April TIF Challenge - Change

So, I should have been abit further along with the challenge this month, but sometimes life gets in the way. I have been thinking alot about what I will do and I've come up with an idea.

First abit about the thoughts I have been having about Change and how we react to it.

I think change can be exciting and refreshing if it is something that has been planned or if it involves changes that we consider positive such as a promotion, new job in a field that we love, moving house, etc.

Change can get more difficult if it involves things such as divorce, death of loved ones, having to sell your house or business due to financial reasons, etc.

Maybe the difficulty that comes with change is the attitude that we have towards it. If we are clinging onto the past for dear life, this can only bring pain, grief and trauma into our life. All things in our life may happen for a reason and if we could see things in a broader perspective we may be able to understand more why things have happened the way they do. In order to move on in our life and to learn lessons we sometimes have to leave good things behind. We need to be able to end the chapters in our life and be able to open the next door and jump right in. Even if you try to have this positive perspective I still think that there is a period of adjustment. And maybe sometimes this adjustment may mean crawling under our bed covers and blocking the world out for the day.

I'm in my early 40's and am starting to experience aging. Its interesting to think about how differently we all react to aging. Some people fall apart, some cling desperately to their youth and some embrace it. It is a time maybe to confront issues from our past, look back and review our life, what are the things we haven't done, what about the dreams we had - did we go out into the world and accomplish them, what do we still want to accomplish in our lives. I don't see it as a downward spiral. I'm all for older people going out and climbing mountains, jumping out of aeroplanes, travelling the world, riding motorbikes or whatever it is that makes them feel complete.

When Sharon spoke about this challenge she mentioned about the attitude people have about the cup being half empty or half full. I think this attitude can have a big influence on how we react to change. I also thought of the saying "Going with the Flow". Which lead me to think about nature and the natural cycles. I then thought that this month I would focus on my garden once again and do a piece that would represent the flow of change in nature and remind me to embrace change and "Go with the Flow of Life".

So I'm going to either use this burnt green thread background that I already made or experiment making some other burnt backgrounds. Then I'm going to embroider flowers all over it to make a lush vibrant garden.

I better get cracking!!!