Gardenwitch's Musings
Inspired by my love of nature and my garden in particular, I have embarked on a midlife career change. This blog will be a place where I can share the journey of building a creative business with its successes and foibles. You will find occasional book reviews, travel logs, and artist date experiences In addition, I will post updates about my garden throughout the year.
Handmade
This week let’s focus on how handmade products can be a form of resistance. With calls to boycott major brands and stores, how can we get the things we need for everyday life. This is also a great time to reflect on the impact that consumerism and marketing have on our minds, well being, and wallets. Let’s look at how lifelong learning of skills can help build community, restore a sense of purpose, and steady us in a time of uncertainty.
By Hand
Take time to engage in something uniquely human - hand writing! The National Archives is searching for people who can read cursive to help with deciphering a wealth of documents from past eras. Turns out AI is not very good at this task. What other ways can we engage writing to record our daily lives and teach and pass on skills to others? What do we stand to lose if we no longer keep written records?
Decluttering
It’s that time of the year when decluttering is all the rage, but what if true decluttering is more than getting rid of excess stuff? Internal decluttering is even harder and more rewarding than making the house look neater. Digging down deep as to why and how you’ve managed to accumulate all your stuff is equally important.
Movement
What happens when life throws you into the fight or flight mode? Are you familiar with the third response which is freeze? Can small steps help you to thaw and move forward in life? Read to learn more as I share my own experiences with learning how to deal with the freeze response and get back to moving in life whether it be forward, backward, or side to side.
What Matters Most
What matters most to you? In this post, I reflect on what I’ve learned from watching the California wildfires on the news. The feeling of helplessness watching the destruction and worrying about my child who lives and works in LA. Taking seriously the question: What would it mean to have to pack up a single bag of things to take in case of the need to evacuate my home?
Starting Over
What if we approached the new year being a bit more mindful about how resolutions/goals could be fashioned or not. What if we think about those changes in our lives are simply ways to start over?
So you’ve read all of those already? Take a look at my older musings at Blogspot !