confessions from a recovering (and I say this with love) control freak
Alexa, play “controller” by drake, please.
Y'all.
I know it's not just me (if this is also you, I'd love to know!) but growing up…
I inherited this rigidity around gifts — receiving them especially felt charged by performance and stress, so a few years into my relationship with my spouse, Trey, I started requesting that he not buy me anything on my birthdays.
Instead, I asked that we simply spend the day together, out and about doing fun things, and if I saw something I liked, he could get that for me as a gift. I feel a little embarrassed now to admit it, but this idea felt pretty outside of my comfort zone at the time.
To spontaneously choose and receive something I liked? On the fly?! Willy nilly?? Sweet baby inner-controller. Just trying to keep me safe, no hate to them.
But my gut told me trying something new, something different and slightly (dare I say?) reckless, would be medicine, so I gave it a try.
That year, we spent my birthday afternoon together in Asheville, and growth edges be damned, I had a blast.
sipping beer at the Battery Park Book Exchange in Asheville celebrating my birthday, 2015
We drank coffee and wandered leisurely around multiple bookshops where I found a volume of Mary Oliver poems and a magnet that said YAY ART! Later I got some chocolate truffles and a brightly colored shawl that had flecks of metallic strands in its weaving that brought me such joy.
I remember not only enjoying the process of coming across these treasures but also the practice of tuning into my body’s natural yeses and nos IN REAL TIME (big work for bb me and also sometimes still current me) and honoring them with my choices.
The items we bought brought me joy not only on that day in Asheville but also on countless days since. That magnet is still on my fridge, and in cold months, I love to wear the scarf. (seen here below bringing me life while the mountains of Utah kick my butt).
my now fav winter scarf seen here in Salt Lake City, Utah, 2021
And here's the coolest part: every time I delight in those items now I’m reminded of (and feel connected and grateful to) that part of myself I planted back in 2015. A part of me who desired to open just a little more toward my body’s own expression of spontaneity, curiosity and delight.
Savor, our art subscription service, is an opportunity to do the same: to set an intention of what you want in your life in the coming year (more joy? connection? appreciation?) and then release control and embrace surprise and art that delights both in the here and now and also for years to come.
With over hundreds of paintings on paper, panel, and canvas to choose from, savor jut opened for year three of enrollment, and if it's a full body yes for you, I’d be delighted to offer you spot!!
What participants are saying:
“a fun and low-stress way to collect meaningful art!"
“Build your art collection. The pieces are small enough that you can frame them easily yourself. But the impact of the whole package can make you feel like you are a part of a bigger picture.”
