FEELING MEH - I'VE BEEN BUSY CREATING MY SANCTUARY

Hollaa...from me, Julie, the owner of Gypsy Jule. 

Breaking the rules today....letting you in on my personal life.  I've been working on a project and really I'm just excited to share!  

Ok....we all know last year was the year of challenges.  If you weren't challenged, then good for you!!  But I'm pretty sure that most of us are proudly wearing new scars that say "hey you....you DID it...you made it thru that shitstorm!"

On this side of the fence...we've been challenged and challenged for the past 4 years. The hurdles just seem to keep coming.  Some of these mountains that we've had to climb have been rather giant in size.  It's times like these that test you in every possible way it seems and you learn how strong you really are. You find out that you were meant to grow beyond anything that your mind envisioned your life being. 

Never one to say I'm not lucky, it's just been my journey to be challenged.  Life you say?...I guess.  We all have our "tasks" and the hope is that we come out better humans, creating a better world.  

One of the things that has always been important for me personally is having a home that nurtures me and offers a restful haven from the craziness of the world. 

In November, we bought a "good bones house on 10 acres".... a place that we envisioned to become a haven and possibly even house a future business. 

It's been a slow process to give it a badly needed remodel.  But yay for the light at the end of the tunnel.  The house is only 1400 sq. feet....hello small space living for us (tiniest house we've ever lived in!)....but bonus...it has a guesthouse that will opens up opportunities for all kinds of creations!

I started with a mood board....let me tell you there is still LOTS of work to be done as you know life is always pulling us in all other directions. 

Why am I telling you all of this?  I think it's important to stay authentic as a small business owner.  I think it's important to share so that you hopefully shine a light for others that are going thru their own set of challenges.  I mean hell, life is a doozy at times and it's definitely not a continuous feed of carefully edited Instagram photos. Amen?...amen

My point in all of this is that I came to a startling realization in January.  

My Sanctuary had to be recreated....NOT just in my home, but in other areas. 

You see my work-life because of the computer had become very tainted with all of the noise of social media and in general politics that were leaving a distasteful memory in my brain daily. If you don't know, this epidemic of cyber chatter has been slowly creeping into all of our lives.  We didn't really realize what it would do to us until finally our brains were so muddled by it all that we just really had to shut down from it.  

My spirit too was feeling very very weary.  I had not given myself proper care as I had attempted to deal with all of the challenges that had been given to me and my family over the past few years.  I had completely stopped allowing myself to be nurtured except to isolate myself and go into full blown introvert mode.  

In January I suddenly had an epiphany of all of this.  I realized that I was NOT nurturing myself, my home or anything really.  I was just muddling through hoping to ease some of the craziness.

Then....it hit me. 

I had to re-create my sanctuary.

What is important to note is that it takes time....it's not an automatic process for everyone and especially for creatives.  There's the hunt to find the vintage pieces that speak to you and then there's that thing called a budget that only allows you to build it a little at a time.  

Not only did I need to work on making my home a sanctuary again, but I also had to create a sanctuary on my computer and within my spirit. 

That means....weeding out a lot of the shit online that makes your blood pressure sky rocket and makes you want to binge drink.  Now this being said, that doesn't mean we become complete idiots about what's going on around us, but select moderation of computer time is essential.  As a small business owner I was/am required to be amongst the craziness of cyber world....I had to learn to pull back and say "enough" for today.  You don't have to know "everything".

Next, my spirit really needed rest and rejuvenation. There's really never enough time....but allowing ourselves to actually REST and escape is NOT luxury, it's a necessity. 

Self - care comes in many forms and it's important to take the time to tune in and know what works for YOU.  For me, allowing time to be really creative is a life saver....it's something that brings me back to life.  I had lost the steam for any creativity for months and was struggling to find it again. 

One of the highlights we added to our kitchen redo in the new space is an old stained glass window.  It is a beauty that I get to look at every day.  I can't wait to layer plants and funky wall decor here. 

Life cycles...we all go thru them. And it's the highs and the lows that produce the beautiful stuff. 

Stay tuned for more updates from my little boho farmhouse. 

Creating my sanctuary and dressing the casa....

julie

gypsy jule