Orlando or Bust

My sister works for Booty Parlor and they had a convention a few weeks ago in Orlando, Florida. I jokingly asked if I could go with her, and she promptly got on the computer and started quoting me airline fares. She’s spontaneous like that. It was surprisingly cheap to fly there so I said “What the heck!” and bought tickets. I think the Universe was speaking to me and told me to go to Orlando!!

I had no idea what I might do for the weekend or where I would go. It turned out that the hotel where we stayed wasn’t that close to anything that I could get a free shuttle to. So I spent most of my time at the hotel, which is fine because I really like hotels.

I brought more art supplies with me than clothes or toiletries! Seriously! More than half of my suitcase and carry on were taken up with colored pencils, paper, glue, scissors, and collage materials! So I turned my trip into a mini creative retreat. And it worked out beautifully. I had a great time. It was surprisingly refreshing to be devoid of responsibility for three days. I didn’t know how much I needed that. I’m known for constantly underestimating time off.

On my creative journey this year I started working through The Creative Entrepreneur by Lisa Sonora Beam. This book is awesome! I cannot recommend it more highly. I’m having some trouble getting things done lately due to the chronic pain. This book actually covers stuff that I need for my personal life as well as the business. The part I worked on at the hotel was about sensing, thinking, feeling, and acting – all areas of my life that I’m struggling with personally and professionally.

The author lays it out for you – destructive and constructive ways to think, sense, feel, and act. I am doing way more destructive stuff than the constructive stuff! Yikes! A real eye opener! But the cool thing is that she writes, “Destructive thinking is remedied through constructive feeling and action.” Makes perfect sense, right, since they are all so interconnected? So that means that destructive feelings are remedied through constructive thinking and action. All related! When I read that, my mind opened up like a blooming chrysanthemum! I had a serious “A-ha” moment right there, let me tell you.

I came home feeling more positive than I have in a long time about things in general. My energy is restored, my attitude is better, and I’m not so dragged down by the pain like I have been for months. As I continue to work through this book, I am learning more about myself and my process and how I got to this place I’m struggling with. My plan is to continue to take a good hard look at things I do that affect my mood, thoughts and therefore the pain. It’s really nice to have my art to fall back on when words fail me as I explore a more productive way to do things. So you can expect to see some more art journaling here as well.

So thank you, Orlando, for giving me some space to work things out! And I must say that laying out at the pool also helped!!