Slowing down the pace

Peacefulness in the Garden

This weekend my husband and I traveled to Williamston, North Carolina to spend time with my n-laws and celebrate Father's Day.  I have been blessed in this life with two dads, my own who has now passed on and my husband's father.  I have been a lucky girl in life!  Every time we arrive in North Carolina, an overwhelming sense of peace and rest comes over me!  Life is always so full of demands and excuses are made as to why we can't travel to North Carolina; yet when we make the time to go, we love the time that is spent there.  It made me think about what I wanted to blog about this week!  Slowing ourselves down to a quieter pace of living, something that sounds easy, yet is not an easy thing to accomplish.

My n-laws live in a very quiet town, filled with beautiful farms and landscapes.  My father-n-law grew up there (and ironically so did my mommy).  When he retired, he always wanted to return there and so they did.  They have made a beautiful and peaceful life down there!   It never fails, when I go there and just slow down, I almost become lethargic! When you allow your body and mind to just slow down it is amazing the feeling of tiredness that comes over you.  I am so used to being home and running a quick load of laundry, painting a quick part of something I am working on, checking an email or blog, the phone rings, running off to work, etc, etc, etc.  Down there I had no distractions, just time to visit with my parents, rest, walk outside and slow myself down.

My parents have beautiful hydrangeas growing in abundance in their backyard, so incredible.  I was able to take the time to photograph them, thinking they would become a watercolor someday . . . and I stress someday!  I have been taking a photography course by Vivienne McMaster, You are your own Muse, and she has taught me to look for different opportunities to take a self portrait . . . I found one in the hydrangeas!!

Finding Peace in the Hydrangeas

My mother and I found time to play with paints.  I love to be creative with her.  She paints amazing acrylic paintings and has been wanting to learn watercolors, so I brought some of my paints down, we took over the kitchen table and painted on a Saturday afternoon. Playing, painting, talking and laughing!  It truly was a special time.  I always cherish the creative times I have with Jimmy's mom.  I had brought watercolor postcards with me and in that whole time, I only created one.  I enjoyed the time of drawing a flower and painting it, one by one.  That was a lesson I learned that day, it didn't matter how long it took me to complete just one little postcard, it was about slowing myself down enough to enjoy the process.  The end result was a beautiful postcard and when I returned home I added a top coat of Mod Podge sparkle!  It really was fun!  If I were home, I would have never taken that much time to create just one little postcard.  Now which lucky friend of mine will receive it in the mail???  That isn't that what art is all about, slowing yourself down enough to actually enjoy the moment of creating.

Flower Power!

I know that my weekend was a gift to me.  Special time with family is hard to measure.  I was able to see the beauty in the little things.  Attending church in a small town was a gift, painting with my mom, cards till almost midnight, reading in the quiet, resting, seeing the beauty in nature, spending time loving my n-laws.   Our lives are truly what me make of them. We choose to be busy or we choose to slow down and enjoy a slower pace. It feels as though I have written on this subject before, in a different way.  Perhaps it keeps recurring in my thoughts for a reason!  I carry that with me this week and my Monday begins at Gilbert Eyecare!  I am thankful for learning that lesson, yes, over and over again; but especially today, the beginning of a new week.  I wish you peace, I wish you all good things to come your way this week.

Donna Lee

http://viviennemcmaster.com/