Scoutie Girl Contributions - May to September, 2014

This July marked two years writing for Scoutie Girl. I started out with bi-weekly submissions and at one point brought it down to monthly contributions. Most times, selfishly I suppose, I write exactly what I need to hear.

Here are my five most recent posts:

How to Survive the Cubicle When You'd Rather Be in the Studio Making Stuff  Sometimes, as creatives, our day jobs leave us feeling like we lead a double life: office vs. studio, left vs. right, gray vs. color. These seven tips have helped me counter my cubicle woes and make my time at the office a little more palatable when really, I'd much rather be in the studio. Because, well, who wouldn't rather be in the studio?

Six Practices to Help Quiet the Mind  There are many paths to stillness of the mind and with every practice I learn more about what works for me and what doesn’t. Should you feel a need to slow down and create quiet in your heart and mind, one of these practices may be a good place to start.

Fill Your Spaces With the Right Content By Learning to Sit With the Unresolved  Sometimes sitting with empty or unresolved spaces - both literally and figuratively - is the best way to make sure we fill them with the right things.

5 Ways You're Creative Even When You Think You're Not  Maybe you think you're not creative because you "couldn't draw a stick figure even if you tried", but I'd counter that you are. Creativity comes in many forms that don't involve using a pencil!

Three Practices to Help Navigate Transition  It’s not always easy to navigate that space between where you’ve let go of something old, but aren’t quite sure what form the new will take yet. These three practices have helped me move through transition periods in the past and still do today.

Photo Pause: Sublime Sunset on the Saint Lawrence River

Note: Photography is a path to mindfulness for me, a meditative and grounding practice that prompts me to slow down and notice the world around me. May these images offer you a space to pause, a respite in your perhaps busy day, and a reminder to take a moment now & then and notice what's going on in the world around you.

~~~

On Labour Day weekend D. and I drove to my beloved East coast (New-Brunswick) for a quick visit with my parents. On the way back, just before our overnight stopover, we chose to leave the highway for a smaller road that follows the mighty Saint Lawrence River.

It was a good call.

These are a few photos from a quick, cold and windy pause at a road stop along the way. The quality of the light on the Saint Lawrence when the sun is setting is out of this world and goodness, that deep orange lichen... I couldn't get enough of either.