Incubation Time

earlier this week i read this post (thanks for sharing this with me dear Brian!) and i really really loved it.

it's an interview with Raf Simmons -the previous creative director at Christian Dior- and in part of the article he talks about the sacredness of having allowance and space for ideas to have incubation time.
and that's definitely an idea that tapped me on the shoulder and got me thinking.

especially because slowing down my life has been such a theme for me in recent years (read about some of the creative aspects of those excursions into this here and here and here and here).
but in relation to giving that slowness to ideas specifically, (especially to my constant idea-producing-big-dreaming mind) is somewhat revolutionary to me.
not necessarily in the practice of it but in the naming of it in recognizing that that is what i'm doing.

but at the same time, it's something i have subconsciously always sort of done.
to the point of it being a fault (mostly because of my over analytic i-don't-want-to-make-a-mistake tendencies).
this is definitely seen in my writing and photo work that i share publicly. i am not one to post in the moment, rashly, or without thinking about it for an extended amount of time. 
i tend to let things it sit for a few days.
however there are dangers with this sort of methodology. 
such as: losing momentum and passion for an idea (on your part, or on that of the short-attention-spanned viewer), having a message come across too premeditated, and the one i think i most often might be guilty of: forcing an idea out that isn't meant to be out there because of guilt you feel in having spent so much time on it... because surely it's meant to be, simply because of all the time and thought you've already spent on it. 
such tends to be my thought process.

which is somewhat reflected in the article from this quote: 

"Technically speaking, it works. Does it work for me emotionally? No, because I’m not the kind of person who likes to do things so fast. I think if I had more time, I would reject more things, and bring other ideas or concepts in. But that’s also not necessarily better. Sometimes you can work things to death when you take too much time."

and so there's a balance to be sought.
as with all things.
i just hope i can stick with the pursuit of that and not embody this overwhelming issue that i am also so familiar with...

"Everything is so easily accessible, and because of that you don’t make a lot of effort anymore. When we were young, you had to make up your mind to investigate something — because it took time. You really had to search and dig deep. Now if something interests you, one second later, you can have it. And also one second later you also drop it."

a few more thoughts i had on these words can be found here.

Revisting Core Values

i happened to re-visit my list of core values today (which can be found here on my website. but for the sake of this post i’m going to list them below).
they’re something i wrote three years ago. 

and if there’s one thing i’ve learned about the power of words, it’s that writing-saying-proclaiming them out loud in one of those ways, is so powerful.
even if we don’t constantly come back to their original documentation, putting them out there in the world intentionally is often enough for us to end up embodying their message subconsciously.

i think this because i have to say that despite the fact that this list has been on my website for over a year, it’s on a card that i stick into each and every order i ship out from the shop, and i’ve shared it a few times here and there on social media when i first wrote them, i haven’t especially meditated on them or kept them in the forefront of my mind.

and yet, reading them today, i realized that my life embodies these values.
this is what i live out.
this is my life.

and the pride i have in that, in myself, for bettering my world which includes myself and the people i have the opportunity to come into contact with, is such an incredible thing.
it's so important to think on these things.
to live with an intentionality.

what are your core values?

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1. Do everything with Passion. 
Do my best in whatever situation I'm presented with. 
Stay tremendously interested in things. 
Above all point back to my creator in all that I do because He's the source of all things good. 

2. Be in a state of constant Exploration. 
Seek adventure not just in traveling. 
Challenge myself. 
Always be willing to learn new things. 
Observe the world around me. 

3. Love.
Fall in love with people. Their stories. Their uniqueness and individuality. Love them where they're at, wherever that might be. 
Fall in love with work. With what I get to do for work. With the process of things. 
Be in love with my life. 
And above all: Remember what love is. 

4. Enjoy the art of the every day. 
The simple. The routine. The ordinary. Because there's beauty in all of it. 
Live in a state of thankfulness. Have it be a part of my lifestyle, not just a list. 
Collect moments not things.

5. Create. 
Whether that's knitting a sweater, taking a photo, building a new relationship, or learning how to make really amazing guacamole. 
Make more. 
And in the making, don't be afraid of failure. 
Remember that no great thing is created suddenly. 

6. Dream fearlessly. 
Do not let the world's standards or definitions of what's possible define who I am, what I want to be or where I want to go.
Have vision and drive for doing and being better. 
Never settle. Aim high. Go confidently. 

7. Inspire. 
Help others discover their dreams and passions by simply pursuing my own. 
Pursue excellence. 
Encourage and motivate others to be the best that they can be. 

8. Be Leney.
Authentic. Confident. Unique. Genuine.
Whether that's the donut obsessed Leney, the avid picture taking Leney, the never not knitting Leney, the Leney who likes to dance to cheesy pop music or the Leney who likes getting on buses alone to find a new adventure at the other end. 
Remember that comparison is the thief of joy and to not let my vision of who I want to be obscure my view of who I actually am. 

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Noisy Quiet

this is from a post i re-came across on my tumblr the today (yes. yes i tumblr. yes i write moody things on there that i don’t put here. you can perceive that however you want) from the summer of 2014.

it fit my mood so perfectly this morning, as i woke up in the early hours of the beginning day, before the sky brightened and the birds woke up.

i’ve evolved into so much more of a morning person, ever since the start of my twenties, and even more so now that i’m in the middle of them, and the noisy quiet is a perfect depiction to why i’ve come to love them so.

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it's not very quite here.

there's thunder and leaves rustling outside that window, folk music playing from a corner, someone cooking in the kitchen, and air shushing through the air vents.

there's coffee steaming in a mug, candles flickering and static filled carpet under my sock clad feet (because noise is also visual).

there's quite a lot of noise. but nevertheless it feels quiet.

it's calming noise, these noises. i've never really thought about noise evoking quiet. but these do. 

it's in this kind of quiet, when i'm very still, that i most easily remember who i am and where i'm going.

things that are easy to forget in the midst of other noises. 

i wish i didn't forget these things so easily. but sometimes i do. 

so i'm grateful for moments like this one to redirect me. 

i'm grateful for this noisy quiet.