Ursula Markgraf – Page 5 – Ursula Markgraf

Wanna know what you are?

By Ursula Markgraf | February 11, 2015 - 20:00 |May 20, 2018 Create YOUR Life

Who would you want to send one to?

Have a wonderful year 2015 (plus ressources)

By Ursula Markgraf | January 6, 2015 - 11:06 |March 18, 2024 Create YOUR Life

A new year started …. and I am a lover of new beginnings. I love the feeling of endless possibilities, that nothing is set yet, all open. Explains probably why I love Mondays, moving and new notebooks. ;-)

And even though most people do not share my Monday-love, most of you probably agree that the beginning of a new year has some sort of magic to it. Many people start a new year with resolutions. Unfortunately that has never worked for me. I always ended up not feeling good about myself and about what I had achieved cause usually I would find my list with resolutions sometime mid-year and realize that I had worked on none of them. :-( A tad frustrating.

At some point I simply gave up and ditched resolutions for good. But by now I have found some awesome alterantives – rituals that work for me and that help me to create a wonderful year:

1. Word of the year

Two years ago I tried something new. I decided on a “word of the year” which stayed with me the whole year. Last year I wrote a blogpost about it. For me this works really great as it is alot easier to implement than resolutions. And it is alot easier to remember, too. :-)
My “word of the year” for 2015 will be EASE. What is your word of the year?

2. A workbook or planner for the new year

Last year I tried something else that was new for me. From a friend I got a wonderful workbook which helped me to plan out goals, to write down ideas, wishes, dreams. I loved this idea so much. I also used the wonderful free New Years Revolution kit by Do what you love. You can find this year’s version HERE. Go download it and try it out.

3. A visionboard for 2015

Last year I also created a vision board for 2014. You can see it below. I LOVE creating visionboards. You can make them big or small. I even created one in a notebook. You can create them for the whole year or for a project. They are so much fun to make and such a strong and powerful visual reminder. I hung my visionboard in my bedroom, so I can see my dreams each time I wake up or I fall asleep. :-)

If you would like a bit more instruction on how to create a visionboard you can check out this offer by the lovely artist Desiree East – she will lead an online-workshop on how to create your own visionboard January 11th.

So, now you have three ritual- ideas that you can use to jump-start your new year – having a “word of the year”, working in a planner for the new year and creating a visionboard. Which ritual do you like best?

Or do you have another ritual that you use to make certain that 2015 will be YOUR year?

Favourite Christmas cookies – Ginger cinnamon cookies

By Ursula Markgraf | December 10, 2014 - 10:13 |May 20, 2018 Other

2 Comments

I love Christmas and I love Advent and of course I also love … Christmas cookies. :-)
During the last couple days I was baking with my kids and these ginger cinnamon cookies are one of our favorites. And since I was asked for the recipe a couple times already I will be sharing it here and now. Lucky you. ;-)

Ginger Cinnamon Cookies

*gluten-free *refined-sugar free
(If you would love to save and print the pdf of this recipe, please keep scrolling.)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter softened
1/2 cup coconut sugar (granulated)
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour mix
1/2 cup chocolate chips – or more ;-)

1. Stir together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt.

2. In another bowl beat butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy. (If your sugar is in pressed form – “cakes of sugar” – chop or grind finely before adding to the butter.)

3. Add egg and vanilla to butter mixture.

4. Add flour mix to butter mix and stir together.

5. Add chocolate chips and stir until well incorporated.

6. Chill about 1 hour.

7. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll dough to 1/4inch thickness. Cut out cookies.

8. Bake 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned.

Tips and alternative suggestions:

-sugar:
In this recipe I use a mixture out of granulated coconut sugar and pressed palm sugar (sugar cakes). As the palm sugar is pressed I simply use a knife to cut it into small pieces – kinda like cutting up chocolate – and measure it then. Once I mix it together with the butter I mix it really long – so it starts “blending” a little. It does not dissolve completely though. But my kids totally love the tiny caramelized sugar blobs in the cookies, so it does not really matter. :-)
You can also make the cookies just using granulated palm sugar or brown sugar.

