Living in the Slow Lane

​I've been quiet these days, totally intentional and totally restorative. But I figured I would pop on and say hello.

As much as I love what I do in the busy times -- the bustle of appointments and parties, the mania of summer reading programs at libraries, the thrill of fall festivals and music festivals and the intensity of gingerbread season -- this is one of my favorite times of year.

January, February and March are my down months, the slower season. Still popping into libraries and the studio and occasional events and parties, the pace is more manageable and less chaotic.
If I have budgeted mindfully, which this year I have, I can set my speed to cruise control and do a little living.

My travels this winter will take me to Montreal, St. Lucia, Key West and Morocco. My work focus is on editing my spaces, refining my systems, improving my techniques and being present in my own life. The rest, I figure, will follow.

I can meet friends for coffee and I can spend 30 minutes cooking myself a nice lunch. I can sleep in and stay up late and chat with friends and go on dinner dates. I can, and do, watch lots of movies and I take care of my body -- catching up on appointments and rest and generally just returning to center.

Part of loving what I do is rolling with the seasons, going with the flow. Accepting what is. Enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Pretty soon, the earth will thaw and the thumping of the drums will start to pulsate across the spring and beckon all of us toward the dancing beats of summer, which means henna and people and festivals and parties.
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And I will be rested and ready to open my arms to it all again.