It is with my cup of tea that I take an inward breath before exhaling

It is while pouring the hot water that I experience the welcomed warmth of steam enveloping my face

It is how putting pen to paper transforms stagnation into fluidity.  

Our objects help us to be in process

They allow us to work with our hands

To find beauty in the mundane and meditation in the minutia.  

Our objects enable us to touch, to feel, to be in our bodies

The sensual experience of sliding a ring against the soft skin of a finger, 

of intertwining legs in warm linen sheets, 

of touching lips to the smooth ceramic surface of a mug

This is in process.

In process there are no shoulds or should nots

only inhales and exhales

even through the hardships

the heartbreaks

the messiness

the misunderstandings

In process there is breath

and therefore, breadth.

In process we experience

the small moments that teach us 

the presence of being alive 

and being alive does not always feel the way we want it to 

as it can be heart wrenching, unkind, gruesome, and painful

but in the presence of whatever arises, we come back to the essence of truth -

Objects are inanimate without us

home is inherently within us 

bring them inward 

to guide yourself home 

as even here, you are

in process.

Some of you may know that my parents recently had all of our family home videos digitized because I posted a few of them on my stories.  A lot of them are fucking hilarious, and I simply couldn’t resist sharing them.  I sat through and watched nearly all of them (there are many) in one weekend, and I observed that I was almost always making weird noises and faces.  I was also almost always told to “stop doing that,” to “look at the camera,” and to “show my face.”  

So I learned to stop doing that.  Not just from the commentary of my parents, but from the confines of society.  Do you ever feel completely repressed because it’s socially unacceptable to make a weird noise/face/body movement in public?  I do. We are told to explore and to be creative, but within the confines of a box.  “Be yourself!”  “No, not like that.”  I’m sure you’ve heard this before.  Yes, social etiquette is in place for a reason, but these rigid lines also keep us small, safe, and sheltered.  They make us feel like we cannot veer outside of the box, but at the root, that we cannot fully be ourselves.  

Let’s try to blur those lines a bit.   We can start by working with our objects in new ways.  I’ve written about how most objects have a self-evident, assigned purpose, yet it is us who assign meaning through use.  So we can flip this “self-evident” model on its head by foregoing labeled use and instead tapping into the wisdom of our bodies.  We can allow ourselves to veer of course by assigning nontraditional purposes to some of our objects, in order to practice a deeper sense of connection with our natural instincts.  Perhaps your mug will become your new vase, your kitchen bowl will instead hold extra toilet paper rolls in the bathroom.  Tap into your inner wisdom while observing your objects - how will each object best serve you?  If you want to put your salt holder on top of a stack of books to also hold your rings - do that. If you want to use a chair as your bedside table - go ahead. Challenge your own perceptions.  This will ignite dormant creativity for you to tap into, while helping you to break free from the confines you place on yourself, as well as on your possessions.  

Here’s an exercise you can practice if you want to go deeper:

Where do you hold yourself back?  Where do you limit your fluidity in order to keep yourself safe?  Use these questions as journal prompts.  Then see where you can challenge what comes up beyond your mental perceptions, but rather by how you operate in your space.  

If you’re looking for personalized guidance, you can book a session by clicking the button below.

KNOWING WHAT YOU DO NOW, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF?

"To dive in. To be bold and fearless and unapologetic in my own skin. To not be so afraid to completely draw outside of the lines. I drew on the border, teetering on the edge, but I would tell myself to go way past that border. I’m so sick of ‘should-ing’ on myself - no more!"

WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT ARE INSPIRING YOU RIGHT NOW?

"Boundaries. Less Stuff. Old art books. Also as a bonus - chairs (always). "

WHICH ELEMENT OF YOUR WORK DO YOU THRIVE OFF THE MOST?

"Childlike creativity. Being able to create from that space of total intuitive drive. It’s the thing that scares me the most, yet I trust it more than I fear it because it only gets me closer to my truth. I really love creating in secret. Alone. When no one is near, and I can create without self-judgement. "

WHAT DOES BEAUTY LOOK LIKE TO YOU?

"To me, beauty without intention really isn’t beautiful. It feels empty. We can emphasize the marriage of beauty and intention by realizing that they are the same. That beauty comes from mindfulness, from nature, from slowing down, from our hearts. Beauty looks like truth."

I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with and being photographed by the lovely Claire Cottrell a few weeks ago for St. Agni - a Byron Bay based ethical fashion company specializing in shoes and clothing by Lara & Matt Fells.  Their pieces look seamless because they are not only beautifully and thoughtfully designed, but also easy and wearable.

You can find my interview - which includes my career path, music I'm listening to, my morning ritual, and more - on their journal here.  I'm so grateful to be apart of their In Her Shoes series.  

Photography:  Claire Cottrell 

Interview Intro:  Erin Watts of The Atelier

Clothing + Shoes:  St. Agni