September 4, 2012

The Art of Eating Mangoes: Finding Daily Rituals

photo by sintwister – click image for more info

Two weeks ago I moved to a new town. The transition has brought many changes, some expected and some unexpected. But perhaps the most unexpected discovery has been the power of mangoes.

The wonderful thing about a move is that it gives you a buffet of do-vers. Contents of your fridge expired and dull? Do-over. Closet filled with long-forgotten finds? Do-over. That beach towel I’ve hated for the last 8 years? Gone. Purged. Do-over.

But it’s not just objects that get the works, it’s also your time. New setting, new floorplan, maybe even a new job. Routines are broken and get to be rebuilt.

My new and accidental routine has become eating a mango for breakfast each day.

I love their color, mottled on the outside and glossy yellow-orange on the inside. The gradual metamorphosis from grab-able to slippery fish as I peel them. And the resistance against the knife! I adore the texture of the fruit meat, and the sweetness, and the mess of juice on the cutting board when I’m done. The pile of peels.

Each day is the same, but filled with subtle variations.

This is what a ritual looks like. It begins when I search the fridge for the softest fruit and ends when the knife and cutting board have been washed. Short. Simple. Succulent. And powerfully grounding.

“When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things. Where is beauty to be found? In great things that, like everything else, are doomed to die, or in small things that aspire to nothing, yet know how to set a jewel of infinity in a single moment?”
― Muriel Barbery, The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Do you have a daily ritual? What do you love about it?

Gathering light,

Filed Under: Plot Notes Tagged With: , , 6 Comments
July 16, 2012

On Summer Slumber and Ambition

“Sleeping Summer Sunset” by Kayla Skogh – click for info

I had a completely different post ready for you today, but during these past few weeks the onslaught of summer has led me to a delightful dilly of a pickle. To quote a friend, summer’s simply got “a hold on me.”

It’s sunny and hot; farmers’ markets are overflowing with fresh produce, enticing me to indulge my inner foodie; I’m less than a five-minute walk from a beach, a gelato shop, and four coffee shop patios.

If that wasn’t enough, I just spent a blissful week by a lake in the woods where the soundtrack was predominantly nature-made, and the most pressing question was which bag of potato chips I’d open next.

How on earth is a girl to engage into full work mode under such circumstances?

Very gently, I say.

Here’s the dilemma: Sultry summer is here (in the northern hemisphere), bringing with it a desire to kick back and relax, but for many of us–some by choice and others not, work goals remain.

How does one reconcile the slumber-filled nature of summer with the ambitious tone of work and deadlines?

After turning it around in my head for the past week, I came up with a few ideas that may help:

Re-evaluate your priorities. What really needs to get done? Why? Focus on your short list; the rest is gravy.

If you can, reduce or manage work expectations, especially the week after summer vacation.

Plan your work on a calendar. By knowing when you need to get things done to meet your summer goals, you’ll know exactly how much catching up you’ll have to do when you ditch the office for an impromptu day at the water park.

Take it outside. There’s no reason you can’t enjoy a cool drink and soak up the sun while getting things done.

Know when it’s time to push and buckle down. Commit to spending a specific amount of time working, and honor it. When you’re done, reward yourself with something completely summer-licious like a bowl of berries, [insert refreshment of choice here] on a patio, or an afternoon at the beach.

Know when it’s time to ease up. Summer is short and so is life. Sometimes plans are meant to be chucked aside for good old-fashioned fun in the sun. No calculations, no justifications necessary.

How do you approach work during the summer?

Do you shift your habits at all? If so, what do you do differently?

Filed Under: Buy You, For You Tagged With: , , , , , 5 Comments
February 9, 2012

Growth. It’s not all grace and epiphany.

Congruence. Alignment. Growth. Creating the life you want, creating a life that reflects your values.

These are some of the things we’ve been talking about at Scoutie Girl lately. It’s hard work. I know, because I’ve been doing it. Shifting the tectonic plates. Realigning my planets. It’s no easy feat — even just on the internal level.

I’ve been expanding, stretching, digging deep. Having epiphanies and getting my yoga on. Seeking wise mentors. Making some very satisfying creative work. I’ve been feeling wide open, expansive, bright, and vital.

I’ve also been reaching out for old habits and behaviors. Comfort food instead of green juice. Arguments instead of taking a deep breath. I’ve been experiencing emotional eruptions that surprise even myself.

I’ve been growing and changing and learning. I’ve also been shaking my fists and regressing.

I thought that these two states were counter to each other. Then I realized that they belong together. Counterbalance.

The messy stuff doesn’t negate the good stuff. The messy stuff is just a call for comfort.

Old habits and old ways of being — for better or for worse, they are known entities. They are soothing and familiar at a time when everything is fresh, new, exhilarating but unknown.

Growth isn’t all grace and epiphany. There’s a reason why caterpillars build themselves a cocoon before they change into butterflies.

Growth and change can be messy. Growth and change can demand comfort, privacy, and protection.

My mind and my body are looking out for me (yours, too!). They are looking for ways to provide that comfort and release, be it tater tots, a good cry, or sleeping in late. They are reaching for things I know — even if they’re not what I want right now.

I’m committing to consciously providing myself healthy comfort. To look for ways to support myself ahead of time as well as in the moment. And to be forgiving of whatever messy stuff does come up — to observe it without judgement.

What might little bits of comfort look like? I’ll be seeking out things that make me laugh. Making dates with blankets and tea. Seeking more time on the yoga mat. Creating rituals of leisure. Turning off my computer and hiding my phone. Going to bed early and in my favorite jammies.

