Category Archives: PLAY.Intrepid.

Flâneurie. Playing. Pointing. Shooting. Accidentally Illuminating.

Written on March 8, 2012 by in dis(solve)ing FEAR., PLAY.Intrepid.
bokeh

So I discovered my new favourite word. And in yet another serendipitous turn, I discovered it not once but twice in the one afternoon. It has been sitting on the tip of my tongue for months, expanding into itself. Claiming spaciousness in my Mind & Spirit. Tantalising. Teasing. Whispering. Waiting for me to claim My Sparkle. My Introvert Superpower.

What is this most delicious linguistic morsel? Flâneurie. Masculine Flâneur. Feminine Flâneuse (so pretty!). @vandenboomen wrote beautifully of Charles Baudelaire’s interpretation of the Flâneur in Slow Travel:

Slow travelers embrace serendipity, the act (art) of unexpected discovery. Being an active serendipity pursuer means that you are open to find something that you didn’t know you were even looking for. A flâneur is someone who walks the city in order to experience it… cultivate(ing) serendipity.

Moments later I was reading Laurie Helgoe’s Introvert Power, in which she dedicates a chapter to Flâneurie. I’ve been seeking this word because this is how I live. I wander. I potter. I play. I dream. I love to walk. Timelessly. Aimlessly. Absorbed in Colours & Sights & Smells & Sounds. But until now I’ve felt the need to hurry. To Rush. To have somewhere-to-achieve-and-something-to-do in every minute.

And without this precious St(illness). This gentle space. Between Breaths. I was not My Self. So I am a Flâneuse. I’m Breathing. ReDiscovering my Sparkle. Dis(sove)ing Fears.

It is a funny thing to admit, particularly when I have written so openly about things that most would deem too personal and embarrassing, that I was carrying a guilty secret. You see I’m a self-taught graphic designer. And until yesterday, I didn’t know one end of my gorgeous Digital SLR from the other. MY LOVES. assumed I knew what I was doing. And I could not Gift My Self the time I needed to Point. Shoot. Fumble. Stumble. The space to Play. I’ve Dreamed of images I could not create. Alchemy. I stayed safely in the realm of Typography and Illustration. Vectors. Maths. Lines. Points. Clean. Simple. Pixels were too messy. Unpredictable.

But when I stepped into My inner Flâneuse. I was free! The afternoon melted in a dreamy haze of building a lightbox, pushing buttons, taking hundreds of photos. And from that I have a few precious shots. That have been out of reach for so long. And looking into the crystalline facets of my accidental bokeh, I feel like a Photographic Glamour! And in discovering my words, I am closer to discovering My Self.

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Are you secret Flâneuse? How do you cultivate Serendipity? 

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Play. Lightly.

Written on November 13, 2011 by in PLAY.Intrepid.

I have been introducing the intersecting spheres of my life, my meandering journey toward Living Lightly.

my Live Lightly Vision.

DREAM. I discover myself. VALUES. I define my values. VISION. I re-imagine my world. FOCUS. I focus my intention.

MIND. I am awake. CENTRE. I am thought and emotion. MINDFUL. I am mindfully present. I.Q. I engage curiously.

BODY. I radiate vibrant health. NOURISH. I nourish holistically. MOVE. I inhabit my body. EAT. I savour deliciously.

BEAUTY. I choose beauty. INSPIRE. I luxuriate in beauty. SPIRIT. I connect with beauty. SHINE. I am beautiful.

LOVE. I am loving and loved. SELF. I am vulnerably me. CIRCLE. I connect in Love. ADORE. I am in love.

HOME. I am home. SPACE. I light my sanctuary. STUFF. I am luxuriously light. PLACE. I connect locally.

WORK. I recreate my world. PASSION. I kindle my passions. MÉTIER. I create abundance. IGNITE. I sustain change.

PLAY. I continue to grow. SAVVY. I enlighten new skills. INTREPID. I set my edge alight. TRAVEL. I delight in the world. Which is today’s journey.

LIVE. I design my life. ROUTINE. I delight with intention. TOOLS. I streamline. ACTION. I manifest my Dream.

As I embrace Luxurious Simplicity and choose Beauty and Love in conscious moments throughout my day, I am learning how intrinsically connected all of these spheres are, and indeed how connected I am to the world. Though they differ in tangibility and scale, I know that when I nourish myself in one sphere, I am nourishing the other spheres as well.

When I nourish my body by savouring delicious food and dancing to move, my Mind becomes clearer, my emotions calm, I am more able to behave in loving ways, and to communicate with grace and vulnerability. When I feel at home in my sanctuary, clear, uncluttered, light, I have the space to create beauty, I find myself wanting to arrange some flowers and beautiful glass of lemon tea near my computer and spend some luscious moments making myself feel pretty. As I create space I bring my values and vision into focus, and I begin taking steps toward living my passions through my work.

Noticing these endless connections is so delightful.

Untangling another thread, realising that this is linked to that, which is linked to that, allow restrictions and confusion to ebb away. And what is even more incredible is that this clarity seems to possess momentum, each conscious Living Lightly step is amplified as it sends delicious ripples through these unexpected channels.

