Don’t forget to breathe!

byremann

57 followers

3 years ago

Phew! There’s been a lot happening since I signed up for premium membership.

We’re now here at the end of April and it’s been go, go, go daily with the training and reading the messages, blogs and other information that keeps popping up.

I’ve been completely absorbed, which has surprised me somewhat. I’ve always been a bit of a techy. One of my jobs in a previous life was Practice Manager for a large firm of solicitors where, amongst many other things, I was responsible for making sure that all 50+ pcs and the server in their four offices were running well, up to date and free from spam and viruses. So, needless to say, I’ve been enjoying the training and building out my website.

I tend to be the sort of person that reads the first page of a novel, then jumps to the back page and reads the last page – my mind leaps ahead, imaging if the middle of the book is as good as the first and last bits. But this is different. I’m being drawn into a community which has just one goal – to help everyone succeed. So much freely shared information, it’s so refreshing.



With all this going on I realised I was forgetting to breathe.

So yesterday I stopped, took a day off the training and took a breath.

This for me is retreating into my own world of painting.

I have a summerhouse in my garden which is my studio where I can play with paints, make a mess, plug into my music and get lost in a world no one else knows about. A world that is also absorbing! Also it's not usually as tidy as in the photo!!

I had the morning painting one of my favourite beach scenes near where I live on the Norfolk coast in England. I’ve painted this scene more than I can remember, each one comes out differently, usually depending on how I’m feeling.

My photo at the top of this blog is my inspiration. It’s not perfect. I rarely paint it completely factual. This painting is about me expressing my feelings for this particular place.

I’m using acrylic paints, working in multiple layers until it feels right to me. I put paint on, take it off, paint over it. It goes through an ugly stage, then it’s as if my brain just hits that sweet spot and it all starts to fall into place and the painting develops on its own – I just provide the paint and wherewithal!

This moment in my studio was my chance to breathe, catch my breath and refocus myself. It was a moment of complete calm within when I’d reached that zone which I only seem to find when I’m painting.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is – don’t forget to breathe. Have a break. Things in life can be completely absorbing, overwhelming, intense, and heaps of other emotions.

So, stop. Take a breath and breathe. You’ll feel so much better for it.