-vanilla extract:
We make our own vanilla extract out of used vanilla pods. Kinda like recycling. ;-) You can also simply scratch out a vanilla pod or use vanilla sugar.

-gluten-free flour mix:
We mix our own blend: 600g rice flour, 250g potato flour, 150g tapioca starch, 2 tsp carob gum, 4 tsp psyllium husk

-chocolate-chips:
I try to use chocolate that has no refined sugar added to it (and no milk for that matter). Here in Germany that is not easy. I do order online or buy raw chocolate. But for baking I sometimes also buy really dark chocolate that has only very little sugar added to it and I prefer the ones that use raw cane sugar. I do not usually like eating really dark chocolate but in the already sweet cookies it does blend in nicely. As those chocolates come in bars I just chop them up in small pieces. Done.

I hope you will have alot of fun baking. And in order to make it even easier – here is the recipe in pdf-form (letter-size), so you can just download and print. If you prefer A4-size, download HERE.

Just right-click, choose save-as, save – print – done. :-)

Happy baking! And what are your favourite Christmas cookies?

Some gifts from St. Nicolas – for you

By Ursula Markgraf | December 6, 2014 - 18:49 |May 20, 2018 Create YOUR Life

3 Comments

"Calm Christmas" - mixed media art by Ursula Markgraf

Today on the 6th of December we celebrate St. Nicolas day here in Germany. It’s a sweet tradition – I think – that goes back to the story of a good man called Nicolas (who became bishop) who gave the poor money. The story says that he would sneak up on the roof at night and throw little pouches with money down the chimney … and the money would end up in socks and shoes that were put on/near the chimney to dry.

So to celebrate that day kids have to clean their shoes and put them near the door in the evening of the 5th of December. Then the Nicolas will come at night and put small treats, candy, nuts and oranges or little toys in there. Of course my kids totally love that day and are totally excited about it.

But I also wanted to give YOU something, so I created these little pictures with my art-work on them that you are free to download and share in your newsletter, on your blog, on facebook, on twitter … or wherever you might hang out in the virtual world. :-) If you wanna link to my site that would of course totally thrill me, but it is not required.

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To download just right-click on the file you want to save – choose save as – and pick the location where you wanna save it. Then share and spread a bit of joy and calm around. :-)

Have a wonderful St. Nicolas day! xxx

P.S. And if you need some special Christmas cards, you can find some right HERE. I ship worldwide. ;-)

Christmas wishes – instructions for the perfect gift

By Ursula Markgraf | November 27, 2014 - 17:18 |May 20, 2018 Create YOUR Life

6 Comments

Somehow over the years finding the perfect gift for loved ones has become harder and harder. Or is that just me?

I don’t know whether this is because so many things are readily available at all times. Or whether we simply like other things than 10 years ago.

When I created this Christmas card – I named it “Christmas wishes” – I was thinking about what we REALLY wish for. Probably not just at Christmas, but maybe especially at Christmas. We all would like more time, love, health, satisfaction, and joy in our lifes, wouldn’t we? So I was thinking about … how could we GIVE those things to the people we love?

Christmas card “Christmas wishes” – can be bought HERE

I came up with some ideas, but feel free to add your own ones in the comments! Would love to hear them!!!

LOVE

Give something that tells the person every single day how much you value him or her. This could be a piece of jewellery – maybe even custom-made or made by yourself. Or it could be an art print that expresses how important that person is. Or you could simply write an old-fashioned loveletter. Yes, with an actual pen. Or even fountain pen? Not on the computer! :-)

HEALTH

Health is such a huge thing. And as health is not just the absence of illness, there are many things that you can give someone to help them feel more healthy, more well, more whole.
You could give a gift certificate for a massage, for a sauna visit or a meditation cd or course. I am still loving the meditations by Deepak Choprah and putting those on my Christmas wishlist.
Or simply a handmade bar of soap that does not contain unhealthy ingredients – what a wonderful and luxurious way to support someones health. You can also make things like sugar scrubs yourself. It’s quick, easy and the recipient can pamper his or her skin.

