Monday, July 18, 2011

New Possibilities

I've been moving in several different directions, both mentally and physically, over the last few months. I'm getting to know myself again in a way that only happens when everything gets tossed in the air. At the moment, I don't have a solid plan past mid-September. And while I'm very excited about that, I'm battling the urge to nest. I've always felt very confident in the ebb and flow of life as long as I had, what I considered, home to go to at the end of the day.
I'm currently living in someone else's apartment, and due to the amount of stuff already here, I won't be adding much of my life to it. And please don't think I'm complaining, because I'm not. I'm learning to live with very few belongings. This practice of minimalism has recharged my desire to do away with everything in my storage unit.

New York City has never really called to me. I've had a couple opportunities to move here, but ended up choosing other cities or passions. I wonder if I was supposed to experience those things first, because eventually life would lead me to NYC for a longer haul. I have many expectations of this city. Living in Los Angeles, spoiled me in ways that NYC hasn't been able to compete with yet. Granted....I've only been here a week and a half, sans my boss, so I haven't really dug into the scene. I'll be back here in a week and plan to explore.....visit some parks, museums, make several more attempts at finding a good club.

I'm also making more progress in saying 'Yes'. And while I've had a pretty good attitude towards that practice most of my life, I want more. My friend Tiffanie wrote a wonderful blog that comes very close to where I'm at in my life right now.
http://tiffanie-moment-by-moment.blogspot.com/2011/07/alive.html

To go along with 'Yes', I'm pushing myself in more creative directions. I catch myself saying "These are such simple things, Kate, why haven't you done this before?" And honestly, the best answer I have is that I was just lazy. I'm taking the time to journal, doodle, sketch items I see just to practice the art of drawing, and learning new instruments. I started with the ukulele a few months ago, and just recently started on the guitar. I've struggled with the guitar in the past because the transition from violin was a new skill for my hands. But thanks to a friend, who is a great teacher, I've learned an easier way to hold the guitar, and how to read guitar tabs. He also taught me "Blackbird". I practice it everyday. I struggle with the picking on the strings, but you can definitely tell what song I'm playing. Not sure what song to tackle next. I have a real sense of accomplishment that I haven't felt for a while, and it's exciting. I had thought for the longest time that my fingers just weren't meant to play a guitar for some strange reason, but that excuse doesn't hold up when you see a string of Chinese kids, all of whom are likely 5 years old, playing full-size guitars. The first few days I was learning to play on a smaller guitar, but today I practiced on a full-size. New learning curve, but I'm ready for it.

There is so much possibility ahead. I must remember to stay in the moment. I can't help but get excited about what may happen, but some of those are dreams......dreams that will come true, some that won't...but in the end, more dreams and opportunities will appear and the cycle will repeat.

I will say YES more often. I will embrace vulnerability.

It's going to be amazing.

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