Today Ellie only wanted to be outside.

She waited patiently for our walk and when the walk was rather short she seemed to ask for me to let her into the backyard. I knew it was probably our only chance for her to have some good outdoor time this week, but I also was feeling very productive and energized. My to-do list was getting tackled. It was warm-ish a nice 30*F and not too windy, so I let her out to explore the yard.
​but
I noticed she wasn't running into the small patch  of shoveled lawn. She wasn't sniffing the branches.  She wasn't rooting around underneath the deck.  She just was being still. 
For several minutes I watched her sitting on the edge of the deck. 

 And it moved me. 
It was as if my sweet little pup was sending me a reminder. To stop and be.
To go outside when the weather is warm enough and take it in.
​Breathe. Listen. Be Still.



 So I bundled up and took her to the walking trail.

Together we walked on the snowy path.
Breathing in the fresh crisp air.
Listening to the wind rustle through the branches.
Hearing the winter bird songs. 
Our steps muffled and our gait slow.
​

We took it all in. Stopping to smell or snap a photo. 

On our way back my glasses grew misty. It was raining or snowing. Just little tiny specs of water. Ellie's fur had collected mini snowballs and her sweater was damp. My cheeks were rosy, and my body warm.  
For a moment we stopped. I took a deep breath in, just as a Blue Heron took flight. He had been resting in a small pool of water nearby. Iced over at the edges the water was still moving, creating the most tranquil sound. A moment to be still within. 

For the remainder of the walk my brain was at work, creative sparks and ideas were bubbling to the surface.  It was as if our walk on the snowy trail path had pulled these thoughts together and brought them to life. 
​

Friends,
Work will wait. 
The world is calling us to come outside and breathe deep. If only for a few moments. 
And maybe,
it will be the thing your work needs. 
​~Jaci

I am
learning.
My friend and fellow artist lent me a book recently, ART/WORK
I am reading it slowly and deliberately. 
It is helpful in so many ways. 

In fact, 
the other day I began working on something that I really had no idea about. Something that you would learn about in art school, but since I didn't go to art school, I had no base knowledge but reading this book brought it up. 
​
And THAT  has me thinking...
The more I have jumped into my art career, the more I have learned. 
There are things that would've scared me and stopped me in my tracks if I knew about them all when I started out. 
  and as I write that,
I find it more true than ever. 
Personally, professionally, across the board. LIFE.

so much of life is 
jumping in and learning as you go.
There are things we don't even know yet. Things that may stop us in our tracks if we do.
so we don't know.
we learn
always learning.

a list of things I didn't know until I learned...
EVERYTHING!

​

So we begin 
2019

I am beginning this year craving a sense of calm. 
​
I have sat here, trying to force a blog post, which is very annoying. So I am going to stop doing that and write you a something else.

was I even hearing the rain

my mind was cluttered
​but that did not stop me
from adding to the pile
filling up the space with extra noise
so much noise

the to do's and should do's and have done and need to do's

my eyes settled on the view
just beyond the window from where I sat
it was raining
it was raining
it was raining
I've always loved the rain (I thought)
I'm going to sit and watch the rain (I thought)
I'm going to enjoy it, because it sounds so peaceful. 

so I sat 
and I watched
but the noise in my head
was too loud
 
the to do's and should do's and have done and need to do's
it was raining
it was raining
it was raining

later... when the sun came out
I found myself asking
​
​was I even hearing the rain?