Hopeinart
Hopeinart
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Taking Monday

Creating sacred space from the unexpected. Taking Monday is about being intentional about how we spend our days.

About the Author

The Seed - Uncovering the Art  Within

2/29/2016

1 Comment

 
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I have been working at living and breathing "whitespace" for about 8 months now. I've felt stalled in my own art making, not stirred or passioned about my projects, and so I've been focused on listening. Trying to quiet my own rantings and stressings so that I could uncover that small inspired voice within. I've been making time for rest and allowing myself to breathe instead of striving for more. 

In December I was challenged to hang an ornament that represented my spiritual life, and this empty glass globe presented itself. It has sat here on my shelf since then, serving as a reminder of my need to empty so that I am more open to the whispers of my design. I get so cluttered with thoughts, ideas, and stressors, filling with things that are not as important as I make them; and it causes me to miss out on the greater, and sometimes simpler things.

Today, change happened. Or not really change, but an uncovering of what was already present, woven into the very fiber of my being. I've been waiting for change, for an awakening to what lies next. But Emily Freeman, author of A Million Little Ways has made me realize that I needed to look within and look back instead of straining to see what lies ahead. And there I found it.

A seed. A seed of what brings joy to my heart. What brings tears to my eyes. What moves me to true hope and passion. A seed that I can remember being planted as early as Kindergarten. A seed so simple and obvious that it has really been right here all along but I have been dismissing it and looking for something else. This seed bears a call to give a voice to those without voices. An idea that anyone can see has been wrapped into my life, but there is so much more. That seed is stirring. 

But for now it is a seed. And I will continue to wait, because I am not the one who can make it grow, but I am the one who can receive and follow the design laid out for me. It may be a year, it may be a decade. But I know this seed will grow, and I can't wait to share it with you when it does. 

​And my glass ornament is no longer empty.

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1 Comment

Blessed to Rest, Blessed to Work

8/3/2015

3 Comments

 
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It's been a strange summer that has forced me to really take a look at how I rest. I have my go-to stress relievers: music, reading, painting; but somehow my sources of relief were recently causing stress? I suffer from the disease of too much - too much doing, too much trying, too much striving...it could even be said that in my search for rest, I was trying too hard. 

My husband and I took a weekend trip mid-summer and I brought along my normal "relaxing" items, some of which I was looking forward to finally getting to after long hard weeks at work. But somehow I didn't. I did nothing. And THAT somehow tired me out. The week following I was more exhausted than I had been. 

I'm reminded of my days in college when the days leading up to finals filled with endless momentum and driving forward finally came to a crashing halt after the tests were over, and I had nothing more to give. Once the momentum stops, it's even harder to get going again...until you have the proper rest. 

Proper rest. I thought I knew what that was.
Bonnie Gray, author of "Spritual Whitespace: Awakening Your Soul to Rest" says "We try to control the journey of what a restful life ought to look like. But the journey of rest paved by faith is a living story. It cannot be contained. It is beautifully mysterious and personal." I like to contain things. I like when things fit into neat little packages and when 2+2 always equals 4. But the beauty of life is that this is not how it works. It is also the pain of life. 

Thankfully, that first "exhausting" weekend trip was just what I needed to prepare for our big summer trip. A week and a half of mountain bliss. I'm not going to lie, it was not all blissful, I had my grumpy mornings and my husband and I had our disagreements, but what good relationship doesn't? Finally after a week in the mountains, I felt I could breathe again. And just when I was learning to rest for real...it was time to go back to work, and BAM huge pile of unexpected paperwork on my desk, a long stream of voicemails, and rumblings of more problems in the workplace. Sigh.

Life is a balance, and often it is about perspective. I am blessed to rest, and I am blessed to work. All I need to do is take the next step into what is right in front of me. God will lead the way. 

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3 Comments

    Author:Rachael

    Welcome! I'm pleased that you've joined me here and hope that you find some inspiration on these humble pages. 

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