It’s been a little over 3 months since we caught up like this. I kind of like the quarterly check in, it gives off a maintenance check vibe. A lil time to get the oil changed reminder kinda flow. What I’ve learned about myself in the meantime is; writing you a letter every week or every month isn’t something that I can promise to do at this time in space. Sometimes I don't have anything to say, other times it's easier to pick up the phone and call or leave a voice message (record and publish a podcast; those require show notes so it's kinda like I’m blogging there), sometimes my step mom Jada drops bombs that has my family all over the internet, then other times I’m on a DND staycation in the Zen Den with Jin for 3-5 business months. Simply put Chile… my life be kinda ghetto sometimes and I have to choose beteween taking care of myself or walking 3,000 miles just to see you.... Tonight. (Beetle Dee doody Doom Boom boom boom diddle Dee diddle Dee Dum Dum Dum Dum)
And as we know....
If you are new here WELCOME, I'm Jin I am a certified Yoga Instructor and Limited Licesnced Clinical Professional Counselor. In this blog, my focus is always on self-care as it pertains to your whole being. That's mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I share things that have worked for me, things that others have shared with me that have worked for them, and things we've learned as a way to help those who may want or need it.
Now that we got that out of the way let's get into it. Chile last time I talked to you I was hollering about talking a break before starting your next thing. The gag is... I was already in the midst of doing my thing when I was telling y'all to slow down. That's usually how I do it, I'm already doing my thing and have been doing it for a little bit by the time you hear me talking to you about it. My lastest thing was moving into working with a private practice. If you have been following the journey for sometime now you may be celebrating as you read this as you know that this was the goal. I like this better for a few reasons, one being I feel valued vs feeling tolerated. My ideas are heard, taking into consideration put into action, and lastly I don't feel like an employee. I feel like a collberative member of a team. Workplace safety is always a plus. I can tell you more about that here
Now if you took the time to stop, listen, then come back. Welcome back. If you are someone who skiped the link think "I'll just call her I don't have time to listen to a podcast" Note* this is how I feel about picking up a phone call from you expecting me to go back over what you are looking for when I've given you what you wanted packed up nicely in an a news letter but you don't follow directions well and you skip steps... It's okay I've been one of those people too but I learned to follow the steps and it helped me more then skipping them, that being said if you skiped the step find sometime to go back and listen. There are 7 converstations you can binge and catch up on one weekend while you cook, clean, color, and craft.
This month during my a fall-tober reset I've been guiding meditation for complete beginners to the practice, falling on my skates, and getting back into my things I enjoy. With the redirections on the commerical flight that is my life I only had enough capcity to carry a few things on my list of things to do. This letter is all about finding time for your hobbies, knowing your people, and allowing them to find you. Have a seat lets chat.
Hobbies
A hobby is an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure. My hobbies include but are not limited to is sewing, skating, listening to music, listening to and recording podcasts, learning about different arts and sciences while Minding My Bald Headed Business. My business as a therapist is to help others mind what's underneath their hair (their bald headed business). This means that if you did not call me with your business, secure a spot on my calendar, or secure a collaberation, I do not and will not be paying attention to you or your business. That goes for your personal business and your business ventures unless your business ventures are in alignment with one of my hobbies or personal busniess ventures. This is goes for everyone- family, friends,foes and especially those I don't know. If its not bringing me peace or making me money I can't afford to spend time on it. Time is the most expensive thing you can't get back and ummm I realized that I throughly enjoy spending my money having times knowing times are not cheap.
When I joined the private pratice I work for now my business partner gave me the assignment to create a treatment plan for myself. In the plan I was to detail hobbies I would get back into for my own personal self-care. Sewing was the 1st thing on my list. I'd stopped wanting to pratice sewing when people saw me using my skills and asked me to do it for them. It made me want to keep it to myself because people always want you to turn your hobbies into a hustle so you can provide them with something to consume. Sometimes things are just for your and you alone. Sewing is that for me in this season. I'm not making anything for anyone by request or doing any more alterations (Nana I'm not sorry, please get someone else to do it) please don't ask me. I say this because sewing is somthing that I am choosing to do for myself to bring myself pleasure the only goal is to please myself. If I do it for you... you are going to want me to please you and that goes against the people pleasing I've been recovering from. Here is a picture from the 1st skirt I made.
The people reading this that were waiting for the perfect time to ask me to make them something.
Not sorry friend, honestly this is how I've been with sewing the entire time I've been using the skill. When I have sewing for a few select people it was doing it becasue it made me happy and gave me pleasure to share my gift with them. Some of them saw/see the value in the time leveraged to make it make the things for them and they randomly thank me often. Something I've had to remind myself as I materialize things that once lived in my head. Between Augest and September I made myself two skirts (one had pockets), a pair of pants (no pockets), and a pair of panties. Sewing is becoming a theraputic meditative practice for me again. Just like mediataion, yoga, and talk therapy you have to find your grove before it feels theraputic. In the begining it can be annoying, frustrating, work. You may me want to hurry up and be "good at it" or get better forgetting that its not aways going to be beautiful in the begining. It's going to take some time, some effort, and some work. With those things in mind I've been taking my time creating what I have the capcity to create and moving with the current of energy when it flows, riding its wave until it settles.
