Good Things: September 2022
Updates and other good things from Gill D. Creative
Image above: a visualization of how my performance and mood are effected by my stress levels, from low on the left to high on the right
On Good Stress
Over the past year or so, for better or worse, I’ve been thinking closely about every aspect of my life, from the food I eat to the movements I make to every detail of how I spend my days. At the top of the list for me has been monitoring my stress levels and how my mental stress effects my physical body.
At this point, we all know that chronic stress is bad for you, so as things got hyper stressful for me trying to balance work, school, and life in the middle of a pandemic, I got to work trying to actively do what I could to reduce that stress. I practiced self care, I focused on the positive, I practiced kindness, and, most important of all, I removed anything “non-essential” from my life.
In this great life purge, I ended up removing so many “stressful” activities from my life that I was faced with a whole new problem: I had no activities left that brought me joy and a sense of life satisfaction. I wrote about this a bit earlier this year, but tl:dr I realized that I do need SOME creative goals in order to be happy and feel fulfilled.
In therapy world we talk a lot about “stress tolerance,” which is essentially how much you can handle at a given time and the tricky part is that it’s constantly fluctuating. It’s helpful to be able to recognize when we’re hitting our limit so we can keep a healthy balance and not push ourselves into burnout. It’s also good to know when you could use some additional healthy stress— a recent study shows that low to moderate stress can actually improve cognitive functioning and increase resilience, which explains why even though my stress levels are at an all time low, I still haven’t felt my best.
I thought a good first step would be to map out my stress, both as a way to take note of how I’ve been feeling lately and as a reminder of what healthy, productive stress looks like for me. Making this diagram has been motivating for me— sometimes when my stress is too low or too high, it’s hard for me to remember what my flow state feels like. I hope I can refer back to this chart when I need a boost and use it to gauge when I need to step back or rev up.
How do you know when you need to add more or take less from your plate? I’d love to hear your tips!
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Image above: a couple Floss publications featuring art of founders Meg Fransee (right) and Aaron Gonzalez (left)
Featured Maker: Floss Editions
Meg & Aaron truly do it all, creating everything from vibrant larger than life murals to fabulous works on paper all while maintaining “day jobs” and raising a tiny human. As if that wasn’t enough, the dream team also runs Floss Editions, a Riso print studio that publishes gorgeous books and prints by independent artists (including themselves!) all from their home studio. While there is plenty of their work to peruse online, if you happen to be in the East Bay area this Sunday September 25th, you can check out some flossy prints IN PERSON at Two Pitchers/Lovely’s in Downtown Oakland. While you’re there, don’t miss Meg and Aaron’s beautiful wall murals inside the Two Pitchers building!
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Image above: a collection of items for making things, including sketchbooks, a pencil, an eraser, and black framed glasses
September Playlist: Make Something
This month, what I really needed from a playlist was just a collection of songs that inspired me to get making. For me, a good “making stuff” playlist involves a combination of songs that I simultaneously zone out and zone in to— some familiar favorites, some hypnotic beats, some relevant lyrics. Hope it helps you make stuff too!
Track List:
bruise : ghost orchard
Norway : Beach House
Pharmacist : Alvvays
Hunned Bandz : Tanukichan
Always : Jellies
Summer Love : Bambina
Klymaxx : Com Truise
i stayed awake : Kat Valentine
NO PLACE TO GO : Gengis Don, witSmusic
Cause = Time : Broken Social Scene
Ondine : Lower Dens
Why : Dominic Fike
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Image above: an oak leaf experiencing the changing seasons
Recent Work: Equinox
I really just wanted to take a moment to say: happy equinox! I’ve been getting pretty into trying to live a more chill life through paying attention to seasons and moon phases, so the fall equinox feels like a nice annual marker and a great time to reflect on where I’ve been this year so far. It can be easy to let time slip away and feel like nothing has been accomplished this year (at least for me!) but looking back at my journals helps me remember all the things that this year has held, both posi and challenging.
Hows your year been? Hope you have a restful and reflective equinox, and here’s to a chill and loving fall season!
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Image above: cute lil purple flowers with yellow circle centers
Some Other Good Things
So listen: every month I keep a running list of good things I like in my little notes app and somehow this months got mysteriously deleted! So in addition to the couple things that are coming to mind at this moment, I’m coming to you with a request: how do you keep track of little things and thoughts that come up for you in the moment? Open to apps, pen and paper tips, or really anything you do. Thanks ya’ll!
I think I’ve recommended this before but I think about this documentary, Some Kind Of Heaven, all the time. Highly recommend!
I really loved this episode of the Song Exploder show about Nine Inch Nails’ song Hurt. I’m a Trent Reznor stan so I might be biased but I thought it was really great! There are some other great ones in Season 2— I still prefer the podcast but these are fun too.
My friend Matt has dropped all social media except for Tumblr. I was very intrigued by this throwback choice so decided to dive back in too and let me tell you, I am not dissappointed! Follow me if you feel so inclined (my feed is currently mostly spammed from my insta-posts from a while back when I had an IFTT set up to post to it sorry).
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Thanks for reading – see you next month!