Intuition

Over the years, I've made a lot of life changing decisions.  Some were based on logic and reason.  Some were based on emotion.   Some were based on intuition.

Merriam-Webster defines intuition this way:

1 : immediate apprehension or cognition without reasoning or inferring. 2 : knowledge or conviction gained by intuition. 3 : the power or faculty of gaining direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference.

The common thread in all of that is the notion of knowing something without evident rational thought.

It is very important to get quiet and still enough to listen to your intuition.  Quiet the other voices of strict rationality, of fear, of anger, of guilt, of regret, of sadness - or the voices of other people in your life who love telling you what to do.  Note them, then listen past them.  What is your gut saying?  That's where intuition lives. 

There have been  more than few times in my life where I listened to intuition and then followed it. Every single time, I have been glad I did - even though rationally, these decisions seemed crazy or risky.   As I have gotten older, I have tried to listen more and more.   Which relationships should I let go of?  Which should I hang on to?  What new things should I try?   Who should I get to help me?  Should I take advantage of this new opportunity or let it go?   Should I respond?  What kind of person do I want to be?   How can I Be instead of DO all the time? 

What questions are you facing lately?   What does your rational self think?  What does your emotional self think? 

What is your intuition telling you?

Your Comfort Zone is Stretchy

I love this season of growth and rebirth!   I swear you can hear the woods taking in deep breaths of spring air and the trees and creeks are dancing. 

This is exactly the season to try something new you've been thinking about doing but have been nervous to try. 

It's easy to get stalled.  We say, 'Oh, it's so far outside my comfort zone!' and even if we work up the courage to step outside that zone, then we often have a little buzz in the back of our minds telling us to hurry up and get back to safety. 

But what if our comfort zones were stretchy?  What if you never have to leave your comfort zone but just need to stretch it a bit to do that new thing. 

Think about that new thing for a minute.   Now imagine your comfort zone expanding to encompass you doing that.  Is it less scary? 

If you remember that stretching trick, you'll never have to go outside your comfort zone again. What things on your list would you be quicker to do if they were to stay inside your comfort zone?


I'd like to invite you to join our Best Self facebook group where we can talk freely about becoming our best selves - and all the messy work that that entails.  In addition, I have another group, The Well Balanced Artist, for creatives of all kinds and in all stages of their creative lives, who are trying to balance their art, business and personal lives.   

Embracing Your Human-ness

© Robin Edmundson, 'Sunset, Doug's Field', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.  

We are taught from infants that we are to be perfect.   And that someone else gets to decide what perfect is.  It's a perfect recipe for disaster.

I wrote a few weeks ago about self-loathing.  It's hard not to be hard ourselves when we're constantly reminded that we don't measure up.  It's hard to take the risks we need to take when we're constantly reminded not to fail.

One way to step out of that dance is to embrace our human-ness.  Wink at our imperfection.  Make friends with our self-loathing.  Pat fear on the back and tell it to take the night off.

Confession:  That stuff is really hard for me.   I love the idea of it, but I'm not so good at doing it.

So.

I have put up there a recent painting that I'm not very happy with.  It was a big risk. I had a fabulous idea, but once again, my execution fell far short of my vision.  I am disappointed in myself.

Here is where I choose where to go next.  I have a few options:

1.  Delete the pic and this post and write about something else less difficult - like chocolate.
2.  Tell you why that painting is bad and why you should think so, too.
3.  Let the painting tell its own story and not dwell on whether you might like it or not.

In an effort to take my own advice, I chose #3. 

And then I thought a lot about Wabi Sabi, [which I've talked about before.]

And I remembered a thing called Kintsugi.  So I looked it up again and that was so cool, I kept reading and found this piece on what broken pottery can teach us about feeling flawed.

Think about your flaws for a minute.  Now imagine them filled with gold, stronger than ever.  The flaws have become the work of art. 

What if that is the real trick of embracing our human-ness?

Please consider joining our Best Self facebook group where we can talk freely about becoming our best selves - and all that that entails.  In addition, I have another group, The Well Balanced Artist, for creatives of all kinds and in all stages of their creative lives, who are trying to balance their art, business and personal lives. We'd love to have you!