TIME

Of course you can not really gift someone time. We all have the same amount of time – so that is that. BUT, you can gift someone special time. Time he or she can spend with herself or himself. (For moms probably THE best gift ever.)
Often we get the perception that we do not have enough time when we’re simply too busy. So helping someone stop the crazy-race for a bit will give them more – consciously spent – time. You could also gift him or her a wonderful looking planner or calendar that can be used to organize time in a better way.

SATISFACTION

This one is really tricky cause in the end there is nothing you can give to someone that will make him or her feel satisfied if they do not have a certain mindset. In my opinion – and experience – feeling satisfied is less about what you actually own or have accomplished, but more about how you feel and how much you are in tune with your own needs and desires. So in the end it really is up to each one of us to make sure we do feel satisfied, but you can still give something that will make it easier for the recipient to find a way to feel satisfied. One of my favourite things to give – and to get – is of course books. And my all-time-favourite in regard to how I feel about my life is “Steering by starlight” by Martha Beck. If it was available in German, I would literally give it to everyone I know!
(And no, this is not an affiliate link. I just simply totally love and adore that book.)
You could also gift a wonderful precious journal with the intention for it to be used as a gratitude journal. Most of us actually have pretty amazing lifes, but with the business and the distraction we simply forget to focus on all the wonderful and beautiful things that happen each and every day. This is also a totally wonderful gift for kids!

JOY

I think this one is the easiest to give. At least if you know the gift-recipient a bit. Whatever this person enjoys will bring her joy. Right?
She likes to draw? Get her colored pencils or a fresh sketch book! (ME!)
She likes to read? Get her a book! (Again – ME!)
She likes to cook? Some wonderful spices or a cooking course. (Not me. Send that to my husband. ;-) )
And if worse comes to worse and you really can not think of ANYthing that this person would enjoy … how about a fresh notebook? I somehow feel that with a notebook you can never go wrong. You can buy them big or small, beautiful or funny, simple or super-fancy.
I recently fell in love with the look of the Paperblank ones – OMG. They look just so wonderful. And the ones by Ecojot – different style – also look wonderful. And love their cause.
Awesome thing is, you can use notebooks for everything you can think of: jotting down ideas, planning your to dos, writing down your dreams, journaling, collecting your fav recipes, glueing photos or little bits and bobs from your every day life in there, sketch, …. The list is endless!
Or is that just me that has a tad of a notebook-obsession? ;-)

I hope I could give you some starters for Christmas present ideas. Let me know what your thougths are in the comments! And if you have a favourite gift to give – share it!

How to hold a “Festival of Me”

By Ursula Markgraf | September 30, 2014 - 19:14 |March 18, 2024 Create YOUR Life

1 Comment

You are worthy/ Du bist wert voll - mixed media art by Ursula Markgraf

Mixed media print “Du bist wertvoll” (You are worthy) – SOLD OUT

My birthday is today *yeah* which always makes me feel kinda funny. I do love my birthday and I love celebrating it. But the last years I kinda struggled with the “how”.

How do you celebrate yourself?

The older I got the harder I found that. I did not feel like having a big party. But I also did not want to spend the day just like any other day. What could I do to make it feel special?

When I asked in a group on facebook how others celebrate their special days, Candace – an arty and sea-loving Internet-friend of mine – talked about having a “Festival of Me”. I loved that idea so much that I asked her to write a post for my blog about that. Everyone deserves a Festival of Me, right? So here it is:

Dear Birthday Girl,

Welcome to your Festival of Me.
Today would be a day I take myself to the sea.
By car or van or plane or train or bike
or on my own two feet.

