Where Do I Start?

Where do I start? 

How many times have you asked yourself this when you're faced with a daunting task at hand? Or many tasks?  Where do I start?  It's often enough to freeze us dead in our tracks.  We don't know where to begin... there's just too much to do.  Overwhelm happens and what often happens next?  Nothing.  We do nothing... and stay stuck.

Yup.  I know this well.  That's one of the many reasons that I disappeared from my blog for so long.  There was so much going on that I just didn't have the time or energy, and when I finally wanted to get back to it... I froze.  Where the heck do I start?  So what did I do?  I would piddle around for a bit, then would freeze up, overwhelmed.  Where do I start?  How do I explain my absence?  Then I finally did what I should've done months ago.  I brought out my art journal.




Now mind you, during most of this time I hadn't made any art either.  I felt rusty and out of practice, but I had to get back to it.  I told myself to just start.  So I shuffled through my art papers and my folder of collage bits, and I pulled out a few things that spoke to me and started gluing them down into the journal before I could over think it. 

He who hesitates is lost.

Proverb 

Then out came the paints... 

I had to get paint on my hands... and quick.  Oh how I missed you... paint covered hands (deja vu, I think I've said this before!).  Ahh... I could breath again.  I'm me again.  

The background was done, so now what?  OK, just journal about what's on my mind a lot lately... in many ways about many things.  "Where do I start?"  How do I write a blog post after disappearing for so long?  How do I get back to my art?  I don't even know where to begin.  So back to the art journal... the answers came easy while working in my journal.  Where do you start?  At the beginning of course! Or wherever you want, wherever you are.  Start right here, there, anywhere... JUST START.  Dive in, stop over thinking it, there's no wrong answer here.

The only wrong move is to not make one, and stay stuck (man, I need to pin that to my wall... or forehead).

Easier said than done, right?  But reminding ourselves of this really can help from time to time. 

 And for those of us who finally do get started (like I did on this post), but then get tripped up by perfectionism and get stuck again...tonight my husband reminded me to "Keep it simple".  Forget perfection, etc... just get it done!

Ok, I have a lot to share with you all, but to keep this from turning to the longest post ever (isn't it already?)... and to keep me from freezing up while trying to write this, again... I will give you a very short-hand version of what I've been up to lately and fill you in with PHOTOS and whatnot in upcoming posts.  Deal?

OK...

*Had an art show.  Yay!!

*Went camping up in Kern River 

*Went on a month long trip to South Australia to visit dearly missed family

*While we were over in Australia, my Mom wound up in the hospital over here for about a week and hasn't been the same since, so since we've been back I've been over there helping her out as much as I can.  I've also been researching non-stop... healing foods, recipes, etc..  This has been my main focus since getting back from our trip.  She is doing way better these past few weeks, but still has a long way to go.

Ok, so those are the main things that I've been up to.
Oh, and Pinterest.  Darn Pinterest sucks me in, but I love it for keeping all the wonderful recipes (and art) that I'm finding all in one place! Then there's Facebook... I have been updating my FB art page more often then my blog.  


So what did I NOT do this whole time?  Art, blogging, and yoga.  How did I feel?  Crappy.  

I do apologize for my long, unintentional blog break, but the thing is, I want my blog to be a place of inspiration, but to possibly be inspiring you have to be/feel inspired... and that's hard to do when your mind is on other things.  Its also hard to do when you're not doing the things that inspire you... like art, blogging, and yoga.  It's very much a catch 22!  So now I'm jumping in and getting started again, with all three of those.  I've been "warming up" my art by working in my art journal lately, but I can't wait for some time to work on my canvases again.  This is my 2nd blog post in the past 2 weeks... I could do better than that, but hey... it's a start!  And tomorrow I'm meeting with my amazing yoga instructor again to get me back to it... which to me is a huge inspiration in itself!  Yay!  Progress... and hopefully tons of inspiration to come!

Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.
Johann Gottfried Von Herder

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.

Samuel Smiles

 Is there anything that you've been stuck with lately, and you don't know where to start?  Try to remind yourself that the only wrong move is to not make one, and stay stuck!  Now get started!  You'll feel so much better when you do!