P.O.P. Day 207: It's your choice.

I LOVE the prints from HappyTownUSA

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice. ~Wayne Dyer

I will never try to make you smilely if you are truly sad. Honest. But being miserable takes so much energy. More than just letting a good mood take over. We all know that it takes more muscles to frown.

Buuuuut...the important thing is that you have the choice. Be sad. Be happy. Be both. Be neither. No one has the right to dictate your mood, your feelings, or how you react to things.

I personally choose to be happy and surround myself with people who are for the most part happy. That was my choice. I am glad that i made it.



P.O.P. Day 206: Life is indeed good.

Hey! Guess what? Life doesn't suck. Sure, some situations really do suck. But life isn't just that one situation or instance. Life, overall, is better when happy. I am not talking about blissed-out, hippy dippy, "everybody loves everybody" kind of great. Or faux happiness that is adopted just to seem "normal." I am more interested in contentment.

The dictionary defines content as: satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else.

That is what I am striving for. My ol' buddy, the Bard puts it more poetically:

"My crown is in my heart, not on my head, Nor decked with diamonds and Indian stones, Nor to be seen: My crown is called content: A crown it is, that seldom kings enjoy." ~William Shakespeare

At this moment in my life, I am content. I appreciate what I have earned and what I have been given. I don't mourn the loss of things that I do not possess. Smiles come more easily, laughter is more sincere, friendships are more cherished, small things become bigger.

I still have worries, both real and imagined. I still struggle sometimes with being mindful and present in the moment. Contentment, though, has a way of making all those struggles more manageable.

I hope that you are content in your life. If there is anything that I can do to assist in that state, please let me know. What helps you to achieve contentment? 

P.O.P. Day 205: Stop! Thief!

Print by Brooke Witt of Platypus Design Press

There are real things in this world to be worried about--disease, zombies, saving. But most people that I know (myself certainly included), tend to worry about the little stuff or worse yet, stuff that we make up. I spent a good part of this morning worrying about something that I think was just in my own head. And even if it wasn't, I was not changing or fixing anything by worrying about it.

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.  ~Leo Buscaglia

In reality, there is typically little that we can do to affect all the garbage that we worry about. We can make sure the stove is off and the the door is locked, but we can't control the actions and feeling of others. We can change our perceptions, but rarely do we succeed in altering all our views.

What's my point today? Sometimes worrying does nothing but spoil what could otherwise be a great day. So let go and let life happen. We may be disappointed, but we may also be ecstatic.

Give yourself a break.



P.O.P. Day 202: Today not yesterday

Print by Ashar Reed of Hunter and Smile

You know something scary? I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. So could you.

If we really think about it, do we want to spend the last day that we may have on Earth dwelling on the past or worrying about the future?

 “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”
~Omar Khayyam

I'll be the first to admit that I don't always live by this precept. Frankly, sometimes, I have trouble remembering it all. But it is a goal worth striving for.

I am happy in this moment. I am happy in my life. If I continue to show gratitude and joy in each day, I will be doing a lot more to enjoy life.

Sappy? Yes. But also true.

P.O.P. Day 201: Staying Relevant

Print by Cheryl at Go Faith

I have not been ignoring you, I swear. I also didn't break all my fingers or lose my computer password. I was in danger of becoming redundant...and repetitive...and saying the same thing (heeheehee).

I was unsure that I actually had anything left that my readers (and frankly I myself) would want to hear. So I took a month to just live. And you know something? It has been an awesome month. I am more content then I have been in a long time. I guess that both my writing and I needed to take a break to stay relevant. 

I have taken time (as we all should) to re-evaluate. Things that seemed oh so important earlier this summer are now just there. I realized that in some cases that it wasn't the outcome that was necessary, but rather the steps...the getting started.

For example, I really thought that the veggie garden would be this huge priority for me once I took it back from "my past life". Right now, the garden is overgrown and weedy and I am okay with that. The veggies weren't what was important. The act of taking it back and not attaching feeling to a patch of dirt.

I am no closer to a professional jewelry program and becoming a full-time designer. What I am is someone who understands how important creativity is to me...how much a part of me it is. And I am okay with that.

Everyday is another chance to adapt, appreciate, and evolve. Through those processes, I will remain relevant. Not just to you, but to me as well.

P.O.P. Day 166: Act Like You Want To Feel

Print by Aimee at one of my most favorite shops, Artsyville

There are lots of people out there trying to be "happier". That state is almost impossible to sustain though, as it is not really quantifiable. I am try instead to just see things in a more positive way. That being said, I do read books and blogs by people like me. I am currently reading (among other things) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. She has a section entitled "Act The Way You Want To Feel."

I have been struggling lately to focus on having a positive outlook regularly (as you may have noticed by the lack of blog posts). This chapter spoke to me, though.

I decided earlier this week that if I want to be treated like both an artist and an athlete, I should act like both those things. I registered for all my fall races, I wrote out my 1/2 marathon training plan (in a few places), I began researching new running shoes. I scheduled studio time that I committed to. I may not be selling a ton of pieces daily, I need to keep creating. I updated my Etsy shop,  I made a ton of new pieces for The Holiday In Homer, I sketched new designs.

I am acting like I have already achieved my goals. To me, I am an athlete. I am an artist. What are you? How do you want to feel?

P.O.P. Day 165: Accomplishments

print by artist Mike Joos

It hardly seems possible that it has been nearly 3 weeks since my last post! It has been a hectic time for many reasons, primarily in the week leading up to The Boilermaker.

To me, the "big race" was all about setting a personal goal and working towards it. Something that was essentially JUST MINE. No one else was holding me responsible and no one else that would really be effected by the outcome. Even though I trained smartly, ate properly, and hydrated to the extreme, there was a lot of self doubt at the end. I was unsure if the smaller goals that I acheived would be enough to carry me through. I had planned, but didn't know if that was enough. My self-confidence was not as high as it should have been going into an event like that.

So the week before, I walk on hot coals, I ziplined, I ran extra miles, and I drank A LOT of water. And you know what? I did it. I ran the entire 9.3 miles. I finished in the time alloted, even though I would have liked to go faster. My accumulated goals helped me to achieve the big one.

I made a bargin with myself that if I ran the entire race and finished in less than 2 hours, that I would do a half-marathon in the fall. Looks like I need to start racking up those smaller goals again ;)

Sarah (the best support crew ever) and I after the race.