After a fresh, nourishing breakfast with coffee,
and/ or a delicious tea ( I am having a white tea with rose petals today).
Or a joyous sparkly smoothie. What does your body want this morning?
Today could be a day I book myself in for a relaxing massage,
and pamper myself to high heaven and
take a walk or
curl up in a warm spot and
reconnect with every cell in my body.
And tell them, hey, thank you for
always working so hard to take care of me.

I might get my hair done, and have a
giggle with the hairdressers
over trashy magazines.
I might put on that dress or hat or little piece of jewellery
because today is that day
I have been waiting for to wear them.

I would take myself to the forest, or the park or the sea…
with a great book, and my Journal for Me.

In it I would write all the delicious dreams
I would love to have for myself in my life.
This is a safe space, this is a lush garden.
For your dreams, hopes, loves, fears.

I would write all the wonderful things that have happened, big or small.
Look for them.
I will start with : I am alive.
When my head starts to think about things I need to
solve and change and get over and understand before
anything else can happen.
I will rewrite these things to ask:

What is it that I seek?
I seek love, joy, peace, beauty
and fun.
I seek healing I seek feeling like everything is ok,
and there is nothing wrong with me.
I seek meaningful connections with
sisters and brothers of the soul.
And it is done.
You have come such a long way,
you have been loving, you have been brave,
you have always done the best you know how.
And so have the people around you,
whether you know them or not.

Today on my Birthday Festival of Me
is a day to collect all the pieces of me
and love them.

I would read my Journal of Me,
my Mermaid Memo,
often to remind me of where I want to go,
to help me make choices (is this towards what I want?)
and to record the wonderful little things that unfold:
seeing hearts everywhere,
seeing little signs you know are for you or you would not have noticed it.

Remember that feeling of ease and flow when it happens.
Always use that as your inner guide.

Happy Birthday Lovely.

Love,

Candace Loy

P.S

Birthdays are special simply because you were born.
Spend it on your own or with loved ones, however you like!
And you know what, this Festival of Me, could be any day you want!
Schedule it in and make that time the next time you can.
Maybe next weekend? :)

About Candace:

I followed my heart to the ocean and moved from Singapore to Australia to New Zealand,
where I paint, surf, and am researching sustainable seafood and learning how to dive and
freedive.
I lived in Melbourne for a few years when I was in brain research.
It is also where I learnt to surf on the Great Ocean Road.
Melbourne is a city of many festivals:
and so I started treating everything like it was a festival, including birthdays!!
Because things are more fun like that.

On my birthday last year I took myself 4 hours’ drive up north to a beautiful surf break,
and stayed with friends on the way.
The world is your friend when you move around alone.
Pay attention to how you are feeling inside and trust it.
Let yourself chat with people on the way.
A little exchange about the weather, a little giggle over something funny.
These little moments remind us that we are never alone in all this,
we are all in this together.
I love you and have a wonderful Festival of Me.
I have plenty of great stories and eco-friendly products for mermaids coming up.
Including an eco-friendly waterproof journal. Wait till you find out how it’s made!!
Get the free mermaid manifestival and updates at HERE.

So when are you going to hold your Festival of Me? Get your calendar and set a date! Now! And let us know in the comments. :-)

Why it isn’t selfish to fulfill your dreams

By Ursula Markgraf | September 14, 2014 - 09:25 |May 20, 2018 Create YOUR Life

8 Comments

When I was thinking about what blogposts to write for the rest of the year I really wanted to add a post about this topic. Cause honestly, that was one of my major fears when I started to work on fulfilling my dreams. Won’t people think I am selfish? What if everyone would only do what makes them happy? Am I an egoistic person?

By now I am certain that I am not egoistic or selfish and that the world would be a better place if people would do what made them happy and fulfill them. But when I sat down on the computer to write about why it is not selfish … the page just stayed blank.

