Life Is Art
Celebrating creative living and words that resonate from Helena Bonham Carter
Before I started this substack, I thought a lot about the types of messages I wanted to send with these weekly(ish) dispatches. As I talked my ideas through with those closest to me, it was my mom who coined the phrase I loved for describing the lifestyle content within this newsletter. “What about celebrating creative living?” she said. That’s exactly it…but what does it mean? I’ve been tossing and turning at night trying to bottle the essence of my feelings around the matter into words. When this image popped into one of my feeds recently, I captured it with a gasp — “that’s it!!” As it turns out, Helena Bonham Carter says it best: everything in life is art. At least, it can be, if we choose to see it and celebrate it that way.
What I hope to foster here in our substack community through written words, spoken thoughts, and other forms of expression is a mutual feeling of acceptance, camaraderie and validation. Acknowledging our growth, owning our paths, feeling proud of the lives we are intentionally creating…because it takes endless effort and inner work. So often I find myself drifting into the, “I’ll be happy once I…” trap that we talk a lot about on our podcast. One of the tenants of Happy, Not Satisfied and something we are constantly working to be mindful of in our household is, how do we enjoy where we are without feeling like we are less than as we’re inundated with umpteen examples of people with better and more everything than us, on the internet and in real life? How do we actively fight the urge to feel that we can only find happiness once we achieve, or earn, or own (_fill in the blank_)?
This time of year, as we enter the holiday season, I feel the whispers of a gentle reminder to return to center. To re-focus, re-align, and remind myself of the things that really light me up in life. It’s almost always the simplest of joys that gives me this reset. One of the ways I do this is to try to spend less time scrolling and more time living. I pursue tiny projects that demand my presence and my creativity in our home and in daily life…I try to make the mundane magical. And through that practice, I feel gratitude for life’s true treasures. Health, family, safety — my connection to all three.
I celebrate creative living by making my ordinary extraordinary — not with extravagance, but with elegance: through cooking a special dinner, or decorating our apartment for the holidays; rearranging furniture to unlock new design inspiration, thrifting art and decor for a next-to-nothing spend, sipping coffee from an ornate mug, wearing a cozy robe, using a fragrant hand lotion, listening to soothing seasonal music, watching classic movies that remind me of happy childhood memories.
Over time I’ve come to realize that true luxury is treating yourself to little rituals and adventures that give your spirit a hug. Less frantic spending to follow trends and more intentional investing in your own authenticity. And the inspiration that we’re (I’m) always on Instagram seeking isn’t actually there…it’s within us and around us in real life. It’s baked into who we are — it’s in our family history and in our experiences…the cities we live in and visit, the people we know, the places we frequent. A rich creative life is built from a tapestry of tiny moments, and every day we have the opportunity to choose to contribute to our greatest masterpiece.