Winter is our slowest time of year... by a long shot. Sometimes I can feel small bouts of frustration or cabin fever, call it what you will, creep into my being as I feel guilty about the unimportant tasks that I preform in a day, and that's when I have to remind myself to just be.... and enjoy my being. Enjoy being part of my being and getting to know that being...
It's the time of year when I can pull out crafts and hobbies that I otherwise put off through the rest of the seasons. Those projects or things I want to learn, but label them off under that "some day" guise. I find this slow quiet season to be a great time of self discovery, as I indulge myself in such pleasures that I really enjoy and am able to sit back and observe and get to know myself.
Another thing I realized about myself—I really enjoy making puzzles. A few weeks ago, Mom and I spent a looong giddy Sunday afternoon together bent over a 1000 piece puzzle, complete with some chocolate (women you know--especially giddy ones--need their chocolate! :) But, it's such a trivial thing, once accomplished, that I always prevented myself the luxury of all the time involved in putting one together, so it's something I never realized about myself. Even now, I find I'm a little embarrassed to admit this about myself, but I also find it fascinating that it's in my individual personality type to enjoy, really enjoy, piecing together puzzles. I despise certain brain/word puzzles, but Mom tells me from the time I was a tot, I loved doing puzzles beyond my age range. Amazing! I've had that trait in me my whole life and have stifled it away because of guilt until I didn't even know it existed in me. Hmm... am I a dancer too?? ;-)
Winter has also given me the opportunity to play with color; in fabric, in yarn and in paint. I never realized how much my creative side LOVES color! Ooo, lots and lots of it! :D I's been coming out; more and more color more ferociously as I indulge myself with the time to just sit down and do things with it. Let loose and allow my hands and mind to do whatever they get the inkling to do. I had some mental workouts to get through first, tearing down my long held belief that 'I am no painter!' and just allowing myself the freedom of expression without lesson or criticism. Just my own individual expression. And it's beautiful. I can say that honestly, because lately I've been looking on at my work with the amazement of a bystander who has just witnessed a self-inhibited creator break through self inflicted barriers.
After all, what are we here for, really, if not to simply enjoy ourselves? :)
*footnote to this post can be found HERE.