I am just writing this morning because I am ever so grateful. I just couldn’t sleep, because I came to a realization about myself and my sense of peace and well-being in life and I had to tell you, too.
Some things in life just aren’t free.
Picture by Jennifer Rene
Sometimes I fail to think about how challenging life is; although I was once there. I once was in a place of constant regret, where I faced day-to-day wondering:“Why am I alive? And why does life have to be so darn challenging?”
To tell you the truth, I got tired of thinking this way and decided to try to find out more about my purpose. Life is so much easier when one can find a reason for which to live. It’s like purpose, just makes it make sense. I think I am close, because I am finding new meaning in using my hobbies to find pure joy. Being close to God helps me to relax, no doubt – but finding time to nurture myself has been one thing God has taught me to do with regularity. I work in a very stressful field of work, ( mental health) and it fulfills me. Therefore, it’s pertinent I find time for self-nurturing. However, that’s not what this is post is about. I don’t want you to think that you have to work in a stressful field of work, in order to find time for self care.
You should find time for self care simply because you are WORTH the effort and investment.
Finding time for self-nurturing helps me to find joy.
I am finding that through my hobbies and interests, meaning is developing in my life. I recently bought a new camera and it’s pure bliss for me. I have to tell you the history around cameras, for me. I have always had one since high school. I have always cherished them since I was a child. I was fascinated that you could capture a memory in time, so simply. It seemed to amaze me that pictures could take me to a time and place in my mind and past, that I could literally feel like I was there. Camera’s in my family are like an icon. My mom has several photo albums in her attic, today that when I go home, I find a space in time to go back to that place and reminisce. It’s funny that my mom would catalogue the pictures, but my dad would take them.
So I bought an SLR- a really high-tech camera, with special features that challenge me to learn and capture more behind the scenes. Above, is the first batch of photos from my new ( lack of a better word), “toy”. (However, “using the term “toy” makes it sound less important, so don’t be surprised if you come back here and you find a new word, much later.) Buying this camera this past week, has shown me that I have a place where I transcend even how I feel. I can go outside, grab my camera, and enter into an entirely different and wonderful head space, just because I have my camera, that lightens my load – making the world feel like a better place.
Before I bought the camera, my office space had been a mess for about three months. I had a project I needed to work on that involved cleaning out my closet and making room for more. I had absolutely no motivation to do anything, much less clean it. The day after I bought my camera, I was in the closet and all about my desk trying to make things work. I felt like my life was back on track, because I had something to throw positive energies into, once again. Whenever I am stressed or overwhelmed now, I just pull out my camera, and go for a walk or pilfer through the latest shots and smile with pride with what I am learning! Now, I was surprised, because finding peace never felt so easy. This may sound too easy for you. How can something like a camera make someone feel so happy and empowered? Well, it feels like an accomplishment, because long before I bought a camera, I saw myself with it in hand. I was reading all I could about SLR’s and learning about them online and even joined a photography club online to enhance my learning. I was determined that long before I bought a camera, I would have the skills to maneuver this wonderful art. And… I am so glad I did.
Luckily, I had my husband’s wisdom in helping show this to me. I never even knew how pertinent it was for me to do self care. He and I recently had a conversation about my self care, because I had been so stressed and overwhelmed he noticed I didn’t seem to be my normal joyful self. He says to me:” Babe, what would help you to find yourself, again?” I smiled, because he had just found joy in taking piano classes, and he knew investing in himself was worth it and he was on a ‘self-care’ kind of high. I knew immediately, because of his recent investment, that he was at peace because he took care of himself and made a recent investment in his peace of mind, and I knew it was my turn to do the same. I had gone five months without a camera, and for me that was like being in a desert int he hot sun, for five months and not being able to have a drink of water!
Today, self care today, looks like finding peace through a photographic lense. Imagine that!
So, my comment about how things sometimes aren’t free, has to do with a little self- investment. I had decided after my camera broke ( and I was in meaning-less slump after a month of crying), I had to invest in myself. So I saved up and did a few things to move this into action. I wanted to have more fun with my hobbies and wanted to invest in myself and projects long-term and I believed I worked hard for the money and nothing was worth more than finding a place in which I could remain young and free. I am surely not saying you need hundreds of dollars for an investment and a little peace in you life, but I AM saying that everyone has their own little spark that ignites them and pushes them towards purpose. Invest in yourself and take a dance class, pay for a ceramics class if you’ve always wanted to do that. Join a book club or a bowling team and LIVE, a little.
What’s your little magic or super-power that you can invest in, today? Have you explored that in your life?
What makes you happy and feel a little more free?
I guarantee you, if you just take the time to do a little self investment, you may find out more about yourself and have a little more peace and joy. Take the time today. take the time, explore and do a little soul searching and find your joy. You deserve it.
