Spring is dawning upon us, the bare trees are starting to speckle with little blooms and the skies are brightening up. The changing of seasons from winter to spring is definitely one of my favourites. New seasons bring about new growth and change all around us. Why not join nature’s bandwagon?
As we head into spring, why not pick up a new hobby? Have you always wanted to learn an instrument, new language or learn to paint? Well my personal answer to that one is the latter. Whenever I have painted in the past, I’ve always found it very relaxing. Skills level aside, the main thing for me is that it’s something which is relaxing and a change to my everyday routine. In life it’s super refreshing to have that change in routine, and grow in an area you’ve always wanted to or in something you never thought you would. It’s not necessarily about perfecting the skill and putting pressure on yourself to reach a certain level, the key is soaking in the joy from doing that activity.
In life, there’s a lot of things we sometimes feel we need to reach the highest level for, such as in exams or in our professional lives. Having something in your routine that doesn’t add to that pressure of reaching a certain level is crucial. It helps to develop perspective on what really matters in life and slows it all down. Having that break will benefit all areas of both your personal and professional life.
Personally, this new season I’m trying to focus in on painting, not with any instruction, not with any guidelines, not with any tutorials. Just painting. Whatever the painting, the focus for me is on the joy of each brush stroke and tone of colour, the way the colours blend with a dab of water, the textures with different brush strokes and brush types. Embracing a new hobby and soaking in the beauty of every little detail develops a deeper sense of love and appreciation for the craft. Whatever hobby you may decide to take up, don’t worry about reaching the highest level. Take it up with joy and most importantly mindfulness.
Your Summit 