Simplicity and comfort may be the better bargain
April 1, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
Pride in speed and stress over not enough time for life are common. We pay more for pre-packaged servings and multitasking in the car is frequent. A lot of people recognize that this just doesn’t feel right, but revert to equally bad habits when things get tough. If you can stand to watch the news anymore you may have encountered some of the sideline stories accompanying the state of the economy:
- Candy sales are skyrocketing and being attributed to a need for comfort food.
- Americans can no longer afford to eat out every night (I’m not sure which Americans ever could, but certainly cutting back sounds familiar.)
- Americans have forgotten how to cook (really?)
- Stress and obesity levels aren’t improving any
It’s enough to make anyone reach for the mashed potatoes and gravy. Maybe we’ve just gotten a little too caught up in the end result and stopped appreciating the process. Comfort and efficiency just don’t sound like a natural pairing.
That goes for work, life, family, and food. I’m not saying that anyone should be stuck in the kitchen more than they want to be or that [insert diet here] is the way to go. Just that maybe we all could look around at what is ‘instant’ in our lives and revert one or two of them to the slower traditional forms. A little more time and care in the making of something may help us stop rushing around. It can also mean more time spent with family building simple traditions. For example, there is real comfort in a bowl of hot cereal in the morning or a cup of hot chocolate in the evening. Whether you’re a fan of oatmeal, cornmeal mush, or cream of wheat as long as you’re conservative with the butter and sugar, it’s very healthy. Even hot chocolate when you have control over the type of milk and amount of sugar can be better than what comes in the little packets. And anything you make ‘from scratch’ is more customizable – add some dried fruit to the cereal as it cooks or some hazelnut flavoring to the hot chocolate.
Many of the ‘instant’ improvements really only shave off five or ten minutes and one or two dirty dishes, but can add a couple of dollars or more. Have some fun with rediscovering the ‘old-fashioned’ way of doing things. Even disasters can be bonding experiences.
Are there things that you have rediscovered? Or refused to do/make in the most efficient manner possible?
Spring is here (maybe)
March 20, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Juliet's Journal
The head cold kept me down for most of this week, enough for me to start entertaining conspiracy theories regarding germ warfare. In between bouts I managed to do final selection for three photographs for the upcoming hospital show (see below), UPS delivered the frames, I wrote the label copy, got Google advertising set up for this site, posted all three blogs to five or six blog directories (I’ve no idea if it really helps build traffic, but it can’t hurt), and cleaned up tags and cross-references on Nurdle Net. Not bad for a week when I didn’t get anything done…
What my subconscious really means is that I didn’t bring in any money last week, even if those activities were all critical for that to happen at a future date. So I felt frustrated at being sick, frustrated at not having things happen immediately. Most definitely a week of the lizard fears. I think it’s one of those lessons that will keep repeating for me until I let go of that fear and focus on the constructive tasks. That’s the goal for this coming week.
The final selection for the upcoming show
Celebrate the Vernal Equinox
March 19, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Importance of Motivation
Spring comes to the northern hemisphere this weekend (March 20th). For those of you that don’t keep track, the equinox is when there is an equal amount of daylight and darkness. From the equinox to the summer solstice (June 21st) the days will get longer and longer, by just a handful of seconds each day.
It’s Nature’s perfect example of making great strides in small steps. So pick something that you really want to do more of like reading to your kids, walking in the neighborhood, or emailing your friends and follow the sun. Add just a tiny bit each day; one more paragraph, one more page, one more house on the next block. In just three months you may not recognize how far you’ve come until you compare it against where you started… and then it will be Summer.
Go with the flow
March 9, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
There is something incredibly captivating about watching a hawk ride the wind. It’s hard to look away while it’s still in sight. Part of the magic is because birds of prey are so efficient in expending energy, there is no wasted effort and they take advantage of what the moment offers.
Take a few minutes to put yourself in the hawk’s place. Do you allow the wind to help you or insist on fighting it? Do you trust yourself enough to stop doing things just for the sake of doing something?
New Mexico, Juliet Chase, all rights reserved
