Leaping into Less

It's been ages since I've played at Jamie Ridler's studio, so I popped over this morning and her question What Leap Do you Wish to Take? gave me pause.

What LEAP do I wish to take?   Jamie, I'm already leaping tall buildings in a single bound and stopping the occasion speeding bullet in order to accomplish my goals.  In fact if I keep leaping at this pace, I'm likely to spring myself right into burnout.  I've done it before.

Leaping it kinda my thang. 

My Meltdown SoulCollage Card

The question begs to be asked:  What constitutes a "leap" anyway?  Isn't a leap an action performed without knowledge of the consequences?  An act of faith?   In that case, I'm not leaping at all because I know my hard work and actions will result in success.  The leap for me then is slowing down.   

Woah...my palms just got sweaty.  I must have hit a nerve.

So the leap I wish to take now is letting go, slowing down and doing less...while keeping the faith that it will all work out.

Now that's a leap worth taking.

"Mud" by The Bean

Nana and Pap like to take me for walks on Sunday afternoon. 
Nana thinks its funny when I'm on Pap's shoulders,
'cause it looks like I have a tail.

My Pap knows a lot about plants and teaches me 'bout ones I can eat
and ones I shouldn't touch.  
Here he's teachin' me 'bout pois'nivy.  "Leaves of three, let them be" he says.

We like to go down to the river and walk on this one tree that goes
waaaaay out over the water. It's a little scary but I like it.
Pap almost fell out of the tree once and Nana laughed real hard.

Sassy our Pug always comes with us on walks.

Nana says she's a "cream puff" but she's part of the family, too.
I never saw a dog climb a tree before.

Pap likes to hold me and talk about what we see like
clouds and water and birds and stuff.
Nana calls him "flosofer". 

I love my Pap.  Nana says he's "earfy" and "grounding".
  I don't know what that means but I feel safe when he holds me.

Nana wanted to get closer to the water for pitchers (she's always takin' pitchers!)
She took off her shoes and walked in the mud.

This made Pap and me laugh.

I wanted to get in the mud too.

And the water.

It feels funny when it squishes 'tween my toes.

Sassy went kinda nuts in the water and Nana kept calling her "mudball"

I fell down.  Then I fell down again.
Falling down was fun!  I was swimmin' in the river!

Nana told Pap "that's enough he'll get 'monia".
She made me get out of my wet clothes and told Pap to take off his shirt and wrap me up.
It was warm and smelled good, like Pap.

I like having adventures with Nana and Pap.
You never know what's gonna happen.

There's No Place Like Home

In January of this year I began what was initially an exciting three months of stimulating new experiences.  I signed up for a series of aromatherapy classes in new and distant cities.

This fresh slice of life thrilled me to bits because my adventures included everything I adore:  working with essential oils, meeting new people, flying and driving to unknown cities,  leasing cars with state-of-the-art gadgets, renting adorable cottages and - most importantly - flooding my thirsty brain with new knowledge.    At one point I added even more classes which meant increased travel, increased expenses and increased time away from home. 

And it's taken its toll on my well-being.

Somewhere in the thrill of new experience and seeking higher knowledge, I began to lose myself and my balance.   I have a lot of increased wisdom to be sure, but the most valuable lesson has been that it's possible to have too much of a good thing.

I've been away one week every month since January.  For some that might not seem like much, but for me that's a lot of time away.   This has translated into less focus on my loved ones, overloading my massage schedule when I am home and packing more into each hour of each day.  Worse, my creative soul-nourishing activities have been neglected:  writing, blogging (only 40 posts since January!), Fragrant Fridays, art journaling, soulcollage and time spent just dreaming.  Never underestimate the value of "goofing off" "puttering" and "doing nothing in particular".

Yep.  When staying in a gorgeous lake cottage like this isn't nearly as interesting as

moments like this,

then it's time to be home.

So today, I'm putting an end to busy.  I've invited my inner child for a visit and we're doing nothing in particular.  At home. 

Where, it turns out, we like it best.