Saturday, June 26, 2010

Letting Go, Confessions of the Slightly Obsessed

Good morning Everyone! I have been thinking so much lately of all the wonderful and talented artists that I have connected with recently. I value each and every one of you so much! It is a powerful thing to know that you aren't alone in your creative dreams, or in your struggle to find balance.

Last night, I had a small realization about this thing called Balance that we are all trying to find. It's closely related to the other thing called Letting Go. Now, the two must be sisters, because I can see some similarities in their features. By letting go of some of the things in our lives, we are able to attain more balance of the really important things. For example, I really love plants and landscaping and I think in my next life, I would like to be a landscape designer (one of several things I'd like to be). In our previous house, my hubby and I did all of the planting and design of the yard. I learn a lot and had a huge amount of fun. When we starting planning this new house, our conversations often turned to dreams about how we wanted the new yard to look. How I'd love to do a stone mosaic path, built by me of course, and what kind of plants, water features, outdoor furniture, etc I'd love to have. All that changed when my daughter was born. Suddenly, I find myself almost 2 years later, with no landscaping really to speak of and a house that isn't decorated the way I really want it. We had a few potted plants and a few plants I plopped in the ground, but that was it. So, after much pushing from hubby, we hired a landscaper and a designer. Ouch. Letting go of that was tough. And now we are s starting to install the plan that we all came up with. The irrigation has gone in, the stone pathway (not a mosaic) is currently going in, and the plants should go in next Wednesday. But wait - we will be out of town! I won't be here to supervise the plant locations! And this is where the act of Letting Go has to happen. I have hired this designer girl, whom I clicked with at the first meeting, and I have faith in her skills. So while I would love to be involved in the planting part, I have decided to let go of that, go out of town to the foundry as planned, and then look forward to coming home and seeing the progress. Lesson learned. By me letting go of that control/power/you name it, I will be a happier person. I will not be as stressed about trying to get it all done by myself and I can focus on my priorities, which obviously doesn't include landscaping! One day, I will get back to my yard and gardening, but for now, I will try to be satisfied with a few tomato plants and some flowering annuals and perennials in pots. It's really all I can handle. At the end of the day, I barely have the energy to clean the kitchen, much less, go out to the garden and weed for 2 hours. I try to remember, you can have it all, you just can't have it all right now. Relax, let go and know that, in time, I will get back to obsessing over certain things like landscaping. For now, I will focus on other things, like my family, my creativity, and living a happy life. (stay tuned for photos of the new yard!)
What about you? Is there something in your life that you are obsessing over that is stressing you out? Is there something you can let go of, for a little while anyway, so that you can be more relaxed and happier? I'd love to hear!

4 comments:

  1. Very nice!
    Regards Zondra Art

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  2. oh, balance.
    always stivng for that. :)

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  3. Hi Kelly! Great post! I really feel for you, having to let go of the yard. That's been a real challenge for me too. And I have to say- ours looks horrible. It drains me every time I look at it. You have to prioritize though, and the gardens just don't make it to the top of my list very often.

    How wonderful of your husband to encourage you to let go like this and how wonderful you found the right designer.

    PS Could make the fountain a mosaic? You know a little further down the road. :) And thanks for your comment on my mama post. It really made me feel good to know you connected with it!

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  4. Kelly, you have great insight. It is so hard to let go of the control. I once heard that Letting go leaves your hands open for other things and that is so true. Right now, I have a close family member who is not doing well and it is so hard for me to let go of trying to "fix" everything. I mean well, but I really can't fix it. Letting go is the only option. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!

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