Making Time
One of the little projects that's been on my daily list is to take a little corner of the house and organize it beautifully. I don't expect it to stay that way (because I know I'll toss everything around the next time I feel any sort of inspired), but I'm finding that it creates a little pocket of peace within my day. And over the weekend, I decided that I'd expand my "corner" and tackle the whole studio.
Every time I rearrange this space, it gets a little better. It's like I'm throwing all of the bits and pieces into the air (or, more accurately, on the floor) and finding that the places they fall feel a little more right. In the beginning, it always starts out feeling like a hopeless wreck...but if I stick with it, the rewards are well worth it.
It is safe to say that I left no stone unturned. I opened boxes of art supplies that I haven't touched since moving out of San Francisco. To be honest, there were even a few that were just as I'd packed them back in Colorado. About the same time I had this realization, I was also reminded that my two year anniversary in California had come and gone without my notice.
Before I moved, I remember my mom telling me that it took about two years to really feel fully settled in a place. At the time that made me anxious, but I have fallen back on those words for comfort many times during the past two years, when I was feeling crazy about being lonely or missing home. It takes time. Everything takes time.
And though it's taken a good long while, I've definitely made this space my own.
Yesterday, I also finished up a piece for myself. Or rather the FIRST piece for myself. In all this time, I haven't made anything just for me. I've kept a few things here and there, favorite pieces that I just couldn't part with. But this was different.
Every component of this mala was intentionally chosen to help me focus in on myself. I only worked on it for a few minutes at a time, meaning that it took about three weeks to finish, but making a little space in the day to work on something for me felt good.
Carnelian, citrine, and aquamarine beads.
Silk cord.
Sterling silver.
Wild Horse Magnesite (my very favorite stone!).
And horse hair from my very own cloud spirit.
Not a bad set of talismans for the journey ahead, if I do say so myself.
