I could be overwhelmed. Like, eat-every-leftover-cookie overwhelmed. Cover-myself-in-Scotch-tape overwhelmed. Go-back-to-bed overwhelmed. (I'm working on the first one. Oh, ginger spice cookies, you will be the end of me.)
Much of my time this past month was spent lovingly creating, curating, cultivating Sprout's second issue. The irony of its joyful focus on Abundance is not lost on me. Abundance manifests in our lives in soo many different ways . . . some satisfying, some stress-ifying.
So, today, I will choose to cultivate an abundance of joy.
I will plug in twinkly lights. Play Christmas carols. Paint my nails a shimmery red (girl truth #27: sometimes pretty polish is all it takes to make you smile). Wrap, create, bake with love. With thanks. With joyful mindfulness of the real Reason behind it all.
Walk in love. Walk in joy. Walk in gratitude.
(one of Sprout's abundant new pages.
Need help remembering what really satisfies?
Check out Sprout's colorful new 60-page lovefest
of art, poetry, essays, prompts, and more.)
Today's Spotlight shines on three blog posts that brought me joy:
What Happens When Mommy Can't Ignore Her Creative Spirit (A.k.a. Doing The Math) - "Anything I do with love and for love is worth doing for countless lifetimes." Lisa of LifeUnity shares an experience that could have brought exhaustion but instead ended with smiles.
{ breathing space } holiday overload - "Hint: It's NOT about running yourself ragged and snapping at your loved ones because you are beyond exhausted." Erin Goodman resorted to a radical method of finding peace, "slowly and deliberately taking inventory of all the blessings in my life."
underneath it all - "When we let our feet kiss the ground with love, with every step & we tenderly hold on to the pure & simple fact that we are all raw & wild love underneath, that's where growth starts." Amanda of Kind Over Matter wraps up the year with this simple, revolutionary truth of love.
Sending you love and calm today . . . and maybe a few leftover ginger cookies (take 'em, please!).
Sprout is OUT! Sprout, my new online magazine, strives to uplift and inspire by cultivating color, beauty, and meaning in our daily lives. Issue 1 asks: what would happen if we faced every day with a spirit of celebration? Click here to visit Sprout's home base.
6 colorful comments:
Cover myself in Scotch tape---hmmm...that's a new phrase for me! I totally agree with the nail painting only for me the smiles come when I look at freshly painted toenails.
Thank you! What a joy to have my words on your beautiful blog.
So nice to 'meet' you! I look forward to discovering more about you and the beautiful work you do!
~Erin
oh. swooning. so much beauty
and feeling the love
to my bones
over here:)
ginger cookie thanks to dear you,
Jen
i love that quote about filling up w/thanks when empty... + dear, i am deeply thankful for you. xox
I just ordered Issue 2. Now I will wait patiently while the payment clears! In the meantime, I will thoroughly enjoy your beautiful teal and purple artwork. It will live on my fridge. It is funny that both of these creations use my 2 most favorite color combos! Thanks for your generosity, Amanda.
So grateful for this post and the links you shared. I visited each and my heart was calmed. I needed this.
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