Edison Rex

The Unplugging Bug

Hey there! I recently wrote a post for Scoutie Girl all about unplugging from technology and information overload. I loved seeing that the topic resonated with so many others. 

On the topic of unplugging, let me confess: I want more of it! As much as I love writing this blog, I also have loved my little 'spring break' too. It's no secret that recently I've been posting quite a bit less; in fact, I've thrown my old editorial calendar out the window entirely.

So, instead of berating myself for not getting 'back to business,' I'm going to refocus my energy where it feels right at the moment. Right now that means my family, my job, my well-being, traveling, and exploring some potential new projects this spring and summer. Plus I plan to be getting my yoga on, sleeping in, and reading Seneca in my hammock on sunny days.

I'll be here when I feel inspired with stories, pictures, or new work, of course! I'm just not sure how often that will be. You'll also still find me on Scoutie Girl once a month, too!

I love all of you who read this blog, through all its waxing and waning.

xxoo Maeg

 

My Year of Joys, Week 5.

january 30th, day 30: bringing home the first daffodils of the year.

january 31st, day 31: my husband cooking for me.

february 1st, day 32: green juice, green rice, and green veggies. oh, yum.

february 2nd, day 33: teaching Thommy and Pooh Bear to make fresh green juice.

february 3rd, day 34: naptime. and not mine.

The Year of Joys is a leap-year-long photo project documenting a small joy each day. I'll be posting pics each Friday. You can follow along daily on Instagram (my handle is @maegyosef) and participate, too!

It's true, I was posting these here daily but have decided to scale back, for congruence's sake. I want to focus on the super juicy posts that I love to write, spend extra time on my book commission and work for galleries, and enjoy at least one computer free day a week! Woot!

Here's wishing you a wonderful weekend,

xoxo Maeg

A Day in the Life

I love reading about how other creative & business folks spend their days--I'm obsessed with the "Way I Work" column in Inc. magazine. My friend Sarah shared a day from her life recently on her blog, Desirous of Everything, and I thought I'd do the same. I happened to choose this past Friday, a laid back, rainy winter Rex day. Enjoy!

 

5 am: My alarm goes off. It sounds like crickets, which I love. For a long time I'd been waking up everyday at 4, but now that winter has really hit I've been "sleeping in." Five is about as early as I get up these days, but generally I love to be awake before dawn--and before anyone else in the house!

5:45 am: after some dozing, dreaming, and thinking about the day ahead, I get up, go downstairs, and make some yerba mate. I jot down a short to-do list and do some journaling in the Book of Me. Then I do some Shiva Nata (wacky yoga brain training) and some more writing. 

7 am: Start sketching! I've been commissioned to illustrate a book for someone. It's a project close to their heart, and I feel honored to be working on it. I'll be finishing the rough draft storyboards in February and I'll definitely be sharing some work in progress with you.

8:30 am: Dennis and Thommy wake up. We have some breakfast, read the paper, and chill.

9:30: Thommy and I give kisses to Dennis and head to the Y for this yoga class.

12 pm: Home for lunch! And Thomas graciously goes down for a nap by 1:30.

1:30 to 4 pm: Rex time. Creative writing, answering emails, working on my editorial calendar, and tackling more of my massive studio makeover.

4 pm: Thommy wakes up from his nap, we all hang out a bit and then go for Mexican at our favorite place. We pick up a few last minute things for Thommy's two year old birthday bash and come home to get snuggly. I continue my massive studio makeover while Thommy intently studies "Elmo's Potty Time" and Dennis does some work of his own.

9:00 Thommy is asleep! I read a novel and soon I'm out as well. Goodnight!

xoxo Maeg

P.S. If you're curious what happening to all the Year of Joys photos--in the name on congruence, I've decided to just post them all on Fridays! In the meantime, you call follow me on twitter or instagram (i'm @maegyosef) for daily peeks! xoxo

Trust

I went to yoga today in the midst of a stressful morning. 

I was about 20 minutes late to class, as I had to wait for a spot in the gym childcare to open up for Thommy. (Oh, January gym goers, I will outlast you!)

The important thing is, I got there.

I crept in quietly, and gently unrolled my mat. My fellow students were on their backs, in the middle of some leg exercise I'd never done before. But in this particular class, I expect new and unfamiliar. 

I lay down on my mat and followed along. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know why I was doing it. 

I was there, moving my legs, looking at the ceiling, in yoga class and that was all that mattered.

Everything, everything, from the morning melting away. Or rather, released. Wow. Why was it so easy?

Then it came to me: I love yoga, I love this practice, because I trust it. Implicitly. I'll try nearly any pose, any chant, any breath, any exercise to see what happened. With complete trust in this teacher and in yoga.

And I trust that no matter what happens in the practice, I will learn something from it. I will be happy that I showed up.

I can come to my mat and go into mental and emotional freefall because I trust I will be caught. I may go through the day feeling like nothing more than a bundle of atoms held together by the force of attraction, but I know that in yoga I can let go and I will not scatter. I trust. 

I realized, as I moved in and out of poses, what a vital and necessary thing it is to have places of complete trust. 

