Unleashing Creativity: Embracing Mental Lightness

            2024 is here. I’ve had a good break from my usual work and life stresses and feel light and joyful. I’ve also had space to reflect.

I am ambitious and driven. I’m a bit of a workaholic. I get an exhilarating high from checking the boxes, from a job well done. As someone who thrives on being occupied, the quest for constant productivity is a double-edged sword. The exhilarating highs of constant activity can lead to a subsequent drop in mental well-being, manifesting as a minor depressive episode when business subsides.

With a mind full of ‘to dos’,  I also struggle to be present with the ones I love. I get sick easily. When something in my life is out of balance, I ruminate obsessively.

My relentless drive for busyness can be traced back to control issues, probably rooted in perfectionism and a lack of trust. I often struggle to create and share my artwork because I am critical of every line I draw or paint. 

Which leads to my next point. Business and obsessive rumination over unfixable problems actually hinders creative growth. Creativity flourishes when unshackled from the fear of failure. Embracing creativity involves experimentation and learning, which can only be achieved by making room for chaos, uncertainty, and, yes, failure.

I know all this, but it’s time for my mind knowledge to settle into my heart. 

I want to be light. I want to be free from obsession, overwork and perfectionism. This year, I have resolved to learn how to slow down a bit and ‘let it go.’

    

I haven’t figured it all out (who has?), but I’ve got a few ideas. Here are my first steps on the path to mental lightness:

        1. Delegation. My kids are already experiencing the pleasure of taking on a few more chores around the house. I’m also practicing better communication with my husband. He often wants to help, but I’m not great at communicating my needs.

        2. Saying no, giving a joyful ‘yes.’ After years of screwing this up, I’m finally figuring out how to say no to things that I am ill-equipped for. I’m not great with crowds or screaming children, but I can happily mentor a young writer or help set up a community art gallery.

        3. Boundaries. Whatever I say yes to can’t compromise my sleep, nutrition, mindful time with the kids, relationship-building time with my spouse, or professional goals. The older I get, the less energy and physical ability I have. Boundaries help me to protect these precious resources.

        4. Friendship. This list already seems full. But it can’t be too full to maintain my support network of trusted friends. Good friends lift one another up and bear each other’s burdens. I’ve struggled in the past with a full calendar and an anxious, depressed mental state. It’s made me insular. Even during a busy week, there is always time for a work date, coffee date, zoom date or phone call. I’m joyfully ready to share and bear the burdens of life by reaching out once again.

        5. Mindfulness. This word has become so trendy that it makes me throw up a little in my mouth. I hear it trotted out as a solution to everything these days to the point where the mere mention of it seems insincere and lazy. And yet… I do know what it is to pray and meditate. I am a practicing Christian, and I know what it means to sink into a moment and release the list of endless unsolvable problems and upcoming tasks into the blessed ether. The discipline of sincere and deep spirituality can be through music, prayer, movement, meditation, unfiltered expression of art and many other ways. I’ve made some space in my life for these activities, personally and in community. I’m really looking forward to the calmness and clarity I know it brings.

Peace be with you.

In the Garden with Mamma Goose: February 2023

The weather is a mix of rain, snow, sun and sleet. It’s hard to predict if the ground will thaw or if the frost will come to bite overnight. That being said, this is the month to plan. I must decide what to grow and where to put it all. 

I also need to keep an eye on the weather. A week or so above freezing gives me the perfect opportunity for some early pruning. I need to make sure that any cuts I make can heal over before another freeze, but it’s nice to get some work out of the way. I’ve got roses, himrod grapes and raspberries to prune. These warm spells are also an excellent time to dig and divide up my oregano and mint. Doing this while the plants remain dormant means less of a shock to the roots and leaves.

 

Probably a good time to clean and sharpen my tools. Some of my gardening supplies have picked up rust from being stored over winter in my leaky shed. I probably should replace the shed. Another thing to research. 

 

I check out my calendar and plan out different tasks for different days based on what I know about the weather. Pencilling in garden tasks around work, school, and appointments makes me consider buying a larger calendar. I’m running out of space… and hours in the day. ;)

 

The trickiest part is planning out what to put where. My garden is organic, and I don’t use any pesticides. This means I need to rotate where I plant my crops every year. For example, it’s a good idea to follow heavy-feeding plants like tomatoes with nitrogen-enriching crops like bush beans. 

 

Rotating my crops also combats disease spreading through the soil. The simplest way to remember what order to plant rotating crops in is the common rhyme: beans, roots, greens, fruits.

