aerialovely

[aerialovely]

Florence Welch, Rolling Stone UK (2022)

#inspiration

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if you remember that life is fluid you’ll never feel stuck. nothing is the end all or your only option. when something ends it’s your time to start something new. it doesn’t matter how often doors close if you’re always moving forward. don’t dwell or try to open those old doors. the more you keep moving, the more you’ll see life is working in your favor.

#inspiration #quotes

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On The Avenue by Krista Palmu {JoyHey} on Flickr.

#inspiration #Krista Palmu #Flowers

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JoyHey

#inspiration #spring #bicycle #flowers

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Book 1/25: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert Rating: ✩✩✩ I finally finished this book! To be completely transparent, I started this book last year. I got halfway through it before putting it down. I don't know what it is, but I find Elizabeth Gilbert's writing to be really dry and boring sometimes. The same thing happened with reading Big Magic. But I think she shares some really great ideas, and for me, those are the real gems. Happy to say I finally read this one though. xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CY9ad10uX71/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal

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I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness lately, especially in relation to my one little word for this year. After reading over what I had written in my journal, I noticed a thread of wanting to invite more joy into my life. It has me thinking if I should possibly change one of my supporting words to joy… As of right now, my supporting words are CHANGE, INSPIRE, and BALANCE. I feel really connected with both Change and Balance, as those are two things I’m hoping will manifest for me this year. Particularly positive change that propels me forward and balance in all aspects of my life. The word Inspire is heavily rooted in my creativity, which if I’m being entirely honest has been lacking these past couple of months. I’ve been a bit sad and depressed lately, and I just don’t have any motivation to create like I normally would. So currently, I’m not much attached to that word like I was when I initially set my intentions. That all being said, I do think JOY needs its space amongst CHANGE and BALANCE. I believe my process of becoming wouldn’t be complete without the search for the joy within myself. The insights on joy that @elizabeth_gilbert_writer shares in her book Eat, Pray, Love deeply resonated with me. It echoes the wisdom shared on last week’s episode of the @beingwellpodcast. “The key to joy is learning to love yourself”—finding “the divine goodness” that we all have within ourselves. That’s where joy lives. So I feel deep in my heart that the hierarchy of my words should be as such: BECOMING CHANGE BALANCE JOY and then maybe INSPIRE. My heart is saying YES. xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CY4WcCjpLk3/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal

[aerialovely]

These are the first few pages of my unraveling journal for this year documenting my One Little Word. Every year I hand make a junk journal-esque book where I primarily journal about my personal growth journey, and I call this my unraveling journal. This year, I made my journal from an altered Susannah Conway "This I Know" book that I bought used for $3. I gutted the pages and added two signatures of my own that consist of a mixture of different types of scrapbooking, found, and vintage type papers. My plan is to work through the OLW prompts in here every month as well as use this as a place to house what I like to call "epipha-mes"—or little epiphanies I have about myself. You know, those little learning moments of growth where you discovered something new about yourself. I tend to do a lot of writing in these journals, but I also try to get creative with it. This year, I'm planning on adding a lot of photos of myself, as a big part of my unfurling process this year is to take more self-portraits. I'm excited to have the OLW prompts as a guide throughout the year. I feel it will keep me accountable to my word and my overall unfurling. I also just can't wait to fill it up! xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CYt9vLPuZ9X/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal #my journals

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This is a photo of myself, circa 2014. I wanted to share her here because this was the first self-portrait series I ever shared on my blog, aerialovely. Taken on an old Canon point-and-shoot, this photo captured the very beginning of my creative personal growth journey. The first time I ever filled out a Susannah Conway Unravel Your Year workbook was in December 2013. Little did that girl know that filling out that 2014 book would begin an 8-year process of inner excavation and creative self-exploration. Eight years of grieving, of wandering, searching, and discovering a self that was broken and temporarily lost. There was growth that happened during that time and lots of lessons learned. I added this photo of that girl into my unraveling journal this year because I wanted to see where I started all those years ago. I still have many lessons to learn and lots of wounds that still need healing, but I wanted a visual reminder for myself of how far I’ve come. xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CYomApyslSf/?utm_medium=tumblr

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[aerialovely]

I've been dreaming of Disney Days, strolling down Main Street USA eating a Mickey-shaped powered beignet and feeling the excitement of the magic that is all around. ✨ I think it's safe to say that we all need a bit of positive change right about now. It has been a very difficult past two years and I'm sure you feel just as tired and drained as I do. The start of this year has been slow to change and while things seem to be accelerating quickly out of our control, I have a feeling we’re on the tail end of it all and a new renaissance is about to emerge. 2022 feels transformative to me. For myself, in particular, I feel ready to make some BIG changes this year and become more. “A person should set their goals as early as they can and devote all their energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, they may achieve it. Or they may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, they will know they have been alive.” — Walt Disney (at Magic Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYjccodsfSi/?utm_medium=tumblr

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My book stack for 2022. It’s comprised of new and old reads that I’m hoping to read and reread this year as I focus on my own (creative) personal journey. So I’m mixing in a lot of “self-help” books with creative ones, and some cute fiction to spark the imagination. I still have a handful of books I want to add to this pile, so I’ll probably share my reads periodically as I get a hold of them. But these are just the books I have on hand now and that I’m excited to get into (again). Do you have any special reads you want to tackle this year? xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CYb8L85usch/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal

[aerialovely]

