I've been putting off this post again and again. The elves were supposed to magically deliver it to your inboxes last Thursday morning. Instead, it's Sunday afternoon and I'm due to leave the house any minute now to take my daughters to their friend's birthday party ("No I can't do your hair, I'm writing a blog post!"). The truth is I'm just not in a writing mood at the moment. And I'm not in a particularly making mood either. After the mad Christmas rush to make food, decorations and presents I'm all made out. I need a break! (Don't worry, I'm still doing some making. Mostly cooking new dishes from an excellent new cookbook I got for Christmas. The above picture is Roast Aubergines with Sweet and Sour Tomatoes from River Cottage Light and Easy by the fabulous Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall.)
If I need a break, why am I sitting here writing a post? Good question! Like most things, the answer is complex. It's partly the love of sharing my experiences (good, bad and ugly) in making the things I need and the life I want. Partly the commitment I made to myself and you good people to blog regularly. Partly a kick up the bum to get it done – I set myself a deadline of doing it before I took my kids to their friend's birthday party.
On the other hand, I don't want to write a post just for the sake of writing a post which is why this has taken so damn long. (If this is feeling excruciating, it's because it is. And that's exactly what writing has felt like this week. Excruciating. It's unusual for me. Normally I love sitting here writing to you. But hey, I did promise to share it all -the fabulous projects and the times when it all turned to custard. This is one of those custard times. But if I can learn something from it and share that with you it will be worth it. I promise!) So back to the story…
The main thing that got me sitting here writing to you was giving myself extra time to think about this post and what I wanted to say. To fully explore how I was feeling about not wanting to write. To discover what, if anything I wanted to share this week. Turns out there are no universal truths this week, just a lot of little insights.
I had lots of thoughts about what I could share with you. These included the benefits of taking a break, the kindness of giving myself extra time and doing what makes me happy. But the main thought that I wanted to explore today was the seasonal nature of making (and of everything really).
In our lives, our passions ebb and flow. We change and they change too. We are living, growing and evolving beings. Personally I want to be a tree with a massive root system under the earth and a huge welcome, sheltering canopy above it that is home to countless birds and possums. Not a stagnant pond where the waters haven't moved for years.
As well as our passions changing throughout our lives, they also change throughout the year in harmony with the seasons. I've noticed this about myself and my creative process. I have found that the winter months are great for me to focus on a big writing project like a book. In spring time I dust off my sewing machine and start to make clothes for my children. In summer I spend a lot of time outdoors and so I express my creativity by cooking new recipes. In autumn I hunt out the knitting needles and buy more wool.
Right now the weather here is so good that I just want to be at the beach or the park, seeing new friends and exploring new places. And if I'm not doing that I want to reorganise the house, declutter and get ready for the coming year. So that's exactly what Im gonna do. I'll still be blogging when I feel like it and posting pics of my adventures on Instagram.
This summer I'm going to be following my bliss and using my spare time to do the things that bring me happiness and satisfaction. I think that you should do the same!