Unplugging and Opening Up

I unplugged last week, for the entire week. I rejected the chatter outside of myself by not checking the news on my laptop in the mornings and throughout the day on my phone. By not scrolling social media during commercial breaks on the t.v. By not reading my latest book of choice at night before bed. And it was revelatory. I found a sense of peace and calm within myself that led me to be more present in my life.

The reason for this “unplugging”, my friends, is that it was “reading deprivation” week for the Artist’s Way course I started earlier this month.

I apologize to any of you who have not yet done Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”, as I recognize that I just shared a spoiler. So just get it out of your head if you can while I wax on for a bit more about this experience I am having.

I’d been quasi-familiar with “The Artist’s Way”, thinking to myself that “someday” I’d actually do it. Well, it just so happened that one day last month, I saw an upcoming “Artist’s Way” online course, hosted by a blogger/creative I’ve followed and admired for several years. In one impulsive moment, I signed myself up for it, and promptly ordered the book online.

I’m hesitant to get into the details of my experience thus far with this creative project, because I, for better or worse, am wary of jinxing myself. I prefer the notion, shared with me by a former co-worker, which is “under-promise but over-deliver”. Writing this out loud, in the open, feels scary to me. But it’s the truth, Ruth.

I can say for certain that I will be repeating “The Artists Way” again, and possibly again, and again and again, in the future. It’s given me the permission I didn’t realize I needed to hyperfocus on my creative spirit. As I work through each chapter and the accompanying exercises, I gain more clarity and focus. It’s lit a fire within me and I’m grateful for that.

This is why I’m keeping this blog post short and sweet. I just want you all to know that I’m still here, still in the “game” of blogging, but making way for my creative spirit to more fully blossom via “The Artists Way”. It’s simply a bigger priority for me right now, and for that reason, the frequency of my blog posts will likely continue to be relatively low.

But you never know. My arms are wide open to the creative spirit now, so I may surprise you (and myself) by jumping on here and sharing, lamenting, and/or pontificating more frequently.

Big Important Question for you all:

Have you participated in “The Artists Way”? If so, what were your lasting impressions of the experience? Your takeaways?

Please enjoy this beautiful ballad by Sarah McClachlan, the woman behind “Lillith Fair”, which I attended with my bestie and our two husbands in 1998 (or 1999?). I recently watched the documentary about “Lillith Fair” on Netflix and this song hasn’t escaped my brain since.

But first, a pic of the event that I just found:

8 Bits of Joy

Early on in 2025, I published a blog post about cultivating joy. I maintain this is a worthy pursuit for me AND for you. This, combined with a blogger I’ve followed for years, who, earlier this summer, published a post sharing pictures of herself in joyful moments, leads me to want to share the things that have been providing me with joy during these last gasps of summertime.

A recent picture of me in a moment of joy at the local Rutabaga Festival!

I didn’t catch his name, but one can assume it was “Rudy”, right?!

Please do me a solid and share in the comments what is bringing joy into your life right now. I think in these times, focusing on and sharing our joys could be quite beneficial, don’t you agree?

Off I go:

  1. The charcuterie board-making class that my SIL and I participated in back in July. This brought together three things I love: creative self-expression, food, and quality time with my slightly younger sister. Here’s what I created that night:

2. Ilena Tovia, who creates video content on Facebook (and no doubt other social media outlets) of herself cooking in her kitchen. I think she can best be described as “that goofy cooking lady on Facebook”, because she has an authentic goofiness to her and she never fails to crack me up.

3. Feeling uninspired by the offerings on any of the streaming apps we have on our t.v. the other night, I clicked on an episode of “The Great British Baking Show”. After hearing about this show for years, I finally watched it. What an absolute delight! The contestants and judges were kind to each other and clearly having a ball using their creative spirits to come up with often beautiful, edible works of art. I’m not big on reality/competition shows in general, so this surprised me. I think I found my new happy show!

4. At work last month, one of our awesome volunteers randomly called to ask if we all wanted some free sweet corn. He had just picked it. We took him up on his offer, and he arrived within a couple of hours with several bags of the most delicious sweet corn I’d had all summer.

5. When I’m futzing around in the kitchen, I often want to listen to music. Lately, I’ve been telling Google to play the music of the band Lake Street Dive. The main singer, Rachel, has a voice that is just something else. She and her band do a phenomenal job of covering other artists songs as well, bringing their own twist to it. Here’s a prime example:

6. French fries. One of my all-time favorite foods. And I am quite talented at making them at home in my air fryer, if I do say so myself. I wash up two or three Russets, slice them thin-nish, plop them in a mixing bowl, drizzle some good olive oil on them, and season liberally with Penzey’s Florida Seasoned Pepper, and a few shakes of corse sea salt. Let the air fryer do its magic for about 20 minutes, and it’s *chefs kiss* perfection for this french-fry enthusiast.

7. This video I saw online last week. In my opinion, Bohemian Rhapsody is high on the list of “Best Rock Songs Ever”. If you agree and want to experience a bit of joy, I hope you watch it.

8. This song. Do yourself a favor today and take a few minutes to enjoy this video!

My hope is that each one of you reading this today will make time to ponder what is bringing you pure, unadulterated joy!