I donāt often publish musings or unpublished essays in my blog, so I thought itād be fun to sit down, write one, and share it tonight. Ta-da. š
Indispensable
Iāve begun to sort through clothes and such for donation a half an hour here and there, a half bag at a time, low-key and gradual.
Iām very grateful to have more than I need. Itās meaningful to inventory and also to pare back and then pare back again. To make room and space. To share. As Iām sorting, I imagine the new uses and happiness the items will bring others as I fold and accumulate things in the donation bags as well as the money itāll bring the thrift store and their charities. A few things had a random pull or hole or stain and went into the circular file/garbage. I also have found some sweaters and dresses I forgot all about and havenāt worn in a few years, so they feel new to me and ready for another season of enjoyment. I call the latter āshopping in my own closet,ā and itās a great way to save money and time.
The process of sorting is, much like the rest of life, figuring out what is essentialāwhat lights us up insideāand what weāre tired of and ready to change or switch out for a while.
Iāve also been reading a new book about sketching and so my mind is in the mood for seeing older or ordinary things with fresh eyes, like the beautiful shape of the dish-liquid bottle. Suddenly, walking into the room, I saw the bottle outline anew and took a half-hour break to break out my new watercolor pencils that Iāve had in my tote bag of art supplies for almost three months but not used before now. Iāve used dish soap since I was a kid and literally never thought about the shape of the bottle until drawing this sketch. My hand-drawn bottle shape turned out a bit different (read: uneven) than the uniformly graceful curve of the original bottle, but thereās authenticity in that, so instead of scrapping it, I ran with it.
Also, the word āindispensableā is one that makes me sweat before I write or type it, because Iāve misspelled it for years. I looked it up about five times before doodling it with the marker and misspelled it when I first typed this paragraph. Itās a tricky word, with several different vowels and the āable ending instead of the āible. My brain wants to insist itās an āible. I have to slow down or doublecheck. Much like the process of sorting, it has something to show me, something worthwhile I get to learn again and again at my own pace and little by little, like most worthwhile things.
So, I almost chose another word for my sketch, but then I pushed through it (and checked it a few more times, just in case), using the word after all. Sometimes, itās worth persevering, and other times, not so much and itās okay to sort it out and do something else. Youāll know as you go; do what works best for you in your art and in your life.