My second thing was skating. Chile...... Me and this skating hobby tickle me because everytime I put the skates on my feet my bones whisper
I tell them I'm going to be as careful as I can but I can't make any promises. I say this becasue what I've learned is while I hate falling, everytime I do it reminds me to have a damn seat and think about how I'm shifting the weight in my body. How I'm moving my legs, if my knees were bent and a laundry list of other things. It also shows me that I can get up and keep it moving there is always a little pain that comes with it though. Sometimes it is the embarassment from falling, other times its physical pain from falling, either way I feel it. I keep doing it because it helps me build strength. My thought process, if I can bust my ass in front of all of these strangers at the skate park or on my mat, get up and keep it rolling I apply this same skill to other areas of my life like fashison and podcasting. I nurture my hobbies by doing trials run of my interests. If it turns out that I like it for real and I want to pursue it I pursue it deeper then it becomes a hobby that I start investing in and nuturing. If after some time I loss interest I simply lose interest and go on to the next thing on my list of hobbies to try. In it I ask myself why I'm interested in the thing, find out more about the thing, then decided if I'm going to give it a try or not. *Winter is coming and while I've never watched a single episode of game of thrones I remember how crazy the memes used to go about winter coming. I said all that to say... my outdoor skating will soon be put on freeze*
Knowing your people
What I've learned once I started really getting into my hobbies is that there are so many people in the world that are interested in the same things or similar things as you. You may meet people while doing your hobby and form a relationship outside outside of the hobby you share, becasue I sew I called this "making friends". In using the sewing analogy pay attention to how you unfold the patterns as you create the friendship. When creating a friendship what kind of pattern are you looking for? What old pattern are you tring to use with new fabric? Is this somthing you are going to take your time to proudly wear what you have crafted or is it something you are going to throw away at the slightest imperfection knowing you are a Tj Maxx is your very good friend when you can afford to spend time with their imperfect asses. Absolutely no shade to Tj Maxx cause one thing about me.... Ima Tj Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods Girl.
All I'm saying is appeciate the friends you are able to make organically and be cautious about the ones that come up to you claming to knew you in a past life, asking you about your family members, I'm talking about very detailed specific pieces of information being asked by a person you can not recall seeing or meeting in real life. Asking who your ex husband is currently dating, where he is, and other personal questions they may have definate answers for but they've "heard about you", did a google social media search acting like they don't know some of the answers to the questions they are asking when really they want to see how you handel yourself when being asked these questions (Insert black cat side eye here). This has happened to me more often when I'm in my hometown, with my homies, and since being in the Podcast and Yoga industries. I'm not sorry friends, I don't know who you are, who you think I am, or what your intention is for gathering the information you are trying to aquire. I often allow the feast of assumptions to take place outside of a weekend in August with this being my response.
As I proceed to shift the conversation into something that is more on topic. In recognizing the pattern I used to use originally to craft meaningful relationships I saw the errors in the seams and corrected them moving forward. Simply put I'm not about to sit here and talk about my personal business at Beyonce's birthday party with her TJ Maxx friends that I just met when I walked in the store. Girl I do not know who or what you are. Why don't you tell me your business since you already think you know mine. {If you were wondering... they did and Beyonce' let us record and release audio but not video from her party}
If you stopped, clicked, and listened to any of podcasts linked in this email do me one more favor...please leave a review. It helps the content creator know that they have an audiace, what topics are relevant, and it helps other people connect with more of the things they like. Sharing the content is also a free way to support smaller pods that are creating for the art of it right now. These podcaster do not post weekly or biweekly shows. They often release random episode when they have the capacity or feel ready to turn the drafts into consumable content for you. Thank you for taking your time out to chat up with me. I hope you enjoyed our conversation. Now for the bald headed business, for the rest of October we are mediation in the mornings at 7am Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. If you would like to join our private mediation circle you can secure your spot by planting your $7 dollar seed and securing your spot by clicking here.
If mediation doesn't float your boat take a look at the other services I offer to see if anything does. If nothing is for you share this with someone it may be for. Serious inquiries only because while you may really enjoy the free stuff that you consume in private the new stuff is better. Stop playing in my face and subscribe to my Patron where I post more exclsive content like footage video from podcasts, vlog post on more contriversal topics that I usually only talk about in private spaces, and virtual community group meetups You'll have access to a private community of people who are healing and dealing with life on life's terms just like you. Membership pledges start at $5
As I wrap this up I notice that I've asked you to do a lot of things.... You can wait for some of them but I wouldn't suggest you wait to join the morning mediation circle the group closes to outside members on Halloween and Patreon membership dues rise. Get in while we flying with these frontier prices. Until next time... change your smoke detector batteries and be well.