Stress Less Desk Illustration

Hi, Creative Friends,

Did you know the month of May is Mental Health Awareness month? If you are a bit like me, mental health can be pushed aside for other life priorities. However, maintaining our mental wellness can lead us to happier more robust selves. So…

This Week Take Care Of Your Mental Health With These 3 Easy Creative Ideas…

1. Take Some Headspace: Like a toddler who begins to tantrum at an expected moment, sometimes our brain needs a timeout. That’s where the app Headspace comes in handy. Headspace is a meditation app that provides simple meditation practices to help the brain gain space to assess the current state of the self. Headspace makes it an easy way to check in with ourselves.

2. Take A Walk On The Wild Side: Research says mental health and physical health are intertwined and walking is one of the best ways to incorporate physical activity into daily life. Try this “Guided Walking Meditation To Connect With Your Senses.” It’s an easy way to nourish our relationship with our body & mind.

3. Kale. Exhale. Repeat. : Momma always said “You Are What You Eat!” and a ton of new research is backing up the claim that our gut healthy, the bacteria we have in our intestines, affects our brain’s health. How do we maintain excellent gut health? Pick one meal a day and add one of the top 10 superfoods such as broccoli, oats, eggs, spinach, cocoa nibs, almonds, and kale. Try this amazing “Kale Slaw Recipe” for any summer cookout. It’s an easy way to keep things tasty, our guts happy, and our minds healthy!

Drop me a message and let me know what you are working on or your best creative self-care mental health tip.

Also, thanks for reading. This newsletter takes some time to pull together. Consider showing your support by forwarding it to someone who might need some inspiration or buying some of my artwork at INPRNT or Society 6.

If you are seeing this newsletter/blog for the first time and want to keep seeing content subscribe here.

Keep going, creative friends!

xoxo,

Andra

Hey Beautiful Friends, 

Today is Day 1 of the FREE 5-Day “Love Your Mind” challenge on Instagram!

If you haven’t heard my yogi friend Renee Gauthier and I have created a FREE 5-Day “Love Your Mind” Instagram challenge that gives tips on how to use creativity and self-care to find calm in the mind.

The Day 1 Challenge includes the below fun “Fill-In-The-Blank” download. Download The FREE Love Your Mind sheet HERE.

Join us this week, Monday, February 15th - Friday, February 19th to learn tips on how to destress and get creative.

Here’s how it works:

• Follow us on Instagram @andrawebercreative and @renee_gauthier 

• Tag a friend who needs this too

• Check-in every day to find FREE downloads and tips on how to calm, destress and be creative.

Jump on Instagram and tag a friend who needs this today!

See you on Instagram!

xoxo,

Andra

P.S. Check out Renee’s fabulous Live Yoga Class schedule this week and my Skillshare Class “How To Unlock Creative Magic Everyday!” get started on creating Love In Your Mind this week.

Hey, Friends. Let's start this Monday with a self-realization. I have been creating this blog now for 341 days. I am just 24 days away from meeting my goal of creating every day for a year. In just a few short weeks, I will be able to reflect on a year of building and learning. Stay tuned.

In the meantime,  I can tell you that by any measure, I am still doing it wrong. In all respects, I'm failing at the following: coercing followers, making revenue, telling the authentic daily story and most importantly making the change I want to see in the world.

However, it's important to note that when we stand back and look at the things we create in our lives, it's the process that is important. Maybe you know someone who is always successful. If we all could get a peek into their playback, they too had a lot of moments when they did it wrong. They failed, stumbled, and felt their way through the dark too. When we are failing, there is an opportunity to be better, different and more interesting. When are succeeding, we don't get a chance to transform. In short, failing leads to opportunity.

Today's project is to create opportunity today. Go start something on your bucket list and when you fail, keep going. Just remember if you are being yourself, no one can tell you, you are doing it wrong.

Until tomorrow.

Hello! It's just one of those days when I see red. I'm just downright mad today. I know all the phrases. Don't drive angry. Blow a gasket. Blow a fuse. Fit to be tied. The phrases are never ending and so is the anger today. Everyone I talk to says we shouldn't get mad. We should step back and take in the bigger view of life and see what is happening right now doesn't deserve our negative energy. So why do we get angry? Is it necessary?

Here is an excellent article in Psychology Today. "Go Forth In Anger" describes how getting angry is a positive emotion. It's often the catalyst for change. 

"Researchers are amassing evidence that anger is a potent form of social communication, a logical part of people’s emotional tool kit, an appetitive force that not only moves us toward what we want but fuels optimisum creative brainstorming, and problem solving by focusing mind and mood in highly refined ways. Brainwise, it is the polar opposite of fear, sadness, disgust, and anxiety—feelings that prompt avoidance and cause us to move away from what we deem unpleasant. When the gall rises, it propels the irate toward challenges they otherwise would flee and actions to get others to do what they, the angry, wish."

In short, anger has gotten a bad wrap over the years, and we shouldn't try to be apathetic to anger. We should ask, how do we harness the power of anger to produce something positive? Let's try drawing on anger. Today's project is to pull out a piece of paper, marker and draw out your anger. How does your anger look? What colors would depict rage? Is there a particular texture that evokes passion for you? Use the emotion to create something new.

I'm off to stew with my feelings and create a plan from my anger. Until tomorrow.

Hey! It's Sunday and I am going to keep this post short as I know everyone is most likely traveling for the holidays or preparing for the week. Speaking of which, I'm in charge of the whole thanksgiving meal this week. It's just my family but I feel impending anxiety about how to cook a turkey. So much so, I am avoiding preparing for the Thursday feast. The thought of butter, basting and roasting have my palms sweaty. As with other things in my life, I realized this morning I just need to ask for help.

Help is all around us and other people are generous. They want to give their time and they want to see success. When help is in play, everyone feel good and it gets problems solved. Have you ever noticed how adults constantly encourage kids to ask for help? Why don't adults do the same for other adults? More importantly, why don't we ourselves ask for help?

Today, create the ask for help. Do you need help developing a dish for Thanksgiving? Ask for help. Is there a work project that has you spinning? Ask for help. Are the kids at a developmental milestone and driving you crazy? Ask for help. Has your computer slowed down to a maddening pace? Ask for help. Are you generally feeling overwhelmed and need a fresh life perspective? Ask for help.

Individually it's hard to change. Together, united, if we support each other, WE can change the world around us.

Until tomorrow.