Are you going through a period of growth and change, too? Are you working to create the life you want — both inside and out?

It’s okay to give yourself space to honor this growth and change and acknowledge how momentous it is.

It’s okay to rest and comfort yourself, consciously, in ways that feel congruent with the great work you are doing.

xoxo Maeg

Filed Under: Creative Call to Action, Plot Notes Tagged With: , , , , , 19 Comments
January 12, 2012

The Friendly Guide to Rewriting Your Patterns

Hey, Scoutie Girl readers! You might want your journal or pen and paper handy for this one. Here we go!

Our lives are full of patterns and habits, from how we think or argue, to how we tie our shoes or brush our teeth.

We have patterns in our creative work and business lives as well: How we develop a new design, how we spend our time, how we organize our studios. How we try to grow our businesses, how we plan, how we respond to challenges.

It’s a new year. A time when we look closely at the past year and sculpt fresh plans for the next one.

Out with the old patterns and in with the new. Looking at the work and creativity patterns in our lives and resolving to do better. Be bigger. More amazing.

There are patterns in our creative and business life that we’d like to change, that don’t really serve us. How do we unravel the bits that are holding us back so that we can grow, be more creative?

Let me put a hypothesis out there, that I’ve found to be true over and over in my own life:

Creative patterns and life patterns are connected.

In fact, I’d say they are the same. They’re all woven together. How we do one thing is often how we do everything.

Making the connections is a key part to untangling the whole pattern. It’s like the first tug on the thread that will unravel it all. So let’s start there.

1. Find the pattern, make the connections.

An example:

Last year I took a good look at my creative business life. Through some journaling it became clear to me that I was having a crisis of follow-through. I was working hard but only going halfway on some important things, and not getting where I wanted to go.

At first, I thought this was just a business pattern I could break through sheer force of will and a better checklist.

Then I dug deeper with more journaling and observation and realized – boom! – that this was a pattern woven deeply into all aspects of my life. Down to how I do laundry – I wash and fold, but rarely put away. It’s in how I do the dishes, how I practice yoga, how I renovate my home.

Seeing all these things in the context of a larger pattern simply blew me away. And it helped me be less hard on myself, by allowing me to observe the whole pattern instead of thinking of it as one isolated instance of laziness or lack of commitment.

Journal prompts:

  • What patterns are you looking to change in your creative and/or creative business life?
  • Do you see these pattern in action in other areas of your life? How?

2. Befriend the pattern.

A pattern is HUGE. Like an iceberg, there’s a lot going on underneath the surface.

Berating yourself, making resolutions with clenched teeth at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and filling your house with scribbly sticky notes in order to change one aspect might not do the job.

Looking at the pattern as it connects to all facets of your life – well, it can be overwhelming at first.

Trying saying hello instead. I mean, you and your pattern have already been living together for quite some time, so why not get to know each other?

“Hey pattern, what’s up? You don’t really serve me but you must somehow, because you’re EVERYWHERE in my life. I mean, you’re even in my laundry basket. So let’s chat so I can understand you a little better.”

The key here is something I often hear in yoga class: “Observe without judgement.” See what your pattern is up to. You probably already know how it doesn’t help you, but have you found out how it does help?

My follow-through pattern helps me out in all sorts of ways. Mainly it’s a giant bouncer protecting me from facing both my fear of sucess, and failure. It protects me from major change and new challenges.

Journal prompts:

  • How does this pattern help you?
  • Is it protecting you in some way?
  • How does this pattern not help you?

3. Live with the pattern. Change the pattern.

You’ve noted the connections, said hello, and become friends. Or at the very least, respectful roommates.

So now…live with the pattern. Bring an awareness of it to your daily life. Know when you’re in it, and when you’re changing it. Observe without judgement.

Letting go of guilt, of shoulds and have tos, and just observing, opens up space that can be filled with actual change.

Awareness of the pattern in your whole life is a huge part of changing it. Seeing the connections, seeing the obvious depth and breadth of a pattern in your life makes it almost painful to stay in it.

If change isn’t overnight, no worries. Just keep observing. Stay kind to yourself. Perhaps choose something to focus on as a way of working through your patterns one thing at a time to see how it feels. The laundry. Making phone calls. Running. Take your pick.

Journal prompts:

  • What would unraveling this pattern look like in my daily life?
  • What are moments that I stay in the pattern, and how is this helping or not helping me?
  • What are some moments where I’ve stepped out of the pattern, and what has that been like?

Happy rewriting!

xoxo Maeg

Filed Under: Creative Call to Action, Plot Notes Tagged With: , , , , , , , 14 Comments
May 10, 2011

hidden habits: which ones are you reinforcing?

photo by Ringlebee – click for more info

Sometimes I decide to turn over a new leaf.

I will eat more fruit!
I will dress well even if I’m not leaving the house!
No more computer right before bed!

Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But lately I’m becoming aware of some other insidious leaves that have turned: the ones I haven’t done on purpose.

Yes, I’m forming habits all the time, without thinking about it. And so are you.

What habits have you been creating?

checking email instead of focusing on substantial work?
being hard on yourself?
showing up 10 minutes late?

When we do these things over and over, we reinforce the behavior so it becomes habit. Our default. We never really meant to do it, but we also didn’t intervene and change direction.

But maybe you have some good ones, too.

sharing about services you appreciate?
asking for help?
taking a break when you need one?

Do a mini-audit. What habits are really running the show? Any you want to break? Or create?

Filed Under: creating action, Plot Notes Tagged With: , , , 6 Comments