All the Good Things

All the Good Things

Let me start by how this little sketch came to be. One cold winter night, I couldn’t sleep. I had a lot on my mind and I wasn’t in a great place. After midnight, I finally got up and I had a choice: make a cup of tea or go outside and go get an ice cream at the 24-hour candy store.

I am not a tea drinker. I have tea and drink it from time to time because it’s healthy and at that time coffee wasn’t an option.

Usually, I would make the tea, because “it’s the right thing to do.”  But this day, something told me to go get an ice cream. To put on my headphones and go sit outside in nature and breathe. My body and my soul were telling me to navigate toward the good things, the things I like in my life, the things that make me happy and calms my nervous system.

And off I went. I got my ice cream, picked one of many empty park benches at 00:15 in the morning and listened to my favorite tunes. I don’t know how long I sat there, I don’t even remember what I was thinking but once I got back upstairs, a little sketch had been born in my imagination and I had to bring it to life.

Afterwards I went to bed, and as I lay there, ready to fall asleep, reflecting on my new favorite little sketch, I realized, that I had stopped filling my life with the good things.

When I was younger that was just how I lived. I would light candles at any time of the day, sit on the kitchen floor and sketch or write poetry. Dress up just for fun. I wouldn’t stress about my age or my looks and I would have had an ice cream ready in the freezer.

Somewhere in growing up and trying to navigate my life in the “best” and “most efficient” ways, I completely lost all the good things that made my life beautiful and worthwhile, the good things that are part of who I am, a free and fun loving artistic being.

So, the next day, I put on my short shorts and Ugg boots, a comfy t-shirt and put my hair in two ponytails and I went for a walk, then I went to the movies, and I took myself out for a lovely dinner followed by a sweet treat. I messaged all my friends and told them how much I missed and loved them and the love poured right back into me.

I got home, put on some music, lit some candles and stepped into my studio, ready to finish a painting I haven’t touched in months.  I had a cheeky late afternoon coffee and my favorite salad for dinner.

This little sketch has remained my favorite for the last 2 years, and a reminder to light that candle, eat that treat, dance just because, love and feel love fill your life. It’s the little things that make our lives meaningful and the big things that make it memorable. There is place for both. We need both for a full and joyful existence.

I would strongly recommend, if you feel like you have let the good things slip out of your life, to sit down and make a list of the good things that enrich your life and express your existence then start bringing them back.

I would also love to know what some of those things are if you feel like sharing.

This little sketch and coffee break blog is dedicated to all the forgotten little good things making a comeback. Indulge!

And in honor of my birthday this month, I want to wish all the May babies a happy birthday and life filled with all the good things.

Live, love, laugh, let go and light up the world in your own unique way.

Love, always

Ane

With love, always  

Ané