Small shifts for more joy

How did you feel about starting a new year?  A new decade?  I love new beginnings as it’s a great time to reflect on where we're at and if there are any small shifts we want to make to find more joy in our lives. 

​Last year had a lot of happy memories but I lost my dad towards the end of the year which was incredibly difficult.  I also had a fair share of health issues which made it painful to move and function in a regular way.  As a result, I couldn’t spend as much time creating new artwork and had to close my etsy shop for a long period of time while I cared for myself and my family. Coping with these challenging circumstances, I did realize how thankful I am that my work is so flexible. 

Almost a month into the new year, let’s take a moment to see how we’re doing on our intentions for this year. 

​Starting the year, I was very much looking forward to creating more art as creative time definitely adds joy to my life. I’m happy to say I’m still brimming with ideas! I’ve also been enjoying reading an art book I received for Christmas from my mom.  I’ve loved drawing all my life so I stocked up on a pile of sketchbooks and have spent the first few weeks of January drawing, doodling, sketching and painting.  It’s been so fun! ​

To top it off, my friend gave me a sketchbook to participate in “The Sketchbook Project.” After I fill this sketchbook, I’ll mail it to the Brooklyn Art Library to become part of a global collection of more than 45,000 sketchbooks from 130 countries. 

​I recently asked my peeps on my instagram page to cast a vote on the theme. “Simple Joys” came out as the clear winner!  I’ve designed the cover of the sketchbook with this theme and I’m starting to fill up the blank pages inside.  If you’d like to follow along, I plan on posting my progress on my instagram page.

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A big goal I have this year is to become a full fledged, certified Oregon Master Naturalist.  I’m thrilled I completed the first step in the process by passing the online portion of the course (with a 100% score… eeek!!). The next step is to complete the “field study” ecoregion course which will take place this spring.  It’s a competitive program to get in to so I’m not guaranteed a spot but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  I’m hoping to know more next month.

So I have two questions for you:

• What passion projects are you hoping to accomplish this year?
• What shifts would you like to make to add more joy into your life?  

Please share in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you about your thoughts!

If your year didn’t start out the way you’d hoped or expected, don’t worry!
It’s not too late to start learning that new skill or practicing that activity that makes you happy! Life has unexpected turns and twists which means that we usually don’t have as much control over our days as we’d like but small shifts can have a big ripple effect! Maybe painting a whole day or even a whole hour is just not going to happen right now but how about a fun, little doodle to make you smile?  

Joyful living is a dynamic process that asks us to reflect on what gives us joy and make small shifts to do more of those things.

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P.S. I have lots and lots of handmade goodies on sale right now to help make your Valentine’s Day, anniversary or friend’s birthday extra special! Please check out what’s on sale in my etsy shop.  Thank you!

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