I love this hand painted tea towel. Joyce, one of my yoga students, gave it to me and the funny thing is I think SHE is my sunshine … and all of my students, honestly. I was thinking I can really use new tea towels, but this one will not wipe spills in my kitchen. It’s more important role is to hang above my jewelry bench, brighten my space, make me smile, and remind me to create the sunshine I want to share with others. Sometimes these little reminders are exactly what I need to shift from feeling overwhelmed by the various hats I wear to allowing myself to relax and get into the zone of creating.
I love teaching yoga because it takes me out of my overly busy mind into a place where I must focus and share something verbally and visually with others. I teach classes at a nearby yoga studio and at a local school district for the teachers and staff. Some days I arrive feeling stressed out, worrying about the state of the world or knowing I should be working on bookkeeping or making jewelry (or cleaning my house, spending time with my kids, making sure we have food in the house, etc.). When my students arrive with their smiles, happy to be at yoga, my pressures quickly fade away. I shift into teacher mode and relax to share with them what I truly need myself.
I can list 100 reasons why yoga is good for you, but my biggest goal in teaching it is to share tools my students can use to find a bit of space in their busy lives. It’s in this space where people find peace, ease, creativity, joy, etc. I find this same sense of peace when I’m in the flow of making jewelry. My busy thoughts slow down as my hands are hammering, filing, soldering. It’s in these moments where I’m struck with inspiration and I have my best ideas … the place where the real magic happens and the sunshine really flows. The same kind of magic happens for Chris, (although he’s not one to blab on and on about it, like me). When he’s in that zone (and after), he’s calmer, happier, and really fun to be around. I see it in my kids, too. I love to watch their faces deep in concentration, and I love listening to their creative ideas bubbling up in those moments.
Keeping my intention word in mind for 2017 – SIMPLIFY – I am taking action to find more of this creative flow time by setting up better systems and schedules (so counter-intuitive for my artist soul, but so, so necessary). Today, I am taking two hours to recharge my batteries at a Mindful Yoga workshop, which feels completely decadent! I’m looking forward to soaking up every minute of peace during the workshop, already excited to get into the studio this afternoon and relax into the flow of making jewelry with Chris.
So ... even though it’s cold outside and we’ve had gray skies for weeks, the forecast from our jewelry studio today is warm and sunny. I made the little copper sun, a perfectly imperfect “sketch” in metal to express the inspiration bubbling up from this tea towel. We are getting ready for our next show, Cupid’s Gems, and I’m looking forward to spreading a little more of our jewelry sunshine with you soon!
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Words matter. Chris and I know firsthand how a simple inspiring intention like “Peace” or phrase such as, “Don’t wobble,” can shift life on a better path. We learned by my dad’s example: “Do what you love.” Losing people we love suddenly and tragically taught us life IS short: “Create the life you want -- and start now.”
Kristin Cooper
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