Following Up and Following My Heart

I spent the entire year 2012 abstaining from buying any and all clothes, shoes and accessories. I challenged myself in response to a deep uneasiness about my buying habits. I was spending too much, buying things I didn't need or even want, and calming my emotions via shopping. I made the decision just a couple of weeks before I began so I couldn't chicken out.

By the end of 2012, I could honestly and wholeheartedly say I had changed. The real story, though, is to look at my closet and my budget today, more than 3 years later. Like sustaining a major weight loss, reining in my shopping would, indeed, be a marathon, not a sprint (even a year-long sprint). My closet contains about half the number of items it did prior to 2012. I spend much, much less. I still feel twinges but now I recognize the reaction and can usually talk myself down. There have been setbacks but for the most part, I am changed for the better. The way, way better.

Now moving forward. Another uneasiness. I feel like I am going through the motions. I go to work, cook meals, watch TV. I have a great marriage and fabulous kids but I feel stuck. I know that a year long challenge is life changing. This time, I am changing it up. Instead of NOT doing something ... shopping ... I am going to DO something everyday day for a year. I am going to create a piece of art every day for a year. There's a new blog:
helloart365.blogspot.com

Good or bad, large or small, I will create art every day. Feed my soul.

I still have some follow up on the Bye Buy Clothes challenge which I will share here in the weeks to come. I promised to write a book but that proved super hard. I have the outline, who knows ...
For now, I will create.