I'm starting the week off with this:
I have a tendency to get completely immersed in business, paperwork, politics, activism, etc to the point that I just freak out, crawl under the covers, and refuse to come out for 3 days. Like everybody does, right?
I take everything so seriously, that I have to constantly remind myself to lighten up and to do something that doesn't feel like work.
I have to remind myself to do more of what makes me happy.
And I have to do it on the cheap, because I'm on a serious budget here.
This is what I'm doing this week that costs next to nothing, and just oozes happiness all over the place.
1.) Make stuff
I make things. All sorts of things, but mostly I make jewelry. I sell it, but I also try to make things that I may never sell but that make me really happy to make.
This project wasn't free. I had to pay for some of these materials. BUT - a bunch of those beads were free. My friends give me their broken jewelry so I can do fun stuff like this. Friends are the best. Especially when they give you stuff.
2.) VOLUNTEER.
That's in all caps because that's how awesome I think volunteering is.
Plus - totally free.
I volunteer with our humane society for two hours every week walking dogs. Basically, I show up, and I hang out with dogs, in the middle of all sorts of awesome nature, and I disconnect from everything else in my life.
It's fantastic.
Also, one time when I was volunteering at the shelter, I ended up coming home with this guy and it turns out we're best friends.
Serendipity.
3.) Dance.
That whole "dance like no one is watching" thing? Yeah. You should totally do that.
As it turns out, I'm not very good at dancing. But I love dancing. When I dance, my husband makes fun of me. Sometimes people point and laugh. I don't care.
I'm dancing.
Also, turns out, when bad dancers decide to dance anyway, other bad dancers feel ok about dancing and the next thing you know, everybody's dancing.
Which is awesome.
4.) Sing
Singing is like dancing for me. I'm not good at, but I don't care. I sing.
OH!
For the record - singing isn't like dancing. If you suck at singing and you're just up in everybody's face all of the time, singing your songs, without a care in the world...
You. Have. To. Stop.
People want you singing in their face all of the time about as much as they want you to blow cigarette smoke laced with your morning coffee breath right up their nose.
Yeah. It's practically the same thing.
BUT...you should still sing. In your car, at home, at work when no one is around, with friends when everyone is singing together, at a karaoke bar and in the bathroom in your underwear with the brush as your microphone.
Turns out, it's actually good for your health, even if you suck at it.
This is what I'm singing to this month:
1 comment:
Jessica, I totally needed this post! I'm so freaked out today, mostly about money and how expensive kids are and college is right around the corner, forget the holidays because aren't we still paying off some of the gifts from last year... You get the picture. And then I spent about six hours yesterday working on a blog post because someone tagged me to be next -- all so six or so strangers might stumble upon my blog by accident and hopefully stay to read about my creative process. Snort! So yeah, I'm one of the strangers who enjoyed your post today and wanted to let you know that I appreciate the time you took to write and post it. Now I'm going to step away from the computer, sing with my dogs (they LIKE my bad singing; they think it's time for the WHOLE PACK to howl) and then make something -- because that's what makes ME happy, too. Thanks for the pep talk!
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