Feeling Tired… make art!
A few weeks ago I was feeling tired and struggling to keep my energy up! It was strange because it wasn’t about proper food, or rest or the fact that we had just come back from a lot of travelling! I was trying to get back into a rhythm and pushing myself hard, but I just couldn’t get my energy levels up.
And then I decided to make a painting for a dear friend who was visiting for a few days. Since I didn’t have too long to do this (it is always so great to work with deadlines!!!), I took a day off to paint! And I was tremendously impressed by what happened – it picked me up right away and I felt better prepared to cope with life and the whole week ahead.
Shortly after that, I came across this quote: “You often feel tired not because you’ve done too much, but because you’ve done too little of what sparks a light in you.” – Alexander Den Heijer
Now, I know it’s not enough to rely solely on the things we do to spark a light in us, but it certainly can help us keep our energy up.
Trying something new
A week ago I signed up for cooking classes by a professional Italian chef not knowing what kind of treat I was in for! What fun it was to be in the company of someone who really knows his art, and also to be a part of his creative process.
Interestingly the words of wisdom he gave us at the end were: “As you can see it is all about the amount of love we put into our cooking, if you do it with the thought of ‘oh I just need to put something on the table for my family’ or ‘oh no I have to cook again’, it will absolutely reflect in the food that comes out.” But, he said, if you put love into it, even salt and water mixed together tastes different! And this is true for everything in life, isn’t it?
A little reminder
This served as a little reminder: do we take time to celebrate and enjoy the things in life that spark this light in us, to enjoy the little pleasures, to take time to nurture ourselves? Do we give ourselves the opportunity to develop the ability to put more and more love into what we do?
This same author (Alexander Den Heijer) said: “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” So, Feeling tired? Make art… or switch up the environment, try something new, take a class, go out into nature or just find a way to play! Let’s give ourselves the space to grow in every aspect of life!
On this note, here is a beautiful message from Swami Kriyananda which you may like to keep with you: “This life that you are living is a fantastic adventure! Do those things that will make you happy, do those things that will make you more loving.” – Swami Kriyananda