 

Crop rotation also helps control disease and starve out soil pests. Potato/tomato blight can be more easily prevented by only growing these vegetables in one place every four years.

 

Tricky in my small garden, but I do my best.

 

For insect control, I tuck herbs in among my vegetables. Some herbs lure pests away from key crops, while others repel pests. My favourite herbs are dill, cumin and cilantro.

 

This brings me to companion planting: another piece of the garden planning jigsaw. Some plants like being planted together; think tomatoes and basil or dill and cucumber. These combinations can improve taste and yield. Other plants, however, can compete for nutrients and should be kept apart.

 

And don’t forget flowers! The bright colours of marigolds and native wildflowers along my garden beds look so pretty. They attract pollinators, increasing my yield and turning my garden into a little bee and butterfly sanctuary. 

 

In summary, I’m grateful for this buffer season between hard winter and spring. I need the time to get ready! I’ve already done most of my pruning, and I just spent a week or so wrestling my 2023 garden plan into place.

 

Next month: It will be time to start digging!

 

With love, 

Charity

A little bit of earth: Hope for a better future.

I'm standing outside of a pink stucco concrete building, making small talk with the other parents as we wait for our children to emerge from their activities. One woman mentions that she's recently moved from Australia, and the conversation turns to the differences betwen our southern and northern hemispheres. We start with talk of snow, and we all agree that last year's snowfall in Vancouver was unusual. 

The Australian woman then talks about the bush fires that threatened her home outside Brisbane in 2020, and I recall the terrible ice storms in 2014. Another parent brings up the impact of floods that submerged the communities of the Fraser Valley last year. We all muse and agree… it wasn't like this when we were kids. Not this bad… not this often. 

Photo by Renzo D'souza

There's a name for the melancholy we feel. It's called solastalgia. It's a feeling that's something like homesickness, but you haven't left home. It happens when you find your home environment is changing in ways that you feel are distressing.

I experience this often. The rivers of my childhood were so clear I could drink the water and catch minnows with my hands. The woods on public lands were dense and cool and filled with huckleberries and salal. Now, these places are disappearing and are hard to access. When I see a stream bed filled with trash or taste wildfire smoke in the air, I feel intense solastalgia.

But then, I look at my children and determine I will not lose hope. I decide to can still imagine a future of natural abundance. Something that will, sadly, be different. But it can still be beautiful.

If we all tend our little bit of green earth. 

Gardening has grounded me. I'm not exceptionally knowledgeable, but I pay attention. I visit my plants often; I watch them and make notes. I've learned what not to do. I tend my little bit of earth.

What do you tend to?

Let me explain. I plant the smallest seeds, add water and kitchen scraps, and reap a harvest far beyond what I deserve. Not only do I benefit from the crop, but the ripple effects of a flourishing garden have also created conversation, connection and gifts of abundance for my neighbours. My yard also hosts birds, squirrels, bees and butterflies. 

This process has taught me that living with the seasons, within the natural cycles of nature, causes me to thrive. I can also clearly see that  when we lives in a way that is antagonistic to the natural systems of this earth, our lives are jeopardized. 

Loving the environment and advocating for it is kind of my thing. It's the thing I tend to.

Artificial fertilizers, over-paving, and poor water management have disastrous and personal effects. These practices, along with many others, have directly led to drought, food insecurity, home-threatening flooding, heat islands and increased poor mental health.

It's important to note that many of the harmful environmental practices in our communities are within our ability to influence change. Some of the most significant and immediate transformations occur at the municipal level.

City infrastructure is approved by town hall, and you the opportunity to advocate for initially higher-cost infrastructure that pays dividends of capital and quality of life for generations and saves lives. 

Consider writing your councillors for solutions such as porous pavement, rain gardens, centralized recycling locations, safe biking and walking routes, green spaces to combat extreme heat, well-insulated homes and rooftop gardens. In my own small way I advocate for municipal environmental reviews, impact studies, and indigenous consultation to be implemented before significant developments are considered. I often witness environmental and indigenous parties scramble to retroactively mediate the disastrous ecological impacts of projects they only discover after the approval process is well underway.

And cities don't even win from this approach! By moving fast and taking cash, near-future impacts of poor eco-urban planning include major lawsuits and it is taxpayers who have to pay. (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-reaches-65m-funding-deal-with-first-nation-after-supreme-court-ruling-1.6204008)

Soooo yep. I'm passionate. I've expanded my care of the small garden beneath my feet and grown this care into my broader community. I consider this passion to be my personal bit of earth  But as you know, not everyone is blessed with a physical garden. Also, the ills of this world are so much greater than simply environmental. And this thought makes me wonder:

what's your little bit of earth? What is the the thing you care so much about?

