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... lessons from the garden ...

I have spent much time in my gardens lately.
A few weeks ago I made a conscious decision to slow down...
in an attempt to organize my life and reflect on the direction of my priorities...
in this
 my time of life transition...

Feeling no real mastery in any aspects of my life ....
with unfinished organization abounding...
I set off to my garden...
with a solid plan of a new direction and design.
After almost two weeks of ripping out and cutting back...
I had a solid design plan in mind....

 until....

I realized this bed of coreopis had sprung up as an amazing blooming border....
I had planted it last year as a quick color fill in...
and up until recently, it had all but died back...
it was on my list to pull out to fulfill my new design vision...

I realized I couldn't get rid of something that was thriving so beautifully...
so I adapted my design scheme....

 and incorporated the thriving coreopsis  throughout my front borders.
revising my design vision to highlight what I actually already had.

I realized this was such a metaphor for my life right now....

So often during this time of  my life transition....
I think I know exactly how I want my life to look like....
what I want it to be...
for the last year I thought for sure it was all about going back to a big career,
only to realize recently I would have to say good by to so many parts of my life that I really enjoyed...
just to get there.

Simple things like having time to change out my decor seasonally....
in a slow process that celebrates the changing season...
To breathe in the changing light of the approaching summer...
Time to spend in gratitude for the life I have...
and
to savor the resource I hold dearest....
time...
and the the personal choice in how I want to spend it...

I don't know at my age if I want to trade that in...
for an endless to do list...
always feeling like I can never accomplish what I need to...
to get where I want to go...
and 
missing so much of what I hold dear...
along the way.

 This week I have had the time to 
style new centerpieces...
with pieces that I love... and have found along the journey that is my life...

Driftwood found on a beach walk with Ellis the summer before she left for college
flea market bottles filled with tiny branches plucked out of my Mother's Day bouquet
a key from a Parisian garden gate,
white rocks from our midnight stroll along the Thames when Jeff and I 
met Ellis and Elliot in London.

My very favorite piece...
the ceramic 'cup' filled with sand.
Many years ago when we hiked during each of our homeschooling days...
Ellis found this in back of a rarely traveled arboretum.
It is a piece done by an artist who made each piece individually from recycled materials...
then placed them out in random places to be found....
a treasure just waiting to be found by an unsuspecting traveller
with a note to go online and record your find and hear from others with the same fortune.
This is my very favorite art... ever.

 This week I have had the time to invest in simple beauties...
long awaited peonies from Trades Joe's...
filling my kitchen with such striking pleasure...
it brought sacred moments to even to my daily chores.

This week I made the time ....
to return to a spot that always heals my heart and soul...
and do a hike full fo gratitude....
for being... there.

This week I remembered how  an hour of daily hiking...
is always the best investment for both body and soul...
I have put it back on my daily musts.

 This week I had the luxury of time...
to wrap my mother's present in love and beauty... with a touch of honeysuckle from the garden.

 I had slow mornings with coffee...
in which I could watch the sun rise and paint my living room 
with the promises a new day brings.

 This week I have also literally had the time 
to make my life my art...
working on my outdoor art wall...
a large project...
that has been unfinished for years....
I have broken it down into an hour a day...
and now am well on my way to completion....
With a celebratory summer cocktail party on the horizon to be sure!

I have learned well from my garden this week.
It is fine to have a vision for the future...
but it is just as important 
to be able to truly experience the beauty 
that is life right now.

This week I believe the key is to 
meld the two...

an ongoing search for balance to be sure.

as always my friends

I wish you love and joy
as your style your life




10 comments:

  1. Dear Tamera, As always, your posts are a reflection of my thoughts and emotions. This morning, as I read, I literally experienced a long, slow exhalation of breath. Though we have traveled very different paths to this era in our lives, your words offer comfort and reassurance. Life doesn't have to move at a whirlwind pace to be valuable. Thank you ever so much!

    Sue xo

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  2. Tamara, reading your posts is always so enriching because your words are honest and spoken from your heart.
    How amazing you found that ceramic cup from the artist! No wonder you regard it as a special treasure.

    I never expected any of the changes that happened in my life over the past seven years and we constantly have to adapt.

    Looking forward to spending time in my garden this weekend. Yours looks gorgeous and pink peonies are one of my favourite flowers.

    Thank you!

    Annette
    Lady of Style
    follow me on Facebook


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  3. Your garden, your house, your photos and your way of life are like your style: precious. Seeing what surrounds you recognize the way you are, your beauty and elegance. Your life is enviable tranquility, calm, balance and beauty, you breathe in your photos. You are fantastic.

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  4. Just love your posts. You always speak to my heart! What a gift you are sharing with the readers of your beautiful blog. Thank you for sharing snippets of your heart, your passion, your art, and you sincere dedication to being the best you can be! Love it , just love it! I have not had much time to focus on me lately, and when I do it feels strained and wrong. Thank you for reminding me it is okay to nourish me so I have more to give to those who need it! Headed to my garden!
    PS... pictures of that wall when complete, please!!! xo Barb

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  5. Tamara, I truly believe that "TIME" is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and to those we love. You spoke this so elequently this morning through your pictures and written words. The beauty of how you have spent your precious time this week has touched my heart dearly. Thank you my friend for your quiet and beautiful message.
    Plus, I might add, your garden and home decorations are just as beautiful as you, it is evident that much love and tender care went into every placement of each flower, plant, and table arrangement.

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  6. So glad you were able to learn all that in your garden this week, this season. It's such a good lesson to embrace. I love your photos and your words and your heart. xo, ab

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  7. Beautiful, Tamera. So enjoyed the visit to your garden! have a wonderful weekend ahead!

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  8. Such a beautiful post and photos. Your house and garden seem like a canvas that you repaint every season. What a lovely idea.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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  9. What a lovely post, Tamera, with so many beautiful images, and your thoughtful words.
    I am glad you have had time to do the things which matter to you and which bring you joy. You have the most delightful home and garden, but having time to make them so and enjoy them is the best thing ever! xxx

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  10. "This week I have also literally had the time to make my life my art..."

    I love this, Tamera. Thank you for sharing all these glimpses of the art in your garden, in your treasures... wherever you go, your eye is riveted to beauty. Such a lovely way to travel on your journey! :)

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