Luckily I got some professional help. ;-) The wonderful coach Sandra Heim with her website www.mamarevolution.de (GERMAN) wrote this guestpost (Her guestpost was written in German and translated by me with her permission):

Does this sound familiar – your heart’s desire is calling and you start to open yourself up for new possibilities. But suddenly you are confronted with fierce resistence: “You can not do that”, “That will never work out”, “Do you care only about yourself now?” At that time you need to stay strong. Cause one thing is cretain: To fulfill your dreams is not only the best you can do for yourself. Here is why.

I still remember the reaction of my parents pretty well when I told them after I had finished my studies: “I will not take a regular job. I will write my first book.” They were not really jumping for joy, but they seemed rather desperate.

Of course I would have really liked to avoid all the conflict, but then I would have had to deny my inner voice completely and luckily my inner voice was too strong for that already.

Today, a few years have passed, I did not end up as a broke writer on the street and my parents are at peace with my path. Partly also because to a certain degree my choices lead to my happy marriage and their only grandchild.

Turning your own visions into reality often means that this first leads to chaos, which is followed by a new all-encompassing order. This order is beneficial to many people, not just yourself.

Mixed-media art print “North star” – SOLD OUT

Fulfilling your dreams is not selfish,

1. cause you will put a whole chain of positive occurrences into action

My first book was one of the many puzzle pieces that lead me and my husband together and gave my parents a happy daughter and a long-wished for grandchild. The voice inside you that encourages you to believe in your dreams knows more than you do. This voice wants the best for all involved and knows that your actions will have extensive consequences. If you follow this voice your life will be touched and enriched by many other people.

2. cause it makes you a better version of yourself

To realize dreams means, that you have to give up parts of yourself in order to reach your future, like your strongest self-doubts or destructive habits. The stronger you hold onto your vision, the faster a new self-confidence will bloom and you will be a light for the people around you.

3. cause you will turn into a source of inspiration, especially for the people close to you

I am not sure how you feel about this, but when I can not do what I love (like sitting on my laptop and writing like right now) then I become grumpy. I nag at my husband, even though he did not do anything, am unjustly impatient with my daughter and so on … To follow my biz dream and work as a coach and author each day is my way of making sure that I am a content mom and wife the rest of the day.

Notice: If you express your visions and talents then you contribute to the well-being of your family and relationships.

4. cause you will make God laugh

Sometimes I imagine what God (the universe, the source or however you want to call it) feels like when he looks at us humans, his co-creators. It must be boring to always see the same things, mustn’t it? Human gets up in the morning, goes to the loo, goes to work, comes back home, sits in front of TV, goes to bed, gets up next morning … How refreshing must it be to watch someone finally do things differently? Someone who pauses and thinks: “Wow, I really must follow this idea! I don’t know yet how this will work, but I will open my own art gallery!” Making your dreams real means to give joy to God.

5. cause you will make yourself happy

Last but not least this is about you. You are the person that is closest to yourself, that you know best, that you are going to spend the rest of your life with and that you went through all ups downs with. Isn’t it appropriate to show this person’s dreams the utmost respect?

Which dream do you want to make real? I would love to read your comments!

Sandra’s website www.mamarevolution.de is in German, however she is fluent in English and happily works with English-speaking clients. As a coach she supports moms to make their own businss dreams real so they are financially independent, express their talents fully while having enough time for their kids. You can schedule a first free session by emailing her: sandra@mamarevolution.de

10 ways to love yourself.

By Ursula Markgraf | August 31, 2014 - 08:43 |May 20, 2018 Create YOUR Life

8 Comments

Well, not THAT kinda love, cheeky!

Mixed media art print “Love yourself” – art print available HERE

Why would I tell you to love yourself you ask?
Well, because you are important! Because YOU are the most important person in your life. Think about it – you are the one that is always there for you, right? You are the one you can always count on. You have to have your back!
Yes, of course you have other friends as well. I am not saying they are not important. But many women simply overlook that they are important, too. Very.
So what if your relationship with you is not the best it could be? Well, here are some ideas how you can start to improve it:

1. Treat yourself the way you treat others that you love and care about.

Be gentle and kind to yourself. Why would you treat others nicely, but not yourself? Surely you deserve to be treated kindly!

