“Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?” Rumi

I came across this quote recently. Let life live through you.

I also recently had a conversation with a woman I met about how each of us lives inside our own truth when approaching new situations. If I believe that the path to success is inevitably stressful, or full of struggle, or alternatively, completely joyful, then my experience is colored by that belief regardless of what is actually occurring.

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My favorite reminder. The print is available here.

Stress. Struggle. Joy.

How do you choose to react?

Both of these recent moments are in my mind this week as I recharge after my first in-person event and reflect back on how this summer has been shaped in equal measure by stress and joy.

There’s been an enormous amount of work (nights with very little sleep, bad colds, worry about money, time, and if we were doing everything “right”).

And then there’s been the joy (of learning new things, expanding my comfort zone, working side by side with Eric, celebrating my art with other people).

Now that I have a few days to slow down, I see how easily stress colors joy, even if both occur simultaneously. I’ve made a commitment to more consciously recognize joy as it’s happening and to cultivate and celebrate the moments that make this wild, exhilarating journey worthwhile.

Let life live through you.

Let joy move in as stress moves out. Perhaps this is easier said than done, but I’m going to keep trying! Are you with me?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Now: pictures!

As I’ve been sharing this summer, we’ve been prepping a booth for an outdoor sustainability festival called Greenfest, which happened on 9/13. Here’s Eric and my dad building a note card display stand to go in my booth. Feeling totally lucky and grateful to have such supportive family.

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And here’s the stand when finished! What do you think? This picture is from a booth run-through we did a week before the event to make sure we had everything we needed.

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And here’s my booth at Greenfest. We attached grid walls on two sides of the tent to hang paintings and framed prints, then the racks held matted / unmatted prints.

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The whiteboard outside the tent on the right had a prompt at the top that said ‘What was your favorite adventure? Draw here’

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Here’s a closer look at the board. I was thrilled that people stopped by the booth to draw, read other people’s stories, and encourage their kids to contribute.

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