1.) Crystal Cove between Laguna Beach & Corona Del Mar.
Aloha!
Today I had a list. This list contained a million things to do. Projects to complete. Goals I wanted to crush. Then Jason said, "Let's go. I need to take a drive." It was just one of those days where you feel you need to get out of the house and do anything but what you had planned. Everyone has those days. It is when stress begins to fill the cup too full & all you need is a way to let some of it go. That is just what we did. We went for a drive down the coast, enjoying the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the sun on our face. Amidst all of the crap life has been throwing our way these past few weeks, in that moment with Jason, life really did seem perfect. The scent of the briny sea air & the balmy 77 degrees made everything seem brighter. Happier. It was just the right breath of fresh air we needed. It was a chance for us to stop focusing on everything going wrong and just focus on us. We take these drives as a way to forget the crap & just feel like "kids" again before "adulting" happened.
For us, these past few years, it has become something of a past time. We would start from Newport Beach and take a drive down south along PCH. Mostly we just drive to Dana Point harbor, taking a pit stop to check out the waves at Salt Creek. It is soothing to our soul & recharges are batteries. It has been awhile, but sometimes we drive way down south along PCH until we get to the freeway in San Clemente. Sometimes we would hop the freeway back home. Sometimes we would continue driving down south to Encinitas & Del Mar, making our ending point in La Jolla. It is a full days drive, round trip, but that is because we are taking the slow route & just enjoying our time. We would have the boards in the back in case we wanted to jump in for a surf sesh because you just never know. These moments make managing stress a lot easier. You look forward to these small, random trips. You also look back on them as a fond memory.
The reason I am calling this post Productivily Unproductive is because there is still productivity in stress management. You are doing something. Sure, it isn't what society considers "productive" in regards to projects & work but it was being productive in getting our minds right. Leveling out the stress & refocusing on what matters. It is so very crucial to our well-being. At this present moment in time, I feel more productive than I did this morning. I am actually getting things done in a timely manner. I feel charged, energized & renewed. I do not feel tired & overwhelmed. I don't know about you but when stress piles on, it can leave me feeling pretty overwhelmed to check anything off on my to-do list.
Another activity I have found to help me manage my stress is art. When I was younger, before I had started our business, I would paint, sketch & play my guitar. I wasn't a professional at any of it but I enjoyed it. I took an art class at Orange Coast College & loved every minute of it. My art professor at the time wanted to connect me with a company he knew would've hired me as an artist on their team. Of course, I never pursued it. Why? Because I didn't believe in myself. I couldn't see what he had seen in me. Regardless of this fact about my self-confidence, I still enjoyed my time while elbow deep in paint. When I am creating art, it feels like everything just falls away. The only thing occupying space & time is me, my thoughts & this art piece I am trying to create from the vision in my head to paper.
I do not know why I fell away from it. Maybe because it felt like there were more important things to do. More pressing matters than the things I enjoyed. At one point, I started feeling guilty doing the things I loved over the things I felt I should focus on which I didn't love. It is still something I am actually struggling with & working my way out of this backwards thinking.
This past week I have played the guitar more than I have in almost 2 years. Last night, I finally picked up my sketch pad & started learning how to sketch facial features. It is something I have always wanted to learn but didn't believe I was good enough. Or would get frustrated because I wasn't getting it fast enough. You wouldn't believe how many unfinished projects I have been sitting on for the past 3-4 years where I got stuck. My inner voice was nasty to me & would tell me I couldn't get past the screw up in the piece. I felt I didn't know enough technique to get through it. I think as I get older, I am learning to take things slower & be less harsh on myself. I'm starting to tell that inner voice to shut the heck up!
1. My inner critic is literally picking this apart right now! lol.
The take I have on this is to simplify your life. Get back to the things you enjoy, whatever that may be. Life happens, things get in the way, believe me when I say I totally get it. There was something I was thinking about today as we were taking our drive. It is easy to let ourselves be pushed around by our circumstances, but if we stand up to our circumstances we can take charge of our lives. It is all about refocusing. Getting back to the basics. Getting back to the things we enjoy. Life is too short not to have fun regardless of the lemons life throws at you. A saying I've always loved is, "When Life throws you lemons, make lemonade & add vodka!" Here is to us getting back to the basics of what we love in life. Cheers!
Mahalo!
Brittany Bowman