2. Check your own beliefs about yourself.

Do you truly believe you are beautiful? You are lovable and loved? You are worthy? If you do not believe those things, why not? (And just for the record, yes, of course you should believe those things.)

3. Start using affirmations to tell you how wonderful you are.

For example you could have one that says „You are loved“ in your purse. Or let your phone tell you that “You are worthy”. Or hang an art print on your wall that reminds you “Love yourself”. ;-)

4. Take good care of yourself.

If you are stressed, sick or tired, try to think about what you would tell your kids or best friend in the same situation. Would you pressure them to just pull themselves together? Or would you tell them lovingly to take a break and rest?

5. Write yourself a loveletter.

Sounds weird, doesn’t it. But it is a nice way to truly think about what you think about yourself and give yourself some tender attention and love.

6. Have a me-date.

At least once a month. Once a week would be even better, but I know how crazy it can be with kids, family, work. When you have a me-date you only do what YOU love. Treat yourself to something nice. Be extra kind. No running errands. No „I am supposed to do that so I might as well…“. Just NO. Do something that YOU LOVE.

7. Dress yourself FOR yourself.

I realized some time ago that when I get dressed I mostly think about how others will see me. How crazy! Especially since I am the person I spend most time with.
So now I try to dress myself so I am happy with it. Sometimes I love to stay in my yoga pants and a comfy shirt all day. Yes, most people would not call that properly dressed. I am fine with that. :-) Sometimes I will get dressed up even though I am going nowhere in particular. Just because.

8. Hone in on what YOU need.

It is so easy, especially for women and mothers, to completely loose track on what their own needs are. We focus so much on what others need and get so used to being there for others, that we kinda loose touch with ourselves. Have you ever had this feeling that you simply do not know what you want, what you would enjoy right now, whether you rather wanna stay in or go out – read or paint – just sit still or watch a movie? Try to get more in touch with yourself. Try to get a feel for what you need. Sometimes this might be an evening at home alone with a movie. Sometimes it might be a coffee with a friend or a long walk. Practise to get better at knowing your own needs.

9. Be forgiving toward yourself.

If your child or a good friend does something wrong, you forgive. So do the same for yourself. Who says you have to be perfect. Noone is! So if you expect yourself to never make mistakes, that is totally unrealistic and kinda crazy. Right? Stop it.
(Noone said loving yourself would be easy.)

10. Listen to your intuition.

This has taken me a long time. And I am still working on it. But by now I deeply believe that we all have an inner knowing. Find it. Trust it. Honour it by listening to it.

I hope this list gives you some ideas. Have something to add? Please do so in the comments.

I would love to hear from you!

Wanna know a bit more about my mixed media art?

By Ursula Markgraf | July 21, 2014 - 20:29 |March 19, 2024 Create YOUR Life

5 Comments

I was invited by my lovely internet artist friend Amy from The Treespace Studio to a worldwide artist bloghop. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Btw, Amy had a huge influence on me, my art and my website. I adore what she does and if you do not know her, please hop on over to her site and have a look around. What she creates is truly magical! For the bloghop – which is a worldwide bloghop for artist, creatives and writers – I am supposed to answer four questions.

1. Question: What am I working on?

One of the mixed-media pieces I am working on right now.

