to friends
- Coffee with Cinnamon
Of course I could go on, but you get the idea.
My next thing was to figure out how to get some of those things back into my life. I work full-time, and I’m a mom and a wife, so I needed to carve out time that was just for me. Shelly time! And for me, that means getting up at 4am. Yep, it’s that important.
And it means reading a bit before I go to bed; an actual paper-bound book, no eReaders at night.
And it means writing daily, again.
I’m slowly piecing it together, those things that make my heart roar. And I’m finding that I’m a better mom and wife…and a much better human because I’m doing these things, again.
No, not every day. And that’s okay. Progress, not perfection. Sometimes life really does happen and I can’t fit something in. That too, is part of the process. Learning to let go.
Authentic space. How lovely. I hope that you, too, begin to find those precious things that spark color and joy and peace in your life!
Call to Action: Make a list of things that you need in your life! And, what can you do, today, to get at least one of those things, back?