Is it human rights, animal welfare, or elder care? Do you feed the soul through baking or do you feed the world through investments and thoughtful donations? Are you a parent, striving to raise our little ones with the hope, imagination, and resiliency to thrive in a complex future? Are you passionate about mental and physical health care?

What is the bit of earth that you tend?

I've been posting many photos on social media chronicling my garden harvest this season, but the truth is, I would NEVER require anyone to try and mimic this approach to life if it's not your passion. Without joy, multiple hours a day weeding and watering can be soul-crushing.

Nor do I demand you become an eco warrior, not if it drains you empty and leaves you laying on the couch. Rather, I'd like to encourage you to find your own passion: your own bit of earth to tend. I encourage you to give to the world from your unique place of strength, joy, and comfort. Not out of compulsion but from passion.Tend your garden well. We need you. Together, the future can still be beautiful.

Hold Fast by Charity Gosling

Stories from the past: A deeper look at the land that informs my work.

I’m lost in research for my current novel. It feels like mining for gold. I'm digging through articles, making connections and interviewing people. It's such a thrill to find strange and specific information about a place only known through local lore. One connection leads to another. One person refers to another, and people are full of stories.

My latest research rabbit hole began with a desire to understand the history of the geographical region I’m writing about. My fiction/fantasy book takes place on Hornby Island in BC and the surrounding area. The story revolves around a fictional legend about a mystical sea guardian referred to as the witch of the Salish Sea. As I imagined the witch’s lore, I delved into the area’s history. I've learned about the local Coast Salish Peoples, notably the Pentlatch and K’ómoks tribes, now known as the K’ómoks First Nation. The KFN continue to steward the land today--despite smallpox and warfare, bringing their population from around 14,000 to 200 between the 1780s and 1860s. I am shocked to read about the tragedy and loss of life; this tale of heartbreak only continues under European colonization. 

My story is, however, not an indigenous one. I am a descendant of settlers, and my ancestors’ connection to the natural world was severed hundreds of years ago. Somewhere, maybe during the industrial revolution, my European ancestors exchanged stewardship of the natural world for ‘resource management. (And our resources have been and continue to be managed into oblivion).

The Witch of the Salish Sea is about a descendant of settlers exposing the hidden past, accepting painful truths, and seeking to rediscover a spiritual connection with the world that sustains us all. To write this book, it is so important that I understand the earth beneath my character’s feet.

And so, I have been lost in research, pouring through pages recording the degradation of paradise.

Don’t get me wrong. BC remains breathtaking. However, human memories are short. What we see now is only a shadow of what once was. Since colonization, we have lost up to 90% of our old-growth forests, fish, and shellfish resources. Our waterways are known worldwide for our killer whales, but the truth is the coastline here used to teem with the largest mammals in the world: blue, grey and sperm whales. I suspect the orcas survived the coal-powered whaling ships of the 19th century simply because they were too small to be much profit.

According to oral history, the sound of salmon leaping from the waters during the spawning season in the Salish Sea was loud enough to keep villagers along the coast awake all night. Now the whales that are left struggle to find enough to feed their small family pods.

And I thought: if there was an elemental spirit living in these waters, how would she feel witnessing the destruction of the natural world around her? What would she do?

And that’s when I heard a new-to-me story. There is an ancient petroglyph on a private, protected swath of land where a seasonal spawning river meets the sea. It is carved into the rock in a riverbed that is dry in the summertime but flows in the winter. I found a local resident with a photograph of a rubbing from the petroglyph that is at least 50 years old. This rubbing is of a woman squatting, arms raised, birthing a salmon. If you were to visit the petroglyph now, the fish has completely worn away, leaving modern supposition to believe it to be a dancer.

But it is so much more.

A source from the K'ómoks nation says that the carving predates oral tradition and guesses the carving to be about 3000 years old. This particular squatting pose is associated cross-culturally with life cycles and primordial elements. The woman in the petroglyph is dancing while giving life: the bent legs are the birthing position, and the raised arms are jubilant.

This figure seems to me to resemble the tale of the Salmon woman. A well-known story among the Coast Salish Peoples. The salmon woman is a spiritual being who gave her children (the salmon) as gifts to the Coast-Salish. The people could eat and be full, with one rule: they must not fish from spawning beds but only from the ocean. A wise lesson.