Can not decide whether this is an easy or a hard question. I am working on so many things. As always. ;-)

I am working on new mixed-media paintings of course. All. The. Time. :-) I am working on trying out different techniques and morphing them into my very own style. I am also constantly working on new ideas, but am trying to keep those in the back of my mind (or notebook) until my postcards and my art prints gain a bit more traction. I learned the hard way that building one empire at a time is the way to go. :-) At least if you have kids to care for and therefore only limited time to put into your empires. ;-)

2. Question: How does my work differ from others?

To me art is not just art. – But then again, I suppose art is never „just“ art. ;-)

I want my art to be a reminder for people. I want it to stir up their feeling, to empower or encourage them. To make them believe in themselves, in their dreams, in miracles. My art is my way of sharing my beliefs and my dreams. Art is my way of communicating what I care for, what I love, what I want the world to know. Also, I try to incorporate as much of what I love into the process of art-making as I can. I love colours and working with a brush. But just as much I love working with my hands or other random objects. I love papers. I love patterns, stencils, fabric. I love typography, writing, and quotes. I love love love love love graphite. This list could go on forever. :-)

3. Question: Why do I write/ create what I do?

Because I want to change the world. :-)

I am going to cheat a bit on this question as I think it requires a more elaborate answer. So I am going to properly answer that one a bit later in a separate blogpost. If you’re curious and do not wanna miss it, feel free to hop on my mailing list. I would love to have you. :-)

Edited:
I did write that post and you can find it here: Why do I create what I do?

4. Question: How does your writing/ creating process work?

My creative process is not „linear“ or predictable. I never sit down and think „Well, today I am going to create X“. I spend a lot of time just sketching and drawing. I spend a lot of time learning new techniques and watching others do their art. My notebooks are filled with sketches of different things, and most of them never make it into a „proper“ painting or piece of art. But that is totally ok. While I’m sketching and „playing“ at some point something „grabs“ me. An idea. A quote. A feeling. And I start to play around with it more. That is actually what I love most about mixed-media art. You do not have to have the finished piece in mind to start. You start somewhere. With a background. Or a rough sketch. Or a collage. Then you keep working on it. I always have several art pieces in the works at the same time. There are times when the picture ledge in my bedroom is filled with started – but not yet finished – paintings. Some pieces come together fairly quickly. But some literally take months to get finished. Of course, not every piece turns out to be something I love. But again, that is okay. With every piece, I learn something new. And I do love the process.

I hope you enjoyed it to learn a bit more about the why and how of my art. Is there anything else you would love to know about me or my art?

Just ask away in the comments. You never know, I might just write a blogpost to answer YOUR question! :-)

Sunday whispers – 15 ways to slow down your life

By Ursula Markgraf | June 30, 2014 - 06:59 |May 20, 2018 Create YOUR Life

7 Comments

The last couple months have been a huge aha for me. Taking breaks and evaluating what works in my life and what doesn’t has led to some major slowing down. Now, if you know me, I am not someone who is naturally comfortable with „slow“.

I talk fast, I walk fast, if I have an idea I wanna do it NOW. And no, unfortunately I am not exaggerating. The idea of going on vacation and spending all day laying at the beach literally freaks me out. That’s the sort of person I am.

As you can imagine patience is not really one of my super-strong traits. ;-) So slowing down for me is … hard. To say the least. I have tried to live slower before in my life, but somehow it never worked. Even just laying in the yard in the sunshine for five minutes was literally impossible for me. You would have had to tie me down to make me do it. (Nope, I am not kidding.)

But lately, it has become easier. Alot. I am not sure why exactly, but I can say … I LOVE it. I finally know what the beauty of now is. I can sit and just be. Not always. And not for hours in a row. But more and more often. And it feels wonderful. I can enjoy the sunshine, the wind, a flower – and all is perfect just in that moment. It brings such a wonderful peaceful contentment that I never had before in my life. I am so grateful and thankful for that.

And once I had experienced this beautiful feeling, I wanted more. :-) Unfortunately with life it is not that easy to slow down. If you are not careful you are back in the old tracks, with the old speed. So I thought I try to fit in as many things to slow down my life as I can. And in case you wanna slow down your life a bit as well – here is a bit of inspiration. 15 ways to slow down your life. Take your pick.

1 Having a cup of tea.

As you might be able to guess this is my absolute favorite one. Just sitting – preferably on our swing in the backyard – and sipping some hot tea to me is magic.

