Thoughts
i feel like my home is here.
i feel like my home is there.
close and far i feel at home.
i presently am here and you presently are there.
either/or i call it home.
here is familiar, and so is there.
near and away i feel at home.
i am so sorry that this hurts. that that hurts.
but the fact of the matter is there will always be hurt.
there will always be something easy enough to find, in or around us, that will cause us to curl up in attempts to protect ourselves from the quick-sharp-pain. from the slow-burning-fire. there will always be something trying to snatch us away from present joys and contentment.
but, truly, you have the power to not let this present hurt, this current i-don’t-think-i-can-handle-this, crush you. to not snuff you out.
you’re strong.
you were born with a light in you that no darkness can extinguish, if you recognize it, embrace it.
take a hold of it and own it.
know that hurting people hurt people.
know that you are more than this present situation.
this situation does not define you.
this hurt won’t last forever.
there will always be hurt, but there won’t always be this hurt.
wake up tomorrow knowing that there’s better things out there.
that you may be broken now but that you will be whole again soon.
the night may be filled with weeping, but joy comes with the morning.
these are small resolves, resolutions if you will, for my personal health and well being.
small, seemingly insignificant all on their own, but quite important and essential when all grouped together.
sharing as always to help further accountability, inspiration and encouragement.
if you have a few bits of resolve of your own, write them down. keep them. share them.
i resolve to always keep books on the bedside table. so as to have more important and tangible rectangles to reach for other than my phone come late night awakenings or early morning arisings
i resolve to keep predominantly fresh/whole/good food in my pantry and fridge so as to nourish and keep my body healthy
i resolve to keep my phone tucked away, not in my hand, as often as possible
i resolve to walk more without an end destination
i resolve to leave emails unopened until i can respond to them
i resolve to practice more patience, especially with people
i resolve to call more and text less
i resolve to say the nice things i think about people out loud more often
i resolve to not say the not nice things i think about people more often
i resolve to think more than twice before i buy something non essential
i resolve to regularly question what's essential
i resolve to write more
i resolve to unapologetically listen to this song as many times as i want to in a day since it's been that way since basically october and i'm just going to embrace it at this point
i resolve to say hello more than i say goodbye
//
feeling oh-so-good about you 2016.
and we're only a week in.
flyaway home
for the winter
to the south
flyaway home
with your all dark inside mouth
flyaway home
over the land above the sea
flyaway home
near-far-gone from me
a mid-morning revelation:
that voice will call you home when you realize no other will truly lead you there.
however, you're only capabale of hearing that voice if you're being still enough to listen for it.
Slow Living.
It's a term that's been on my mind often over this past year.
It's part of the dream I am working on.
What does it mean?
For me it's...
Having the ability to naturally wake up early in the morning and going about my morning routine unrushed
Taking the time to make myself meals from whole and fresh foods that come from the ground and not packages
Reading a book while I eat lunch instead of looking at a screen
Reading a book while waiting somewhere
Reading a book before bed
Reading books
Walking or biking to the grocery store instead of driving
Caring for plants (and crossing my black thumbs while doing so)
Lighting candles
Taking time for myself
Taking time for others
Writing letters instead of texting
Dropping everything to go sailing if the weather, and the sailor who's daughter I am, calls for it
Taking a bath instead of a shower
Going on a walk with no destination in mind
Spending time with those I care about in more spontaneous and unscheduled ways
Doing things on purpose
Spending less
Owning Less
Turning over that record instead of hitting the next button on Spotify
Delegating and not having to wear so many hats
Taking time to meditate and pray
Lying in the grass and enjoying the weather
Running in the rain and enjoying the weather
Enjoying the weather
......
Essentially, it's taking the time to enjoy life's gifts in the various, often over looked, forms they take. Even when they require extra steps. Even when they require more time. Even when there's a to do list hanging over my head.
Because it's a healthier way of living.
What does slow living mean for you?
creativity is uncertain.
it’s going into an unknown.
unknown often goes hand in hand with fear.
and so, creativity is often in the presence of fear.
the afternoons are not for me
it’s the in-between.
the already-past or the not-quite-yet placeholder of time.
i like mornings. i like nights.
but afternoons are not for me.
from 12-5 i prefer to look back or look forward.
A lovely little corner of Na Nin Vintage
This is something I posted on Instagram this morning, but I had a few extra thoughts I wanted to share so I decided to share them here.
Today is Small Business Saturday. Which, if you didn't know, is a holiday created by Amex in order to promote shopping at small and local businesses.
Shopping small isn't about being trendy.
It's about supporting your community.
The place in which you live.
The hard working people who are living out or pursuing their dreams for the greater good.
