Permission Granted – On Summer Sabbatical

“Spirit Horse” (12″ x 24″) – $867 – Buy it here

How good are you at giving yourself permission?

I still can’t believe I’m doing this, but what a relief! Permission granted! 

I’m taking a break from online work while on sacred pilgrimage to Glastonbury. No blog posts. No newsletters until September. I’m not even bringing my computer! I have my skating injury to thank for inspiring this lightening of the load since my shoulders can’t take the weight.

As a full-time artist, sole bread winner & ex-workaholic, this decision wasn’t made easily.

But who would I be if I didn’t practice what I preach, including self-care.

I haven’t missed a newsletter since I started 5 years ago or a blog post in almost twice that time.

But all year, my eyes have been drawn to a magazine clipping in the corner of my Intuitive Vision Board that says “Yes, you can pull off a sabbatical.” 

So I am…. I’m taking a summer sabbatical. This will be your last blog post until September.

That’s not all. I’m going on a total digital detox! 

Despite what the marketing experts say about “out of sight, out of mind” and the potential impact on my income, I’m breaking my pattern of persistency and consistency.

In this day & technological age, we’ve not only become dependent on technology for our life but have started living for it. 

You know I enjoy sharing the love & beauty I experience. I’m all for exploring & expressing it. But I too have been guilty of living only partly in the moment while thinking of what I’ll be posting about it.  I’ll even draft the accompanying text in my mind as I swim, walk, or cycle.

I need a break from that to break that pattern.

This is no ordinary holiday I’m on. It’s a divinely guided sacred pilgrimage and what my Team of Divine Helpers have called a Gateway. 

So I’m giving myself permission to get off my personal Facebook and Instagram while I’m out of the country.

It’s time to disconnect to reconnect. After all, this trip is part of my Re-Connecting project and the build-up to my last painting in the series. 

I have, however, pre-sheduled 3 posts a day on my professional Facebook Page, so feel free to login there if you’re in the mood for a bit of Dominique Hurley art & inspiration. Or peruse the wealth of resources here on my website.

Or maybe this will inspire you to try a digital detox of your own.

Turn your social media off for blocks of time. Check emails only every few days. Give yourself the time and space to be with and for yourself.

And if you’re already great at this, take a look at what other area in your life you don’t give yourself permission in.

Have a great month and I’ll be in touch sometime after I get back. Until then,

Love & Blessings,

Dominique

P.S.  A few days after preparing this post, I found out I didn’t get the $25K art grant I was hoping for to cover my investment in the 9-month project I’ve been working on. The Universe obviously has other plans.. “When one door closes, God opens a window”. I don’t regret spending 2 full weeks preparing the grant application package early in the year. It helped me open up to the inspiration for the details of this guided project, including my amazing week as Artist in Residence in Carbonear. My job is to stay happy no matter what. I appreciate all the abundance in my life, and there’s so much of it. I’ll admit the ego had its few minutes of coping with rejection and expectations. But after grieving what I thought was going to happen, it quickly became time to embrace the mystery of what’s to unfold. I’ve always been creatively resourceful in the past, and so it continues. May we all journey on our Path to our Highest Good with ease & grace. Peace be with us.