Tension releases. Hackles go down. Jaws unclench. Defenses, gone.

Trust allows release. Unbounded creativity. To see and be seen, completely and clearly. 

So much of life requires demands on guard. Second-guessing. Analyzing. Selectively sharing. Or does it?

Where do you find spaces of complete trust?

xoxo Maeg

 

 

 

 

What do I want? Congruence. When do I want it? Right now.

The word of the week at our house is: congruence.

It's a beautiful thing. But also a big, heavy word.

Fitting for winter, fitting for hibernation. For lots of thinking and evaluation.

Lately, I've been looking at things in the Right Now, as opposed to the Great Imagined (you know that version of your life that looks a lot like a magazine spread? Where your dishes are always washed, you have an amazing couch, and you finally got around to reading Manufacturing Consent, for the second time?).

It's all too easy for me to confuse the Great Imagined with the Right Now. But in really looking at the present, I'm mulling over how it fits with what I really want from life. What matches up? What's congruent?

Just the act of asking what's congruent brings to the surface everything that is not. And it's uncomfortable to look at. There's a lot. From the huge to miniscule.

Working on bringing the big stuff into alignment--location, home, job, relationships--is a daunting task. Monolithic.

So I went to find out how to get congruent. I did some interior scuba diving. I consulted my inner Oracle of Delphi. I did a little Shiva Nata on it.

The message I got was pretty clear, and pretty surprising.

It's in the moment. It's right now.

It's not just about what I do, it's about how I do it.

It's less about the results, the end goals. It's about finding congruence in the moment. Whatever I'm doing, am I doing it in such a way that supports the kind of life I want to live? (And if not, can I find a way to create alignment without giving myself a hard time for needing to do so?)

Talking with my husband. Playing with my children. Am I joyful, or impatient?

Writing, making art. Am I expansive and exploring, or am I rushed and frustrated?

Steaming veggies. Moving into a yoga pose. Am I feeling relaxed, or pressured?

Having feelings about whatever. Making mistakes. Am I kind to myself and moving on, or self-punishing, angry?

Am I bringing the qualities I want in life to these interactions? Or am I doing things that fit my life design--but in a way that's counter to my desires?

That's been my recent practice. To take a deep breath and ask myself these questions.

Because really, in the end, it doesn't matter if I get that amazing couch and read that hefty tome if I'm fuming the whole time. That's not really what I'm going for.

Congruence. Here's to finding it, right now.

xoxo Maeg

The Great Reshuffling.

Last week I told my husband that my brain felt like a pack of cards. 

One that had been tossed up in the air. And was in the process of scattering and settling to the floor.

It's a great reshuffling.

Sounds dramatic, huh?

It actually feels pretty subtle and sweet. Sometimes. Sometimes it feels a little crazy. 

It's the in-between. One foot in old patterns and one toe dipped in the new.

(I tend to blame it on the Shiva Nata.)

Reshuffling. It explains a lot. It explains lightness of posting here. It explains why when I look at my editorial calendar I draw a blank, and why preposting feels so distasteful. It explains why I've suddenly given myself full permission to do wild things like sleep past six. Or drink coffee. It explains why I'm entering the new year on my own time. It explains why I want to experiment.

Am I being cryptic? Maybe. But I bet you can relate. You know, it's that life-is-linear-but-also-cyclical thing. There are periods that are all about change and process. Where the important stuff is just under the surface of verbal.

I'm rewriting patterns. Patterns of follow-through, or lack thereof. 

And at the same time, rewriting patterns of rigidity, of trying to fill every moment with as much as possible. I played with that one today by skipping all ritual and reading the paper in my pajamas. By having a Sunday morning.

I'm having epiphanies. They may seem minor or obvious, but they're also earth-shattering, at least to me. 

The idea of writing too much about it while I'm in it seems strange. What if I look back and discover, oh no, I've said too much! 

At the same time, the idea of writing about all the regular stuff seems strange too.

So...you may just be coming along for the ride. Are you game?

xo Maeg

P.S. I'd love to hear your own experiences with this strange, sweet, shifting place in life. xo

Week in Instagrams

It's been a really sweet week. Here are some highlights:

*We got to dress up as the supermodel versions of ourselves and sit for a family portrait (above is a self-portrait of me practicing my "smizing" skills on the way to the photo studio).

*We also spent LOTS of time painting and renovating the other side of our two family. It is looking sharp.

*Lots of time holding Thommy in my arms and rocking him to sleep. Sweet, but that bottle-to-sleep routine has got to go! Any mamas or papas with advice out there?

*Thommy has started riding his push-bike around the yard. Although we can't figure out how to assemble it so that the wheels stay on when we pick it up. Small thing! He loves it and his oversized helmet anyway.

*I spent an entire afternoon yesterday with tea, paper, markers, and sticky notes--deeply processing some things for the coming year. More on that soon, I think. It was intense, exhausting, and amazing!

*We ate a lot of clementines. Like, two whole boxes full. They were so good that we were eating them as if we were starring in a clementine commercial. "Oh! YUM! Oh!" I'm also using that photo for the logo of my new Year of Joys project (come and join in!).