It's about investing in QUALITY vs. QUANTITY.
Knowing the person behind the product.
The maker behind the creation.
A sentiment I've been working on implementing into my life more over the past year or so.
People often complain about how expensive it is to shop small/local, and I get that, but honestly when you buy one quality item you save yourself time and money down the road from having to buy five poor quality items after they quickly wear out/break/go out of style. Plus there's the whole fast fashion issue and the excessive consumerism mindset that plagues so much of our lives (if you haven't watched True Cost, do it. It's on Netflix)
Besides, really and truly think about it, wouldn't you rather know where your money's going? Who it's going to and what it's being used for? I think there's far greater value in that than we realize. And what goes around comes around. So make it a point to invest in and support small businesses, not just today, but on a regular basis. Because it's what's best for this here world of ours. We're all in this together after all. ❤
////
So those were my words from Instagram this morning, but then a friend of mine brought up the additional thoughts on how so many people don't have the ability to invest in quality and well made things. That that is in fact a luxury and a privilege. And how we should also be conscious and open to not only shop small, but shop second hand.
Which I 100% agree with.
And so I want to add on some more thoughts to this topic and way of thinking.
First by clarifying that when I admonish you to shop at small businesses I'm definitely also including vintage/thrift/second hand shops. Because I do think it's important to buy second hand as much as possible instead of just buying new things all of the time. ***Insert a reiteration of the dangers of fast fashion here***
Secondly, I also think it's important to seek out businesses and artists that make an effort to give back in various ways. I in no way want to come across as elitist and privileged in my declaration of the importance of shopping small, which I know it often can be construed as because it sometimes is more expensive. Rather I want to speak to the value of supporting smaller businesses BECAUSE of how much our community and society as a whole is hurting and doing this, sowing back into people, supporting each other and helping one another out, is so very important in helping out the greater good of our communities.
It's a hard issue as a whole to address because of its various intricacies and how it goes so much deeper than the surface of just how we shop.
I think I tend to get overwhelmed when looking at the bigger picture of our country and how it's hurting and impoverished and then seeing the privileged and those more well off (which I undoubtedly am one of, simply because I have a roof over my head and the ability to put food on the table on a consistent basis. Not to mention how I have extra to spend on much sillier/trivial/unnecessary things). I think my way of approaching the issue is hitting at the hearts of so many at the middle/upper class line and how consumerist we are, which is so toxic to not only ourselves and those in this country but those in other countries as well. We have so much in comparison to many who have so little or often even nothing. And my heart is at a place where I'm trying to speak to that issue on the surface so that we can then work our way down to the deeper issues and turn around and give to and help those who are maybe hurting a little more than we are.
It's what God calls us to do after all.
Be a good steward of the blessings he's given us.
I definitely have been wrestling with more extreme ways to do that though. I recently cleared out a lot of stuff and gave a carload of things to a halfway house, but even things like that make me sick to my stomach. The fact that I have a carload of excess is just wrong on so many levels.
I'm definitely trying to figure out what living a life centered on Gods will in this area looks like.
But more than that, what it looks like to not stand above reaching down to those less fortunate, but stand beside them hand in hand.
This is something that's been on my mind a lot lately, not just because I am one of those small businesses, an artist and a maker I hope people will support, but because I want to make a positive impact with my life and what I'm doing with it. Whether that's with the services I offer with my knitwear and photography or whether it's with being a consumerist/shopper myself and where I spend my money and what and who I choose to support with it.
It's also a topic of conversation I would love to hear your thoughts on, whichever side of it you take, because I want to be able to openly discuss this. So if you have some thoughts, please share them in the comments or even shoot me an email.
xo
twelve year old freckles
blank walls showcasing a single photo
ink scrawled words on a well worn page
the comfortable silence between you and a someone you feel at home with
sun splashed hardwood floors
a cleared inbox
routine how-are-you phone calls
a knowing smile between friends
a knowing smile between strangers
the thoughtfulness of a mother
slow burning candles
a clean sink free of dishes
the smell of rosemary
a cup of coffee brought in the early morning by a loving friend (or, honestly, any cup of coffee)
the satiny feel of endlessly used knitting needles
a song with words that hit you right in the chest in that place where you really and truly get stuff
bike rides on chilly-grey days
these are the overlooked, not-as-noticed things i’m thankful for.
i, of course, could go on and on about the big abundance i’ve been blessed with in the way of my family and friends and a home and my dreams and passions. and i do go on and on about them from time to time. but i wanted to take today, this day we reserve for thankfulness and being grateful, to take note of these small things.
actually, now that i think about it, these small things speak of all of those aforementioned big things.
they, in their smallness, just altogether make up the big things.
the just-right things.
