I hope you are all well and having a lovely week. Is it just me or does life feel a bit lighter and more optimistic this week? The restrictions are gradually easing, the covid numbers are consistently down and life is starting to return here in Melbourne. It almost feels like a new beginning to me...does it to you? It is almost as if I have been holding my breath for a very long time and can now breath out. If I am honest, I have been a bit too cosy hiding out in my home bubble. Don't get me wrong I have been doing lots, but I have been drifting from day to day. This week I feel it is time to be getting out in the world again, perhaps a little bit outside my comfort zone and living life with a little more intention.
Intentional living is another one of those buzzwords that is going around, that's true, but it seems to fit with what I am hoping will help me move forward. I don't know if it is just me, but I think a lot of us are resisting the thought of going back to life as we knew it pre-lockdown. I want to get rid of old stuff that is no longer serving me and to start thinking about my values and goals for how I want my life to look. Even the old hangups and societal rules seem irrelevant now. Who really has time for fake anymore? I think we all looking for peace and contentment.
Intentional living ideas x
Unplug for 1 hour before bedtime
Write down 3 things to accomplish tomorrow
Focus on your lunch without your phone
Do a 15-minute yoga sequence from YouTube
Write your morning pages
Fill the fridge with interesting things to make salads
Treat yourself with food that is yummy...for me that is cake, but it has to be the homemade, squidgy kind
Create a vision board for next years's goals
Take a short trip to somewhere you truly want to go to
Mindfully eat a meal which nourishes your body
The week that was...Studio Makeover!
The week a studio tidy up turned into a studio makeover. For some time I have been thinking about taking up the inherited black carpet tiles on my studio floor. Now I can't believe I waited so long! To create more reflected light I decided to paint the concrete floor a pale shade of grey. It looks so good I don't want to mess it up! :)
works in progress on the studio wall
Podcast of the week x
How to Fail with Elizabeth Day is one of my go to podcasts to listen to when I'm painting. This podcast celebrates the things in life that haven't gone right. Every week, a new interviewee explores what their failures taught them about how to succeed better. There are so many great episodes it is hard to choose one to recommend, but one that stands out for me is Elizabeth Day's interview with Mo Gowdat.
Gawdat is the former chief business officer at Google X (Google's so-called 'moonshot factory' responsible for off-the-wall ideas such as self-driving cars and a balloon-powered internet) but for a long time in his life, despite having professional, personal and material success, he realised he wasn't happy. So he set about solving this problem by applying his scientific research skills to the issue: how can one individual be happy?
Gawdat joins me to talk about how that algorithm was put to the ultimate test when his beloved 21-year-old son Ali died in tragic circumstances. We talk about how to survive depression and grief; how happiness is like fitness.
You can listen here
New Work 'Still Waters'
Mixed media on canvas framed in oak shadow frame - 103cm x 103cm
The colours and shapes in this painting are influenced by the mid-century modern period of design. If you would like more details you can find this in here
