they say it's about the journey...

not the destination.

Recently I spent a week at a place in paradise where I got to do some of my favorite things: hiking, swimming, circuit training, eating of fresh organic vegetarian food, and spending time with my sister. I wasn't planning to hang out in the art studio and play with clay, but I did.

It had been a while since I squished cold earth through my fingers, and I forgotten what a supremely relaxing and meditative act it is for me. I was, once again, smitten by this quiet, solitary activity.

The clay I used, as it turns out, is one that doesn't dry. Ever. Or at least, not soon enough to make it easy to transport. So, anything I made in the shaded, breezy studio was something I knew I would leave behind.

Rather than worry about how it might look fired or how it might look glazed or how it might look on my mantel, it was simply about how it felt to be doing it at that moment. And, guess what? There were no worries! What a novel idea! The process was what counted, not the finished product.

I did have my iPhone handy, though, so I took snaps of the stuff I made. Then I said "goodbye!" It was actually very liberating.

Now I just need to figure out how to let this notion spill over into other areas of my life.