OOH LA LA! #69
taking a walk (and a comic about my creative process)
Some days, like most days this week, when I sit down to write, or draw, or paint, or play, it’s like this….
I really want to spend my days resting and wandering and making art, but right now, I’ve got a day job and daily demands and to be honest, I’ve been feeling depleted.
Because I’ve felt this way before, I know it won’t be like this forever, and I also know it’s not wise or worth it to keep pushing. If I just sit there, I’ll spiral and probably end up scrolling out of exhaustion and grief.
Instead, I take my own advice and take a break. I remember that creativity ebbs and flows, like all things, like an inhale before an exhale, like the ocean rising and receding. I lay on the ground, I hug my cat, and finally, I go for walk.
On my walk, my tired, screen-weary eyes are soothed by the sights of plants and people and a still, clear sky. I breathe in the smell of flowering linden trees and take in the breeze with gratitude, a gift just for me, just for now.
As I walk, the weight of the world slowly slips away, like layers from a peeling onion, and I feel a peace move into my heavy body and heavy heart. As I walk, I remember that the softness and care I desire can come from me, and it must, and that any pressure to perform or produce is not a duty I must accept, and is not mine to hold.
It seems so simple, almost too easy at times, that a walk could do such wonders, but other artists and thinkers have expressed similar sentiments. Thoreau said, "A walk in nature walks the soul back home,” and “I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.” Hippocrates prescribed, “If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk," and Mary Oliver wrote, “I walk in the world to love it.”
★★ This week’s OOH LA LA! is the healing medicine of taking a walk ★★
After walking, inspiration replaces despair, and I return to my ideas with renewed aliveness and loving kindness. From this place, everything is possible and everything is perfect, simply because it is.
XOXO,
LJ
Thanks for reading!!
★
As always, I’d love to know about your OOH LA LA! somethings. Reply to this email with your own OOH LA LA! list or moment and I may share them in next issue! Feel free to include photos or art to accompany your description. I’d love to know your current wonders, pleasures, and delights!
OOH LA LA! is delivered to your inbox with loving kindness and gratitude. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.