Lately life has been just plain chaotic.  To many things to do with not enough time to do them – sound familiar?  Pulled in different directions, way different.  Projects grow stagnant as more “pressing” situations come forth.  There is no routine, no constant, no normalcy.  Crazy seems to be the new normal around here…but is it really?  Isn’t it always somewhat crazy just with different circumstances?

What I’ve come to discover is that we will never completely get rid of the chaos in our lives  (that would be boring) so the only other option is to find peace within it.  It is not the situations or circumstances themselves, but rather our reactions to them that make us feel slightly off kilter.  And then, I come back to one of my all time favorite yoga tools….focusing on the breath.  Taking in the most delicious FULL DEEP breath imaginable.  Drinking it up and noticing the small nuances of what it feels like to actually breathe…to actually be alive or maybe just maybe…..to be breathed by something much larger than myself.  Sweet surrender surfaces once again.

Then, I am reminded that all. is. well.

Breathe In…Peace Out…Be Well.

Hi Baby – I didn’t know.

I didn’t know when I married you 20 years ago today that we’d still be together now.  I didn’t know that we’d set the example for the rest of our family and friends to look up to even though I feel like we don’t know what we’re doing either.  I didn’t know that we’d have 2 crazy little girls that have the best and worst parts of both of us.  I didn’t know they teach us to be better people.  I didn’t know that dads like you existed.  I didn’t know that we’d continue to discover things about each other when we thought we knew everything there was to know.  I didn’t know we’d buy a house, lose a house, find a home, and be OK.

I didn’t know that we’d watch each other suffer heartbreaks and encourage each other to get back up.  I didn’t know that you had the courage to be who you are while allowing everyone else to be who they are.  I didn’t know that you would make space for me to follow my dreams of owning a business, selling a business, moving a business, and venturing out of state…..because I just plain wanted to even when it meant sacrificing your family.  I didn’t know that you’d continue to be an inspiration to all those around you, that you would encourage people to be happy more and be worried less – including myself.  I didn’t know that you had an undying faith and unshakable belief system that allows you to trust in God while listening to me constantly question, question, question! And while I challenge you at the core of your beliefs with a different perspective based on my experience,  I didn’t know that it was OK for me to not think like you.  I didn’t know that life would get better.  I didn’t know that I would cry while I write this.  I didn’t know that life could be stable.  I didn’t know that you had a silent strength and put yourself last to support others being first.  I didn’t know that no one is beneath you.  I didn’t know that we would like the same things like gardening, wine, and being outdoors.  I didn’t know that I’d love skunking beating you at cribbage (on rare occasion that I actually win).   I didn’t know that I would be more in love with you today than I was 20 years ago….but it’s true.

I look forward to finding out more that I don’t know about life with you.

Love,

Me

Creating an extraordinary life out of ordinary moments.  Yep, sometimes I need to remind myself of what I’m doing…get it back in focus.  Get clear.  Initially when I started this blog, my intent was clear as in CRYSTAL.  It was to explore the ways in which yoga, art, and life are intertwined, where one spills into the other giving a breath of fresh air to a new perspective.  It was to be a blog featuring art with hope through observations that arise in my yoga practice (on and off the mat) and life.  Om2art is a reminder that we can choose to create an extraordinary life out of ordinary moments, if we take the time to notice that what we have is already ENOUGH, even when the only thing we have is ourselves.  Yes, we are enough. As is.

Om2art is about creating art from the heart authentically, and sharing it with others.  It’s about  the  ordinary magically transformed to the extraordinary.  But sometimes the lines get blurred.  The ideas come in so fast and furious that before you know it I have a million blog post ideas, projects to do, art to make, pictures to take, a family to feed, a garden to tend, work to do, and a life still to live…..oh and laundry!  Then it’s down the rabbit hole of too many things to do in too little time.

And ps – who made that rule? (In the voice of KRR)  Who made the rule of “gotta get it all done NOW”???  Seriously – for the birds.

The more ideas that come in, the more they start to feel separate as if they each take on a life of their own.  As if they each need attention and seeing as how I’m an all or nothing kind of girl…..I can get overwhelmed and then well….it swings to the nothing side of the pendulum.  Enter focus and her good friend clarity (as well as my moms love of all things jewelry).

This “focus bracelet” as I call it, is my reminder to myself of why it is I do what I do.  I paint, I love, I yoga and most of all I do it because it not only inspires me, but  inspires me to inspire you – and that lights me up more than you know.  Thanks mom for the gift of clarity.

How do you all get your focus on?