The position of the petroglyph upon the river bed is significant. I’ve been told that it was probably carved as part of a shamanic ritual. When the water flows during the spawning season, the petroglyph is submerged as a blessing and a prayer.

As I write about my mythical sea witch, I find the discovery of this spiritual elemental woman carved into the rock to be a beautiful coincidence. I explore the history of the land I’ve loved since a child, and I find it curious that the stories I carry in my heart echo those who have walked the land before me. Again, I do not presume to tell an indigenous story but a settler one. I want to learn from the past and repair my own relationship with the natural world. I dig deep and try to unlearn the harmful practices of my European predecessors; I listen to the sea and try to understand its stories…

And then I write. 

With love, Charity

References*

Sacred Display: Divine and Magical Figures of Eurasia by Miriam Robbins Dexter and Victor H. Mail

Thanks to Sara de Rose for her insight and information.

https://komoks.ca/

SALMON WOMAN AND HER CHILDREN Lummi Culture Protection Committee https://www.lummi-nsn.gov/userfiles/190_Story%20of%20Conservation%20of%20the%20Salmon(1).pdf

https://www.vicnews.com/opinion/b-c-whaling-an-uncomfortable-history/

 

        

Level up your spring cleaning/What to do with all your unneeded items.

You've KonMaried the heck out of your house. You've got boxes and piles of items to discard.

So what do you do with all your junk?

After a couple years of constant decluttering, I've broken down my used items into several categories: Sell, donate to charity, donate for rewards, and recycle. Here's how it works.

Sell

I have two bins that I keep in my closet for saleable items. These are divided into two categories: Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer. When one bin is full of high-quality items, I resell my items online or through consignment stores according to whatever season is in demand. Selling in season is essential, particularly with consignment stores. Smaller businesses don't have the space to stock out-of-season items and will reject snowsuits in summer. 

Altruistic Donations

All the high-quality items that I can't or don't want to sell are donated to thrift stores run by charities I'm interested in supporting. These stores are staffed by volunteers, and proceeds support community programs.

Rewards Donations

My mid-level surplus goes to for-profit thrift stores like Talize. Talize gives me a $5 coupon per box of items to be used in their store. I enjoy the selection and variety of clothing I can find in thrift stores, so this is a coupon I'm happy to use!

Recycle

Value Village(Savers)

I put Value Village in my recycling category because the company is great at recycling, but their prices are lousy. Value Village is one of the last thrift stores I will shop at because they usually charge double for comparable items at other thrift stores. Even with the 20% off coupon, they give to thank you for donating, I generally don't bother.

However, Value Village is one of the few places that actually recycles textiles which means they are okay with taking in your old socks. :) Value Village also works with third-party recyclers to recycle your used electronics and scrap metal. 

Another cool aspect of donating to Value Village is that while they are a for-profit business, they will accept your goods on behalf of a local charity, usually Canadian Diabetes or Big Brothers. Based on the weight of your donated goods, they pay money to that local Charity. This means that with my holy socks and scratched metal pans, I like to make sure Value Village gets a lot of books from me.

How do I know all of this? I used to work for the company. :)

Local Recyclers

After all this, whatever is left goes to a local recycler. I'm talking about items that don't get picked up curbside on garbage day: old paint, beverage containers, batteries, lightbulbs, Styrofoam, soft plastic packaging and plastic bags... you get it. Now, this part gets tricky. If your city doesn't have a centralized recycling location (I'm calling you out, Township of Langley), you will have to work with your area's small and scattered local recycling depots. The trick to doing this well is two-fold. 

#1 Call ahead. What and how items are recycled is constantly changing at every location. This is based on demand for the items, the locations' capacity limits, and BC's changing licensing requirements. 

#2 Talk with the staff working on the floor. The people sorting your junk are recycling geniuses. They can give you more helpful and relevant insider knowledge than any helpline. Staff members can pass on valuable tips like 'bring in your styrofoam by 10am on Tuesday. After that, we will be at full capacity and can't accept anymore. Or 'officially, we can't take electronics, but unofficially, we do process a small amount if you only have a few items and want to save an extra stop.'

The Salvation Army is actually a huge recycler of many cumbersome items, notably electronics. However, they don't advertise this on their website. Probably because of capacity limits. 

What I'm saying is that, with a bit of detective work, almost everything can be recycled. But there is one last barrier to hitting zero waste. Without centralized recycling, driving a gas-powered SUV around the lower mainland to find a home for all my various bits and bobs is probably worse for the environment than allowing my non-toxic waste to be buried responsibly in a landfill. 

