A few years back my husband suggested I find things I enjoyed doing so that I would be ready once I retired. Around the same time I started attending a monthly workshop called Rise and Shine. Both of these things allowed me to take a closer look at the things I enjoyed doing and that made me feel whole. Honestly exploring my strengths and understanding that including those items in my every day made such a huge difference in my happiness. At the time I couldn’t really change jobs but I could find ways to incorporate the things that sparked joy in my every day. Now that I am retired I am getting an opportunity to take a lot deeper dives into the things that interested me.
There are multiple activities that have risen up with my ability to have time to explore them. One of the most surprising ones is how much I am enjoying watercolor painting. I’m still in the infancy of learning but I have always been drawn to flowers, gardening and enjoying the beauty of nature. I learned to do some drawing when I was working on a degree in Landscape Architecture but I am not known for my ability to draw. Dreama Toole, in the class I am taking recommends listening to music while creating. I listen to music and sometimes listen to audible books or podcasts. Somehow this fulfills my left and right brain at the same time and it is just purely therapeutic.
I highly recommend taking 10-20 minutes a day doing something that brings you joy. It can help with the most stressful of days.
