…do you remember when?  Or took the time to do something for yourself?  Took the time to immerse yourself into a new hobby or dove into a book designed to hone your skill?

Making things, as I’m sure you know, is about so much more than simply the thing you made.  It’s about the process.    It’s about coming at something from a beginner mind, you know that mindset where it’s all new and exciting and the possibilities are endless…and sometimes frustrating.  And your brain and your body are trying, sometimes rather fumble-y, to figure it out. 

And then when you nail it, you’re elated, simply elated and think that you just might be an actual super hero. 

Well, at least that’s how I feel. 

And I dare say, it’s how we feel before we doubt it away. 

My wee son puffs up three times larger and whoops out loud when he works hard to do a thing, by himself, and then, finally, it happens as he hoped.  It’s a glorious thing to behold.  And it’s not only for the young. 

It’s for us all.  The joy of creating new pathways in our brain, new ways of seeing, doing, and thinking about things, the confidence boost you get when you do it.  It’s for us all.

Lately, I’ve taken up watercolor painting.  And while, I’m no John James Audubon (a brilliant water colorist as well as famous ornithologist…swoon!) I get disproportionately pleased with my finished project.  Not because they are so good, they’re not. 

But because I’ve delighted myself with what I can do!  And if I can do this thing now, imagine what I could do if I put my mind to it and practiced with diligence!!  It’s heady stuff learning something new.  Or taking the time to hone your skill.

So…I ask again, when was the last time you did something new?

In Kinship,

Tina