I’ve been enjoying creating my frequent “One Good Thing” posts so much that I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’d done a longer “Bloom” post. No time like the present, I suppose.
The last “Bloom” post was back in June, just before I began my new employment. Since then, I’ve begun learning about a very different style of working and management (and one I greatly prefer to the style at my previous job, which could be accurately described as “cornered rat”), I’ve read a veritable slew of cozy mysteries (nothing memorable; in fact, sometimes I forget “who done it” before I even start the next one, but I like the characters and there’s something comforting about knowing that the villain will be made to pay for their dastardly crimes by the end), spent half a month with old friends in the gorgeousness that is Big Sky Country, and worked to get my house back in balance now that a Very Bad Chapter is over and done with. I am grateful beyond measure for the friends and family who have provided support and encouragement through this Dark Season.
And now – on the calendar as well as in this Diva’s life – a change of seasons is drawing nigh.
How to best prepare for this inevitability? Make time to celebrate it! I had taken on so many worthy projects that, even though things were on the calendar, things were still slipping through. For me, this is always a sign that I have fallen into old bad habits and that I need to stop and take a deep breath.
Blooming does not happen when we’re rushing around, unable to see that we’re blooming. This can be a hard truth to absorb, but that doesn’t stop it from being a truth. I needed to come to a Full Stop for a little while and do some things slowly to give my over-worked soul time to catch up to my harried body. Divas – this may sound foolish and lah-di-dah, but in my experience, if I ignore the first signs of this Return to Rush-Rush, the Universe will sigh and smack me harder to get my attention.
So I said “no” to a couple of things that I wanted to do in order to concentrate on what I needed to do. I moved Lord Ashford Wiggleton of Needle Clawton to another room for a few hours so I could pick up a brush again (I don’t know if I’ll make my goal of 100 paintings, but I’m well over halfway – I’ll try to catch up posting those soon) and I worked on a cool puzzle of vintage National Park posters. Today, I picked up the book I’d been reading (not a Kindle cozy mystery!), put on a spa face mask, and took a bath while listening to a favorite playlist. I also wrote a couple of notes to friends – texting is fine in its place, but the thrill of getting “fun mail” is not to be underestimated in these days. Oh, there are chores to do and I need to start walking and biking again (for my health, as much as to finish my virtual challenge race), but me being scattered and feeling “less than” if I have a less than perfectly-clean house and precise meal planning helps no one. (And yes, it’s fine to skip Duolingo every now and then.)
The seasons are changing. After Labor Day signals the wrap-up to the summer season, you’ll start seeing community theatre groups having their fall shows, worthy charities will have fundraisers, and all sorts of community events will show up on your social media feeds. Go ahead and join those groups now so you have an “in” for those soon-to-be-here crisp days. As always, check out your local library for events. Set up a fall game-night-and-potluck with friends. And, by all means, take your calendar out and mark a fence around one upcoming weekend to care for your soul.
Bloom, Divas!
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