I am wearing a badge of busy these day. I wrestle with this badge, because I believe being “busy” is sometimes a cop-out for showing up for life. Or at least being busy was my excuse against living my life fully for a very long time.

Sometimes, though, you are downright FILLED with the happening of your life.

The busy is a good thing, and I am grateful for what is going on with me right now:

I am getting ready for my one night exhibit next week. That night, I am giving a short talk about my and THE (universal) creative process + I am giving a demo on my coloring meditation nights that will commence as a series the following month.

(What am I talking about, and where is this happening? Check this link for more info!)

In the midst of all of this, I am working on a private commission. I have my coaching sessions as usual. I am running the food/cleaning/life schedule for my household + my husband as his business is booming this month. I also am writing a regular column for the online magazine yogic-wisdom site Wanderlust.

That’s just the work related stuff, right now. My personal life is also off the hook busy, bold, beautiful. LIFE is happening, my loves!

I want to share with you the things I am doing to give myself permission to ride the waves of life right now.

This permission giving, without guilt or beating myself up, is what works for me to get to my goal, and to foster my relationship with my creations so they sustain me.

Giving permission to yourself is a win-win situation, really.

In giving permission, you nurture yourself, and your nurture your creative energy levels so that you keep saying YES to the affirming life events. Burning out is a direct NO when things get rough.

These are the ways I am giving myself permission right now:

1. Chocolate everywhere. I have lots of dark chocolate in my life. Now, I don’t eat dark chocolate non-stop, because that would be real off balance. Instead, I keep the dark chocolate at one of my three desks (yes I have 3 desks!) to remind me to pause, take pleasure, and enjoy abundance.

2. Cutting out most caffeine and alcohol. This thought almost feels counterintuitive to the idea of permission and to my rock star workaholic past. I mean, who doesn’t love to drink a cuppa wine after a long day, and invest in a capuccino the next day to get things going? I sure do. I love all these things, but right now, I am taking care of myself in a new way. When I’m tired, I give myself permission to nap. When I need to get energized, I take a walk. When I want to wind down, I drink tea and read a novel. It’s in honoring my natural cycles that I am most productive.

3. Saying no to social things. In owning my introverted nature, I have figured out what fuels me in my social life. Simply put, social gatherings with more than 2-3 people tend to exhaust me. I love people, but I have to take a bit of time for recovery time after outings. And, what often happens when I’m busy is I say YES to the social things and think I can skip the recovery time. NOPE, that avoidance of my true self simply doesn’t work for the mature woman I am today. I am saying no, or if I do say yes to an event, I’m real clear about the amount of time I spend out.

If you know an introvert, this is what’s up with her commitments to social things. She wants to be with you, but she also knows herself (which allows for her to love you…) and has to take care of herself to show up to life fully.

4. Podcasts all over + in my ears. Except when I am writing my blogs, I like to listen to podcasts. Podcasts are my jam as I paint and create on my digital drawing tablet(for my upcoming coloring templates!), and when I do chores around the studio and house. Podcasts help me to get lost a bit in the world of others, since my work is mostly isolating. My favorite podcasts right now are: Death, Sex + Money, How She Really Does It, and Big Magic.

5. Prayer. Lots and lots of prayer.  I have a very personal, private, and sacred prayer practice. Within this, the most important element of my prayer is that I recognize my insignificance in everything. Yes, you read that right. In my prayer, I surrender. In knowing my part (consistently showing up, sharing my gifts, living courageously) I can let go other the other parts that a higher power takes care of (how is this going to work out, will my audience find me, where’s my next inspiration going to come from?).

In prayer, I give myself the most radical permission: to trust how my life will unfolds is for the best version of my life.

Freedom finds you in your permissive state of mind.

Tell me, how are you giving yourself permission to be where you are, today?

Speaking of permission, I am taking the next few weeks off from my blog. I may drop a line or two because writing to you is fun, but I won’t be adding my usual long blogs.

Check me out on Wanderlust, my new article will be live later this week. Also, I’ve curated a grouping of blogs to keep you creatively inspired. Check them out by clicking here.

To your permission ~

R o s e