Hip Tranquil Chick: Shine Brightly This Summer: Live Out Loud
by Kimberly Wilson
“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” — Mary Lou Cook
Looking for a change of pace or an activity to put spring in your step? Stepping outside the comfort zone to explore new experiences can have a profound effect on elevating a mood and overall zest for life. Below are a few ways to live out loud and embrace your creative spark along the way:
Get artsy: I use “artsy” to cover a few mediums such as pottery, sculpting, drawing, watercolor, and painting. Picking up a book, taking a group class, or working one on one with a tutor offers you a chance to create in ways you may have never thought possible. There is something *incredibly* zen about working with clay, or taking your palette, easel, and canvas to the local park to capture summer flowers.
Get centered: In order to let creativity flow, it’s helpful to set up a creative ritual. I like to light a candle, fire up nag champa incense, and have a cup of tea nearby. You may find setting an intention, meditating, or doing a few sun salutes to be particularly grounding.
Get inspired: Indulge in an artist date – a weekly one-hour solo excursion to indulge your creative side. I like to take this a step further with occasional solo nights, days, or even weeks. Think of your artist date as replenishing your creative well, nurturing your inner artist, and allowing yourself the chance to find inspiration. Visit a museum, browse a bookstore, meditate, go for a hike, explore the Arboretum or Botanical Gardens, savor jazz in the Sculpture Garden, try yin yoga, listen to live music at Wolf Trap.
Get your sparkle on: Make your own necklace. Choose your beads and gather your supplies. You’ll need two crimps, wire, a design board, closure, flat-nose pliers, and scissors. Lay your beads out on the board in a design that most appeals. Thread the wire through the beads and leave a few extra inches. Add the crimp to one side and then the closure. Slide the wire back through the crimp and use your flat-nose pliers to close it tightly. Clip off excess wire. Repeat on the other side.
Get your hands dirty: The act of planting something and watching it grow can be very rewarding. We, too, are little seedlings constantly growing, thanks to water, love, and light. Planting a few herbs in your apartment windowsill or an entire wildflower garden in your backyard can give you a little glimpse of Central Park in your ‘hood. This endeavor takes a few gardening tools, soil, seeds or seedlings, sunlight and a dash of know-how.
Omwork: Explore ways to add more color, glitter, belly laughs, yoga, and light into your everyday. Put your personal stamp on everything that you put out to the world. Namaste.
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About our Hip Tranquil Chick, Kimberly Wilson:
Kimberly Wilson is a teacher, designer, writer, activist, and entrepreneur with a master’s in women’s studies. She is the founder of Tranquil Space Yoga in Washington, D.C. She penned Hip Tranquil Chick with hopes of inspiring fellow femmes to lead a mindfully extravagant life on and off the yoga mat. When she’s not bookstore browsing, you’ll find her designing the eco-luxe TranquiliT lifestyle clothing collection and her chunky gemstone jewelry line, sipping tea, or leading retreats globally. Her work has been featured on Martha Stewart Living Radio and in Daily Candy, Fit Yoga, and Shape. With a passion for do-gooding, Kimberly founded the Tranquil Space Foundation to assist young girls with finding their inner voice. Indulge in ongoing musings through her blog and podcast. Learn more at www.kimberlywilson.com.
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