Tag / mindfulness

by Janet

The Dilly Dally

I thought I’d have a little fun with the letter “D.” One reason I chose Dilly Dally is because I enjoy the sound of it. More than the sound of lollygagging. Another reason I chose it is because – as I’ve mentioned here before – I live with my mother.

Well, she is 86 years old and in good shape for her age, but if there’s one thing that makes her seem old to me… it’s the fact that she dilly dallies. Ok, maybe she’s just slow. But if you ask me… she just likes to take her time.

So, lately I’ve been trying to change my mindset about this. With everything my mother has ever done for me, for my sister, for her grandkids and now her great grandkids… the woman deserves to dilly dally. I started thinking that maybe I should dilly dally a little too. I mean, what’s the rush?!?

I looked around at all of the definitions and explanations of “Dilly Dally,” and pretty much everything I read says that it’s a waste of time. But… how can anyone else know what a waste of our own time really is? Is it a waste of time to stroll rather than to speedwalk? What about hiking? I’ve gone hiking before and I literally had to RUN to keep up with the others.

Why do people hike so fast? To get it over with? I just don’t understand that. I hike to view the scenery, to take photographs, to watch the birds and any other wildlife that might be around, and to breath in the fresh clean air. And there they are… these fast hikers… practically running to get to the top.

When I think of it this way, I see that dilly dallying might be in my genes and perhaps I do it myself- to a certain degree. And if I’m going to dilly dally when I am 86, like my mom, why not get a head start and do it now? So, this coming week I’m going to be more mindful of my speed. I’m going to slow down and dilly dally more – just to see how it goes.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to do an illustration of someone dilly dallying so I created a woman smelling flowers in Illustrator:

And then I placed her in a garden photograph that I found and added all sorts of paint effects to blend it all together:

I guess you could say that I spent the evening dilly dallying. Ha! I think that’s about all for now. I’ll see you around soon for the letter “E.”

Until then,
Peace & Love!

Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
by Janet

Child’s Play

Three seconds of bliss,

Colors my soul with laughter,

Innocent child’s play.

Written for Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge: Color and Three

I’m traveling back in time again. The featured image is a photo that I shared about five years ago. That’s my youngest grandson, playing with the same sprinkler that I played with when I was young. Since I’m rewriting my life’s story, I thought it would be interesting to revisit and revise some of my old images as well.

I added a slight oil paint effect with the BeCasso app on my iPhone, and then added a few other touches with Nik Collection in Photoshop—using Analog Efex and Silver Efex. I was going to go completely black and white, but I kept just a touch of color. I know that might sound like Greek to some of you, but I decided that if I’m going to repurpose and reshare some of my old images and photographs, the least I could do was tell you what I did, and/or how I did it. In case you’re interested.

I thought Ronovan’s challenge was going to be a breeze with the exception of the word THREE. That was a tough one! But… I’m really focusing on slowing down these days, or at least being more focused and mindful (and balanced), so the idea of “three seconds” seemed really pertinent.

I think it sums up why it’s so important to pay attention to what’s around you, and to be “present” rather than somewhere in your head. Some of our most memorable moments might last but three seconds, and if our minds or eyes are closed… we just might miss them.

That’s about all for now. School is winding down to the last week and soon I’ll be on winter break—so I hope to see more of all of you!

Until later,
Peace & Love!