I am learning to appreciate the slow arrival of Spring here in the Mid-Atlantic.  During my many years in Tennessee, I grew used to seeing the daffodils pop up in early March and then a quick succession of all the spring flowers.  Here the arrival doesn't even start until mid-April and due to cool spells, most things don't burst into bloom until the middle of May.
   
A friend brought a bouquet of lilacs last weekend and my entire house smelled heavenly for most of the week. Then I bought some tulips for a dinner party this week.  It's amazing how such small things can bring us so much joy.  Each time I walked past the table, those bright, happy tulips bring a smile to my face.  The sun and warm breezes can't be far behind. 

Spring is the season of new awakenings, fresh growth and re-creation.  Take an hour sometime soon to walk through a park or garden and breathe in the newness. While you are there, promise to do one thing to move your life in a new direction.  And then, just..... do...... it.......  

 And try putting some pretty blooms on your table to celebrate !  

  

Welcome to my New Subscribers!   I have been experiencing some cyber problems with my newsletter provider and had just about made a decision to discontinue sending it out every month.  But once we got the problems solved, and I was able to log back on, I found that about a dozen new names have been added to the list since the first of April.   I hope you will find some inspiration here. 

The big news for this issue is about the summer.  I am going to leave home in a couple of weeks to travel to Lake Chautauqua in western NY state to spend the summer at my family's cottage there with my 91 yr old father.  I have purchased a digital recorder and we are going to create an oral family history of sorts.  I feel  very fortunate to be able to enjoy precious time with my most favorite person in our most favorite place!    

I'm also going to use this 10 weeks to focus on some new products for all of you and to develop an idea for a book.  Look for teleclasses to be offered in the fall along with an e-book that will help you sort it all out.   

I will be writing more about these projects on my blog, so check in there to see what's in the works. 

Do you wonder what it would be like to own a coffee shop... .. train horses.......be a park ranger in the Everglades.......decorate cakes in a bakery......work as an interior designer ......be a brewmaster?    Before you leap off a cliff to a new job, it might be smart to experiment with your idea.  Brian Kurth, the founder of "Vocation Vacations", has a new book out call Test-Drive Your Dream Job that is packed full of great ways to try on a different job to see how it fits. 

His own dream job - "Vocation Vacations" - is my favorite recommendation for a way to try something out.  They have a lengthy list of places and people who will let you experience your heart's desire for a short period of time.  Check it out at their web-site - www.vocationvacations.com     

The book provides a roadmap of steps to follow to figure out what it is that you would like to try and then how to find someone to help you do it.   His opening chapter presents a down-to-earth explanation of the various fears that we all experience as we contemplate making changes to our lives, and sensible ways to move past them.  

Then he explains the processes for finding a mentor, designing a trial experience, and actually making a move to a whole new vocation.  His advice is heartfelt and real - his own experience and success is a tribute to the process.     

If you are thinking that you can't possibly quit your job, think again. You owe it to yourself to find the work that "matches your values, that feeds instead of exhausts you, that doesn't require you to leave your priorities at home and check your heart at the door."  (p. 6)    

I've been helping a friend create a new home study/office and that process has reminded me of how important it is that we have someplace, any place, that is our own private, quiet sanctuary. 

I remember that when my children were small, the only place I could find peace and quiet was the master bathroom ! It required someone else to watch them for a while so I could lock the door, light a candle or two, fill the tub with bubbles and just soak away the tension.  

My friend is an artist as well as a busy volunteer for several organizations and an archivist of family records and photographs.  Her room needed to be well organized to deal with a lot of different types of files and supplies and also needed workspace for small projects.  We emptied the room completely, installed lots of cabinets for storage, a large L-shaped desk and a work area.  She called today to say that she was slowly moving things back into the room, but was also finding a lot of "stuff" she didn't need to put back in there.   "It's so calm and serene, I want to keep it that way."    

If you can take just one morning or afternoon to clear out a space where you can quietly think or read or write, it will allow you to plan the changes you want to make in your life much more easily. 

We all need a quiet place to contemplate our navels on a regular basis!  My favorite place away from home is a local arboretum full of lovely blooming native plants, a picturesque pond with comfortable benches nearby, and only the music of birds singing - no Ipods for me.  At home it is my small office with piano jazz playing on my Pandora.com radio station.  (Try Jim Brickman for some great soothing sounds.) 

Your quiet place may just be a cozy chair in a corner or a swing on the porch.  It doesn't matter as long as you take time to just be there once in a while.   Even better - take a notebook and pen with you and write for 10 minutes about what's on your mind today.  You will be amazed at how much clearer your thoughts will become if you give them space to exist!        

Jane Kirsch  PO Box 1285  Southeastern, PA 19399-1825  610-695-0738
jane@lifeandworkbydesign.com