Wildflower Whimsy

Hello friends, another week has passed.

I’m still figuring out how these blog posts will look. What I will write about. I know, for me, I want it to be a haven of rest for both my soul and yours. A place to breathe and contemplate. So that’s where I’m going for now.

This week I challenged myself to search for a little bit of whimsy. I wasn’t quite sure where, or how, I would find it.

Life can be a whirlwind. A cascade of needs, urgencies, tasks, and flow of events out of our control. But the reality that this whirlwind of life, where we are right now, is as good as it gets (for now!). We will look back and reflect on the best years of our lives where we are right now. There’s so much hard thrown in. And a lot of things I might not like or have chosen. But I think what we focus on grows, and if we are daily asking ourselves, ‘where is the whimsy’ and determinedly set out to find it. We will find it.

So far for me, I’ve found whimsy in the less. In decluttering toxic thoughts (childhood or past conditioning, questioning ‘why do to feel like this right now? How can I have compassion on myself? How can I be gentle on myself?’), and decluttering excess things. If there is an area in my home bothering me, actually taking the time to let some things go so I can handle my home better. Past versions of myself or things that are not being used in my current life season. I quit a devotional, Bible reading plan that was feeling more like a ‘to do’ than a ruminating and soaking up God’s Word. All of these helped me feel lighter and gave my brain some space to breathe.

And in the space of less, I was able to notice and be a little more aware of the beauty in the moments.

Here is my searching-for-whimsy highlight reel from this week.

• I mixed up coconut pith soil (what’s the proper name for this!?), and mushroom compost and filled some terracotta pots to plant out some mint and thyme. I decided to poke some red geranium cuttings into the pot of mint because terracotta and red geraniums are so pretty, and why not make it an extra bountiful pot of plant goodness!?

• I drank Matcha tea with hot water, a spoon full of honey and some milk every day around three o’clock. Looking forward to this got me through many an afternoon.

• I prayed a lot. Jesus literally directed so many of my hard days. When overwhelm hits, Jesus is the Way. The Way through, the Way on, the Way I need to step. A fool (and fail!) proof plan every time!

• Listening to Accoustic Covers with Female Vocals on spotify was so gentle and whimsical! I put my phone away and brought out the sewing machine to make some scrunchies. Rare, but the stars aligned this rainy afternoon. And the tunes blaring made me feel like I was pottering in a bougie cafe, and not my crumb ridden dining room!
• Having 5 second moments of soaking my kids in. Watching them play briefly while onto another task, even those snippets of consciously absorbing the moment were an absolute gift.

Even in the mud of the week, the messy world of people and children and needs and cares, I was searching.

This week I’d like to challenge both you and me to:

1. Quit something. Anything. A toxic way of thinking. A book you’ve tried to read but it’s just taking too much from you. An item of clothing that makes you feel a bit meh. A habit that hurts you. A fear that chokes you – give that one to Jesus.
2. Look for whimsy every day. If you can’t see it, create it. You were made for this.
3. Plant something. Whatever tickles you. I recommend everyone have parsley and mint at their fingertips. Beautiful for food decorating. Adding parsley to soups, and mint to platters and drinks. Seeds or seedlings will do. And a terracotta pot with a terracotta base and some red geraniums is always beautiful and hardy!
4. Make a daily time for a cuppa. Whatever lights your fire. Stick with that time and look forward to it every day.
5. Watch at least one sunset. Somewhere, somehow.
6. Breathe in the moments deeply. We are only guaranteed right now, today.
7. Read something soul filling. A passage of scripture twice through, slowly. A beautiful author that aligns with your dreams and goals. Sometimes we need a little encouragement on the way.

Let me ask you, where do you find whimsy? I would love to know.

I’d like to end with a quote that made me smile:

“”Hallo, Eeyore.”
Same to you, Pooh Bear, and twice on Thursdays,” said Eeyore gloomily.”

– Winnie the Pooh

With wildflower whimsy,

Steph xo