I'm bringin' whimsy back (yeah) #1
Finding my way back to what once was
I guess at this point it doesn’t come as a surprise to you when I tell you I’ve been feeling a bit out of it. It’s also been very telling because of my nowadays rare updates on here. In my head I’ve been telling myself that I just need to settle into my new neighborhood — find a new café where I can write and find inspiration, and just then will I find my way back to writing and feeling overall way more inspired and motivated. Everything will be back to normal.
Until I realized that’s the completely wrong approach. I turned to question around: what am I missing? Why am I not inspired right now? Why is it so hard for me to find the spark?
It’s not because I live in a new neighborhood or spending less time alone. It’s not because our apartment is messy or I don’t feel quite at home yet. It’s because I got rid of everything that made me feel inspired and everything that made me feel like I was in my true element.
Moving can be nerv wrecking, especially for someone like me who’s very dependent on routines and feeling secure. In my old neighborhood I had found my third space: the café I went to every Sunday to write. I found the streets I loved to walk and always did to find inspiration. The cute flower shop which I passed by on my walk back home after my writing sessions (who happened to have great deals on flowers!). I miss it so much I could tear up. It was all so predicatble and now I live in a new area with so much more people and finding a new space to go to every Sunday feels so scary, and unpredictable. But that’s what I have to do to find my way back.
Or is it?
It isn’t! The funny thing is, I live across town from my old place. It’s not far to go across town once a week in order to finally go somewhere I feel a hundred times more comfortable just to feel a bit like myself again. To find a tiny bit of that spark. The magic never disappeared, it’s just a bit further away.
What is whimsy?
So, what do I mean when I throw the word Whimsy around? Whimsyness is very personal, I feel. To some it’s a word to describe something or someone playful, vibrant, colorful and fun. To others (me) whimsyness is a magical, sparkling, bubbly feeling. It’s the feeling when you feel as most as your authentic yourself. So when I say I want to bring whimsy back — I find to find her, the vibrant, authentic, magic woman who I truly am.
How to find Whimsy
Going out more
Walking around in my neighborhood will make me feel more comfortable. I get to see during what hours the cafés are full and what park benches have the best sun-hours. Getting out more and seeing people also helps me to realize that people aren’t that scary that I’ve made them up to be in my head. It’s also close to summer and these times are the best to be outside — seeing the trees blossom, and hearing the birds sing. It’s very grounding for me.
Reading more books that speak to me
As some of you might recall, I’m part of a book circle. It’s so much fun! However, lately I’ve felt a bit tired of it because we’ve been reading books that unfortunately I haven’t enjoyed at all. I miss drowning in a book and just can’t stop reading. This month it was my turn to choose a book. I choose the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho because I’ve been wanting to read it for several years but I never did. This is the first time in a long time where I can’t stop reading! It’s such a lovely feeling and I want more of that, so I’ll probably stop attending the book circle as much and start reading more books that have been on my list.
Being around like-minded people
Though I’m surrounded by lovely friends, I don’t really have anyone around me that knows about my Substack or the fact that I write at all. That’s my fault, of course. That’s the way I want it to be for now though, BUT a place where I truly go and feel understood but also very inspired is Substack. The part few months where I haven’t written at all I’ve also not been reading other peoples work (so sorry!!!!), so I’ll definately get better at that and also set some time away during the weeks so catch up on interesting reading but also to engage in the beautiful community on here!
Spending more time alone
This ties together with the first point. I need to go out by myself in order to listen within. Moving in with my partner has been such a bliss — he is such a light and I know I’m guaranteed a laugh everyday because of him. Though, being together always means I don’t get almost any time left for myself to tune in and truly feeling. I want to set more time aside for days at my café, going on walks and reading.
I’ll make this a little series called ‘‘I’m bringing whimsy back’’ to document my way back to the community, to writing, to whimsyness and most importantly to myself.
The first two steps has been brought up in this post: to recognize the feeling and understanding what I am lacking. The next few posts will be me documenting steps I’ve taken to feeling like my authentic self again.
Feel free to share things that make you feel like the most you <3
Welcome back!! We love a series you’ll be full of inspiration yet