2 Writing in a journal.

I used to write a lot in journals as a child. A LOT! I loved writing. I still love writing. And writing always helps me to sort out emotional stuff and process what is happening. And it somehow takes the pace out of life. Instead of hopping from one thing to the next you sit down, write, reflect. Oddly, at some point I stopped and figured it is a waste of time and paper. OMG, how could I! I am glad that I am back on it.

3 Doing some yoga.

Somehow yoga helps me to feel more grounded and calm. It has a wonderful effect on me and my mind. I love the yoga videos by Erin Motz and her 30 day yoga challenge helped me to do yoga regularly. Check out her videos – they are not super-long and therefore easy to implement in your day. You can access them here.

4 Eating S L O W L Y.

Now I have to admit I used to kinda inhale my food. :-) Not even on purpose. But I was always so busy in my mind, thinking about stuff that by the time I was done with a meal I often realized that I had not paid any attention to my meal AT ALL. (That odd moment when you look down your plate, realize it is empty and wonder where it all went.) So now I try to eat my meals really slowly, bite by bite. Preferably outside in the sunshine. This one is super-hard for me as I get distracted from concentrating on my food REALLY easily. But I am working on it. Nice side-effect: My stomach really likes when I eat slowly. Much less tummy distress. Ooooh, and you most likely will need to eat less to feel full. ;-)

5 Sitting on a swing

No idea why this one works for me, but it does. I LOVE swings. Always have. I could sit on swings for hours. Give it a try, maybe it works for you, too?

6 Being outside in nature.

I love nature. And I have a feeling nature loves me. ;-) Sometimes I just sit in our backyard or on a bench in a park. Listen to the birds. Watch the leaves sway in the wind. Watch some water. It is like a hug for the soul.
When quietly sitting is too hard, I run or walk or cyle. It is not as slow as sitting. ;-) But it still helps.

7 Writing a letter or postcard.

Yes, by hand. No email allowed! This is about slowing down, remember.When you are done with writing – send it to someone you care about. Most people do not expect written mail anymore and REALLY appreciate it.
And if you need some inspirational postcards … I got you covered HERE. ;-)

8 Reading a book. FOR FUN.

Yes, just for fun. Get lost in the story. When did you do that the last time?

9 Cuddling a pet.

Pets are awesome teachers for living more slowly. Ever saw a cat running around frantically? Or a dog stressed out about the fact that he did not get enough done today?

10 Folding or hanging some laundry.

I know this sounds weird. For me it works. I somehow have a thing for mindless, repetitious tasks. They calm me down. Washing the dishes also does the trick. For some odd reason cleaning the bathroom does not. :-( Too bad.

11 Picking just ONE thing from your to-do list.

Try it just for a day. I know this one is hard and certainly does not work every day. But once-in-a-while be fine with doing just ONE thing.

12 Sitting alone in the dark with a candle.

Sounds spooky? Try it. The dark is not as dark as you might think. I find it super romantic and calming to watch the flame.

13 Riding a train.

Instead of going by car, go by train. I love riding the train. It is so wonderful to just sit, with lots of leg space (unlike in the car) and watch out of the window and see the landscape slide by. Being able to just daydream or read.
Oh, and if you have one of those annoying “talkers” sitting next to you – headphones do the trick. You do not even have to put music on. Just wear some headphones and people will leave you alone.

14 Sketching.

If you do not like to sketch, do something you love. For me things like knitting, crocheting, sometimes sewing work well, too. It just has to be enjoyable, slightly “mind-less” and no immediate result is required.

15 Listening to a meditation-audio.

Of course meditating is awesome to slow down. But I am still not good at doing it “by myself”. Most of the time when I sit still my mind starts racing. So I “trick” it by listening to guided meditations. I truly love the ones by Deepak Chopra, but there are so many out there. You surely will find something that you like.

Now tell me, do you intentionally try to slow down your life?
If yes, leave me a comment and tell me your favorite way to stop the world twirling around you.