​It took some time but reality has finally hit me. I have watched images of the state of our current world with tears rolling down my cheeks. The breadth and the depth of what is happening is actually quite unfathomable. And what is ingenious about it is that we are each affected in our unique ways, where we are most vulnerable. For some it may be health, for others, it may be something else. 

Having grown up in Paris, I have been shaped by a very urban environment. As a child, my mother would take me to Notre Dame to light a candle, or visit the Picasso Museum for an afternoon outing. We would holiday to other countries, and for my family, exploring Spain meant visiting Barcelona and its cathedral.  My husband laughs that at a very tender age, I knew the ins and outs of most European casinos including the one in Monte Carlo (there were no age limits then) but not once had I gone camping. 

I love this weather - I love how when I open my eyes, there is no sunlight. And I love how when I get out of my warm cozy bed, the air is so crisp, it bites me and I need to reach out for an extra layer; there is something really comforting in that.  

Why are we talking about the weather in this time of crisis do you wonder? Simply to avoid talking about what everyone else on this planet seems to be talking about. I am finding the topic at hand really uninteresting really.

​Artwork by Annelinde Tempelman

​There are many simple ways - practical things that you can easily introduce into your day that help reduce anxiety, which paradoxically is a state which may have you believe is beyond all control. Here are some helpful tips - thanks to the wisdom of Ayurvedic Medicine - that will help you regain some mastery over your emotions. But first, let’s understand the nature of Anxiety.

Anxiety is Fear. It can come in the form of worry, concern or insecurity but all of these are deviations of the human emotion fear. Some people are not aware they have it; they simply rationalise it - concern for the future, worry about health, nervousness about our performance, apprehension about how we are perceived, uneasiness in social situations - as a part of life. Other people feel it so severely that angst begins to determine their choices in life. Yet life does not have to be lived through the lens of fear. In fact, we can live with ease, peace, even, dare we say, joy.

​Artwork by Annelinde Tempelman

Following from our previous chat about ‘Magic’ being on tap, why are we then not living the life of our dreams? Is it not a question of simply envisioning what we would like to experience and then watch it unfold before our very eyes?

Well, it is not quite that simple - an obvious statement if we take a look at the world we are currently living in. Creativity - in other words - manifesting - is much more complex an art than most people would have you believe. Even great artists who have mastered their craft - whatever form it takes and whatever tools they use - are not applying their creativity to the different aspects of their day to day. And why not? For there is no lack of work to be done - we could be applying creativity to our parenting, our finances, our relationships, our work environment, our educational systems, our care of animals, our care of the land… the list is endless.

We are living in extraordinary times, where each day is filled with so much magic that it is palpable in the ether. More than ever, people are alive, whether excited or anxious on the inside, they are engaged in life and actively seeking answers, growth and healing. Momentum is also building on the outside, the pressure to change our ways is adding to this mix, pushing us to consciously make different choices.

This magic is intended, and an integral part of the divine plan for the greater good. It is now readily available in abundance and in many forms: resources, opportunities, synchronicities and assistance should we choose to operate from a higher consciousness within ourselves, our relationships and in our world at large. In a world where gurus are either dying or failing, magic is also awakened in us as direct divine guidance, intuitions, insights, visions and realisations that we receive. Esoteric teachings, psychological tools and spiritual practices are all both easily accessible and commonly accepted. 

“The most beautiful makeup for a woman is passion” - Yves Saint Laurent

Passion is misunderstood. At worse, it is the root of all evil. At best, it is confused with lust. Most people who seem to have it, appear to use it unwisely. Others utterly lack it. Certainly we have few role models in this domain. Yet all the great masters lived with an abundant dose of it - spiritual teachers, artisans, painters, musicians, sports people, leading professionals in all sectors. It seems like one common denominator in all their greatness is… passion. 

​Artwork by Annelinde Tempelman

“Everything you can imagine is real” - Picasso

We all secretly (or not so secretly) long for the same thing: to share more of who we are, and the talents we have, with the world, and be appreciated in return. But to do that, we need to be willing to become something we have never become before, to live in a way that we have not lived before and express what we have not expressed before. “To become who we are here to become, do what we are here to do and be who we are here to be for others as well as for ourselves” as the intuitive Lee Harris puts it.

The problem is we don’t know what ‘that’ is nor what ‘that’ looks like, so how can we step into a territory that is so unfamiliar? The key lies in imagining it. If we can imagine it, we can eventually become it. Our imagination is our most powerful and creative tool for life transformation.

Why am I so passionate about Travel Sketching?
During our last Quintessential France Creative Journey in April 2019, I asked our participants this question: ""why is it that people who spend time sketching go about the rest of their day making different decisions and hence begin to transform their life?"

And this is what a couple of the very wise women came back to me with - written straight from their personal experience: 

Artwork by Annelinde Tempelman

When we look around us, and the state of our planet, it seems like most people have an inflated sense of self. But actually, the reverse is true. It is because we don’t feel worthy, we feel the need to push ourselves forward, to project our voice that carries our opinions, beliefs, wants and needs. Because we don’t feel like we are enough, we have learned to speak too much, to try too hard, to give or even to take too much.

​So what does a person with a healthy sense of self-esteem look like? And if that were us, how would we move through the world? In one word: softly. Softly not because we are timid but softly because there is no reason to push, because we meet the world seamlessly, effortlessly and most importantly, graciously.