My One Little Word for 2022 is BECOMING. Every year I set specific intentions, and each year I choose a word and supporting words that encompass those intentions to guide my year. This year I chose BECOMING, which was a supporting word last year to my guiding phrase "a gentle unfurling." BECOMING means "beginning to be." A lot of why I chose this word this year is rooted in my sense of self and how for all of my life I never felt like I truly belonged anywhere. I sometimes blame this on my Type 4 personality, that whole yearning of Fours to find out who they are and their purpose; their overall search for their identity. I've been searching for myself for a very long time and haven't quite found who I really am. I often think I'm an enigma. I have parts of me that contradict themselves and don't make much sense. But I think that's because I'm always pulling from the outside instead of looking within. Because when you look within, you begin to realize that there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a contradiction. We are all contradictions. We all live within "the and space." These dichotomies are what make each of us real and unique. But I've recently realized that if I keep searching for myself, I'm never going to truly find myself. Because maybe you simply don't find yourself, but instead you have to become yourself. Just like we mold our children, we have to mold ourselves into the people we want to be. So this year, I vow to stop searching for myself in the void and begin becoming the self I want to be. I signed up for @aliedwards' One Little Word course this year. It's my very first time taking the course instead of trying to keep my word on my own. I feel like having an introspective, creative guide to follow for the year will help me keep accountable to my word and actually take action on it. I'm very much looking forward to this journey. xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CYRo6bWtkQY/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal

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"Start believing in the impossible, for the impossible is possible." Just a little note to myself, written at 5 am on my Notes app. I find it so interesting how certain things come to you during the night, these little drops of wisdom hitting you seemingly out of nowhere. I have so many of these little drops of wisdom written down on my phone or scribbled on sticky notes and tucked into my journals. I never really take my own advice, but maybe this year I should start. Walt Disney was once quoted "It's kind of fun to do the impossible." And oh boy did he achieve the impossible. So maybe we all should start believing in the impossible. Happy New Year friends. Stay brilliant. xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CYJ6KvvtwLs/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal

[aerialovely]

There are magical days ahead, my friend. Be ready to reach out and grab them. xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CYEyTQ-Nitv/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal

[aerialovely]

Here’s a photo of a girl in a dress, with wonky knees, wearing tall brown boots with flowers and paintbrushes sticking out of them. It’s not particularly original or insightful or groundbreaking. It’s just a photo of a girl trying to take a pretty self-portrait in her “art boots.” I enjoy taking photos of my feet. Particularly from a bird’s-eye view because it gives off a sense of grounding. It shows me where I am in the world; where I stand. It also makes me think: What grounds me? What is my base? My foundation? It’s an easy question to answer. It’s creativity. Art. Music. Writing. Documenting my life in a creative way. My very essence is creativity. Without creativity, I wouldn’t even know who I am or what I would be. My creativity is so rooted in my identity that without it I would be lost. Being creative is how I communicate. It’s how I learn and it’s how I grow. I couldn’t bloom without my art. xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CX34z0VNEsF/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal

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just some songs I’ve been listening to lately xx 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 + 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒚 :: a gentle unfurling mixtape 01 home - edward sharpe + the magnetic zeros love - lana del rey hearts on fire (ft. ed sheeran) - passenger august - taylor swift linger - the cranberries am i alright - aly + aj exile (ft. bon iver) - taylor swift give me love - ed sheeran https://www.instagram.com/p/CXyvW1Xt7lm/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal

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"We are only temporary." I know that seems like a huge thought to process. I think, for the most part, we as human beings don't really think about our mortality that often. It is normally not a thought that readily occurs to you unless you are a severely anxious person or have experienced a certain kind of trauma that makes you clearly aware of it. I think about this a lot. Most things in life are temporary. Emotions, relationships, Tootsie Pops. People are temporary. We are here one day and the next day we could be gone. We will never truly know our time. And I just find it interesting that we innately feel like we are meant to live on this earth forever. Because why else would we allow ourselves to become lost in life and take for granted our time? Doesn't that make you curious? xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CXsTCnEO_Y1/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal

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𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙: Life is fluid. I am fluid. We are all constantly changing, ebbing and flowing, always evolving. I wrote this little "Note to Self" on a sticky note I taped into my unraveling journal when the thought popped into my head. I've been thinking a lot about fluidity and how we as people are fluid. Everything about us is fluid. I think the thought initially occurred to me when trying to explain pronouns to my mom. Like the idea of the binary is pretty absurd when you really think about it because everything is a spectrum. In terms of gender identity, you can identify however you want. If you are female, then you are female. But I also understand those who feel female one day, but more male the next. And I totally get not feeling like either too. And you can change, you know? And it doesn't mean you're "lost" or "confused," it just means you're doing the work to better understand yourself and who you are and how you fit. You're evolving and that's beautiful. The idea of fluidity has really been something that's been on my mind for a while now in terms of my own attraction preference. I was telling a friend the other day that I'm almost sure I'm on the aro/ace spectrum. My level of attraction (both romantic and sexual) is not always so clear-cut at times. It definitely fluctuates in phases, going from high-intensity attraction to very low/almost non-existent. Most of the time it's somewhere in between. But it's really interesting for me to note these phases as being something that's not broken within myself, you know? So I made a note of it here in my journal just to remind myself. I love how I can speak my truth in my journal. It listens. I hope you can all speak your own truths today too. xx https://www.instagram.com/p/CXl3H9NtfoF/?utm_medium=tumblr

#personal