And that, friends, is my recycling process. I hope these tips help you save a bit of cash and, even better, help the environment. Happy decluttering!

Hacking the Hustle: Less is More

Relax.

It’s not how many hours you have to hustle, it’s the quality of those hours. For me, one alert, inspired, engaged hour produces more, higher quality content than four tired, forced hours.

What I’m saying is. Go do that thing that makes you feel good! Right now. It’s okay.

And exercise.

Then, take care of your mental health. By this, I mean unplug, pray, meditate, journal. Lay in the grass and look for shapes in the clouds.

Also… spend some time investing in the meaningful relationships around you: play, engage, listen, vent, unwind.

Do all of these things… and THEN create.

I’m preaching to myself here. Because, while I know these things in theory, there is so much guilt around not ‘being productive’ every frigging minute of the day that it’s realllly hard for me to truly relax.

But the problem is when my life is over-scheduled, my brain and body shut down. For me, the harder I try, the less I do. I’m seriously starting to doubt the ‘hustle’ culture messages that demand that we send emails on the toilet and learn Spanish while washing dishes. 

But this leads to burnout and it murders creative production.

Hacking the hustle is also about timing. Because I work from home, I can move tasks around to do my creative work whenever I have the most focus and energy. I’ll save the dishes and the laundry for the end of the day after my mental resources are used up. 

Also.

When it comes to deadlines… Plan out how long your project will take and then triple that estimate. This leaves space for family and global emergencies, which WILL happen. Then, rather than apologizing to clients and burning out with guilt, you actually have the opportunity to finish early. 

Again, I’m preaching to the choir.

My plan was to write a blog post on how I break down my months, weeks, and days into small obtainable goals to build momentum and bring in income as a working artist and writer. But the thing is… there are a million resources out there for that sort of thing. After years of trying, I’m starting to figure out the obvious: overscheduling and overstressing simply don’t work. Yes, stating goals are important, but I’m finding that removing the ‘push’ from my life and working one or two happy, creative hours is so much more fulfilling and productive than forcing the hustle.

Again. If you really are determined to produce creative work, don’t compromise regarding sleep, health, self-care, and family. Even if these things feel like they take too much time, put them first and watch your ‘productivity’ actually increase while investing fewer hours.

Your brain will thank you,

With love,

Charity.

PS

And cat naps are good too. Lots of little naps… :)

Useful Recycling Projects Anyone Can Do!

 January 2022 has been a little like a fire cracker that fizzled out. I was so excited for that bang of fresh new goals, dreams and momentum to energize my life… but instead, 2022 brought with it more lockdowns and homeschooling. Like so many of us around the world right now, my family has caught the omicron virus. Thankfully, our symptoms are mild, but that doesn’t mean they’re not challenging! Seems like we’ve all had a head cold for weeks now.

Having the kids home and working with low energy resources has also meant being less productive when it comes to writing. However, my creative brain is always busy and always making something! Take this coffee shelf for instance:

I had time on my hands and I wanted some more organization, so I made this little shelf from papier-mâché and cardboard. Yes, I know it’s a bit warped. No, I don’t think it will last forever. Still… it was a bright spot during a dreary January and the process gave me joy.

So in celebration of the small things I create, for no other reason than I like to create, recycle and save money, I thought I’d post this collage of some of the random and useful things around the house that I’ve made.

    Denim rag rug. Everything about this was done by hand… it took about 8 months!

So many crocheted and knitted blankets! I don’t have any advanced skills in this area, I just like using up scrap thrift-store yarn. I find both crochet and knitting soothing for my busy brain.

I was looking for a way to recycle wine corks. I made this pot trivet from a cookie tin lid, twine, cut corks and glue.

This isn’t a recycling project, but I like to design and print off my own calendar stickers for planning events.

I cut a torn bed sheet into strips and crocheted a rag rug.

A glass jar and some hemp twine makes a toothbrush holder.

Quick! I need something to hang necklaces on!

This jewelry holder was pieced together from a handmade picture frame, painted canvas board and drawer pulls.

An old picture frame and a drawer pull makes a phone stand/charging port for the kitchen.

Cardboard, burlap, and a frame, is an easy way to create earring storage.

The kids smashed the shade of this lamp. I made a new shade with papier-mâché and acrylic paint, building off the frame of the old shade.

:) So, this is what I do when I’m not doing anything in particular at all. I mend, recycle and make!

What crafty projects do you do?