So Living Lightly is this magnificent spiral, where one action build on another and another, and I find myself naturally moving in a direction that feels right. Because I am aligned with my passion, no longer rushing around in exhausting circles, trying on the world, I am flowing with the current, being nourished by the energy this creates.

It is like a train station tunnel. I used to be the girl in peak hour, laden with backpacks and bags and a giant map unfolded in front of me, apologising as stumbled against the flow, bumping into people, feeing lost and frustrated. Now I feel more like one of those people I used to admire, focused, eyes bright, smiling, carrying nothing, walking confidently, nimbly side-stepping the girls with the backpacks and the maps. The tunnels are surprisingly clear, what luck (or is it?). Of course sometimes I get distracted by a poster on the wall, or stop, thinking I may have forgotten to lock the front door, or I run into a people jam, or even trip over someones laces. But I still know the direction I am heading so I am not flummoxed by small detours and slip ups.

 

It would be no fun to know exactly where I am going, would it?

Though I am tempted sometimes to create stability, security and certainty in my life, I know that I would become restless in moments. I am a Luminary after all, a creative, passionate, highly-strung, emotional, intellectual, philosophical dreamer. Secondly I would be missing out on the ultimate luxury of Living Lightly which is the space to continually grow, and evolve and pursue new passions, ideas, skills, adventures and delight through Play.

Play opens up the Universe.

Play is what allows me to follow my direction, surrendering to the flow, while knowing that I am not only moving forward in one dimension but flying toward the stars! Play I how I continue to dissolve barriers by taking risks, opening up new parts of the Universe and myself to explore!

When I wasn’t quite sure what I was passionate about, and I was trying on the world, I was pursuing anything and everything with nervous excitement, fun things, challenging things, scary thing. I was discovering myself by pushing my boundaries and exploring the world. At the same time, I found activities that are supposed to be relaxing, like watching a movie, or playing games, or even chilling out with a trashy magazine, difficult to enjoy. The idea that play was something that I was allowed to do after my work was done, or that it was switching off, disconnecting, or zoning out, did not gel with me. None of the things I was supposed to enjoy filled me with pleasure.

I couldn’t enjoy ‘play’ time because I was sure that if didn’t push myself that little bit harder, or I missed out on trying something new, I might miss THE opportunity. THE answer to my questions. I might miss finding me! Which is silly, because I was never going to suddenly find myself dangling from an abseiling rope, or in a philosophy lecture, or being thrown in the air swing dancing, well you get the idea. Each one of these things shone light on parts of me, but none were going to give away the answer. Because there is no answer.

If this is true, and self-discovery is ongoing, why do we bother?

Personally, I had no option. My highly-strung nature demanded anxiously that I figure-out-what-it-all-means-and-why-am-I here, sometimes forcing me to-close-my-eyes-and-hold-my-breath-because-I-am-overwhelmed-by-the-beauty-of-it-all. What I can tell you is that the process and the journey, with all of it’s exhausting delicious messiness, is that it IS WORTH IT. Because through this journey, I slowly gained the clarity to shift from naval gazing to illuminating my life, and now to shining my light out into the world (with sporadic bouts of naval gazing, when I need to change a lightbulb).

What is Play Lightly?

Now I am able to Play.

And at the heart of Play is pleasure, which is a whole new thing. I have talked a lot about Beauty, which is Love; about choosing beauty, immersing in beauty, creating beauty and feeling that yes, ‘I AM beautiful’. Beauty is at the heart of Living Lightly, of Luxurious Simplicity, of everything I believe. And pleasure is my ability to surrender to beauty.

Pleasure was the shift from naval-gazing to illuminating my life.

Pleasure is the antidote to anxiety. I can only feel pleasure when I am completely connected, mindful, conscious, and in the present moment. I cannot feel pleasure when I am racing, when I am dwelling in the past, or predicting the future. I can only experience it right now. Living Lightly allowed me to surrender to Pleasure. And when I am fully immersed in now, I can Play.

With my values clear and my passions piqued, everything that I do in this state feels like Play. I enlighten new skills, set my edge alight, and delight in the world, taking big beautiful risks in all spheres of my life, stretching my MIND, testing my BODY, opening up in LOVE, creating HOME  in ever-changing situations and innovating solutions through my WORK, while honing new skills and seeing the world!

Play. Mindfulness. Pleasure.

I now have a new flag to remind me when mindfulness is ebbing away. It is when Play begins to feel like work. When I wake up in the morning and yoga feels like a chore, or I eat without savouring, or I can’t find excitement in any of my work projects, or when I am in a magical new city, and I am wishing for a shower.

They involve discipline, but as part of the magnificent Live Lightly spiral, little actions build momentum and suddenly I am Illuminating my life, and it feels, if not effortless, Luxurious.

I am Living Lightly. And it is spectacular!

I would be delighted to Tweet you!

When have you noticed the connections between different spheres of your life? Do you feel like you are heading in the right direction? How did you surrender into the flow? What does play mean to you? And pleasure? And beauty?

Love izennah xo

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