How was your week, Rexlets?

xoxo, Maeg

 

 

 

Hello 2012. I barely know you and yet, here we are.

It's the New Year. Time for post-it notes, planning, resolutions, and goals. 

I've got none of those at the moment.

It was wonderful to take a break from computer-land, to see long-lost loved ones, climb a tree, and lay in bed reading Steve Jobs' biography and knitting. 

I also thought that somewhere in there I'd be setting goals, making a giant wall of post-its, and getting dizzy about sharpening a fresh set of ambitions. Because, after all, aren't I here to inspire you?

You know what? I'm without a single chart, plan, or goal for 2012, save following my own curiosity and inner compass on how to get started. 

As uncomfortable as that feels right now, I'm not willing to rush the process.

It is January, after all. A season of folding inward and hibernating. And you all know how I feel about honoring seasons.

Havi summed it up perfectly for me today:

I’m setting up January to be slow and contemplative rather than following the bigger cultural push to be busy doing and creating.

In fact, I am just now realizing how dissonant and incongruent it seems (to me!) to try to follow that cultural push at a time when my body wants to be in hibernation. 

I'm letting go of goals, for the moment. In fact, I'm considering having no goals at all. And resolutions? I'm feeling skeptical of their root word, resolve. Seems so hardened, so teeth-clenched, so marching forward.

In previous years I've taken great pride in my organized, balls-to-the-walls approach to reviewing, planning, and setting goals toward making my various dreams come true.

Complete honesty: In many ways all that strutting has only led me to feel good about how balls-to-the-wallsy I am. And kept me busy, but still dreaming.

Whoa. So I did a little post- Shiva Nata shavasana (yoga naptime) on the idea of goals and this phrase jumped into my mind: enter as I wish to be in it.

Which of course, I had heard before.

In this case, it had a particular meaning:

That my work toward my goals have the same qualities as the dreams I am trying to achieve.

Play. Experimentation. Freedom. Curiousity. Creativity. 

Pliant. Soft. Free. Joyous. Loving.

Oh. Wow. No balls or walls there. 

Seems unsurprising that a hardass approach hasn't gotten me where I want to go, no?

So here I am, in this space, with one foot in 2011 and one in 2012. 

I'm looking in both directions. I'm taking it all in. The calendar page is turning whether I'm ready or not, and I don't need to have everything just-so to continue into this year. I'm starting with a little bit of unknowing, play, and experimentation.

I'd love to hear about the inner start of your year, your own experience, thoughts, and approach. Balls and walls welcome, of course! As is unknowing.

xoxo Maeg

Solstice

Last night Thommy and I met up with Aurora and her mom, Deb, at a Solstice celebration at Arcadia, a wildlife sanctuary in our town. We were greet by a path lit with hundreds of clever paper bag lanterns, a cup of hot mulled cider, and a giant bonfire. And music.

It was amazing. And the perfect note to start to my winter vacation. I'm taking a little break, dear readers, until the New Year to rest and regroup, write and dream, and make some fresh new year rituals. I'll be leaving you with some guest posts to tide you over, of course.

I wrote a little bit about wanting this break in last week's post, and a little more about it in terms of choice, resentment, and internal scuba diving in new Creative Call post on Scoutie Girl yesterday.

I'll leave you with a couple tidbits:

Congrats to Kaden, the winner of this month's giveaway for newsletter subscribers. Kaden, you get to do a little shopping in the Rex shop, on me--details are in your inbox. 

Also, I made these printable gift tags last year and I think they are still goodies. I mean, kittens floating on marshmallows? 

Take care! I hope the rest of your year is everything you desire it to be. 

Much love,

xoxoxo Maeg

My New Obsession

I have a new iPhone obsession. And, I'm happy to tell you, it's not Angry Birds! Or Words with Friends!

I'm obsessed with streaming TED talks, those twenty minute talks from brilliant people on brilliant topics that just kind of blow your mind.

It's the perfect amount of time for mind-expansion and self-education. I pop on my earbuds for twenty minutes of cardio/TED at the gym. Or while painting. Or while rocking my son to sleep. Love, love, love TED talks.

My mind has been spinning!

I'm sharing a few of my most recent favorites with you today. Some are more recent than others, they are all good. If you'd like to explore more talks, go to the TED website. (I just noticed a "jaw-dropping" section, too--will have to geek out on that soon!)

1. Elizabeth Gilbert on creativity, the crazy fears and expectations we place on artists in our culture, and bringing back the idea of "having" (versus being) a genius.

2. Caroline Casey's powerful talk on accepting yourself in full and living your dreams. I won't say more because there is a little bit of a surprise at the start of this one.

 3. Alisa Vitti on loving your lady parts (if you got 'em), how she healed herself on PCOS, how balancing your endocrine system can change your life, and how each week of your cycle has its own super-power (my word!)

4. Lissa Rankin on the surprising truth on what really keeps you healthy above all else. Guess what? It doesn't involve brussels sprouts or weight reps, though those can help.

Enjoy!

xoxo Maeg