Week 8: Reclaiming Delight and Returning to Yourself Through Joy

We grew up being told to hustle, focus, and quit “messing around.” But what if joy isn’t a distraction—what if it’s direction? This week, we unpack our own resistance to delight. We explore the simple but powerful practice of letting yourself enjoy beauty, play, and presence (without guilt) and talk about how that can be a way back to your truest self. From dirty dishes glowing in sunlight to sidewalk blooms, we reflect on how slowing down helps us rediscover what truly lights us up.

Thank you so much for listening.

If you know someone who needs this kind of gentle nudge, send it their way. The more kind, creative hearts in this space, the better.

And if something in this episode resonates or makes you smile, come say hi on Instagram @theartpeaceexperiment 🤍

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Thank you. Welcome to the Art Peace Experiment. We're your hosts, two artists and friends. I'm Tasha. And I'm Brianna. At the end of 2024, we decided we wanted to cultivate more safety, peace, love, alignment, and excitement through our art and our art practices. So here we are sharing our journey with you. And we're so excited you're here. We hope you enjoy our conversations. They're honest, raw, just Just two friends talking to each other about the realities of life and creativity. We're so excited for you to join us and be along with us for the journey. A few months ago, you had someone challenge you to lean into what delights you. And you came and talked to me about it. And I think we both kind of had the same reaction to this. Yeah. Of just... I'm allowed to do that. Excuse me? What? We can just delight in things and that's okay? That's allowed and it can be quirky and weird and stuff that is fun and we don't have to totally conform and we can take time for that. Yes. taking time out to pause and not do things and delight in simple things too. I think that's huge. Yeah. So it was a really big moment for me when I heard this idea, I guess, of just living in delight and having that be a way of life, you know? Right. Um, and I think it was, it's, I think for me, it's kind of been a process of coming to accept myself and, um, kind of figuring out what I, what I like, who I am, what delights me, you know, like what I really connect with. And over the last little few years, you know, a little while, um, It's been a process. It's been on my mind for a long time. And I've been trying to figure that out, especially amidst motherhood. I think that really kind of throws you into that where you get so much into taking care of this little human being and then you're like, who am I? And you lose yourself. I think a lot of people lose themselves in motherhood and parenthood. But since my son's been in school the last few years. And I've had more time to really reflect and figure out what do I want? And now I have time, you know? Yeah. And so I've been on that journey a little bit, but it wasn't until, yeah, just a few months ago where I heard that that it really– Made the switch, I think. Yeah. Gave yourself permission. Yeah. Like, this is a valid option. It's not a bad thing. Right. Which I feel like growing up, we're told, you know, like, hurry up. work harder. Yeah. All of that kind of quit messing around. Yeah. That kind of mentality. And yeah. And you don't get to stop and smell the roses. You don't get to, you don't get distracted. Keep going. You know, I know if I'm doing that to my son too, like, Nope, we just got to go. Let's go. Like, you know, stay focused. Right. Right. It's just so much a part of our, of our culture. And, and like there are times for that. Yes. Right. But, But not all the time. Not all the time. That shouldn't be every moment. I think, yeah. And I think so often we just get so in the go mode. That's our, you know, hustle culture and just you have to work really hard and do a lot and go, go, go, you know, and taking breaks for– yourself to just do nothing to just sit and do nothing like we don't even sit and do nothing because we sit and we scroll or we you know make a checklist or we do check our emails you know we're always doing something right we're never really unplugged in our society where we just sit and and and think you know it has to be like a conscious effort in our society now and so taking that time to reflect and think, what do I delight in? It takes, it takes a kind of a conscious effort. Yeah, it does. It can be really hard. Well, it's interesting because growing up, you know, we're kind of, we're programmed to like please and appease our parents and, you know. Well, that's how we're wired too, biologically. That's how we're wired, yeah. It's like, you know, as little kids, we tend to like what, they like and get excited about it and like there's nothing wrong with that but then you know as we come become teenagers it's like you start separating from your parents a little bit more but then like friends become more important and you're trying to just kind of fit in and um then you know as you get older if you you know get married or you know dating and having relationships and it's still that kind of like fitting in yeah it's a big part of of growing up is just kind of like finding where you fit. And sometimes we lose a little bit of ourselves. Yeah. I feel like a lot of times, uh, we live for others. Yeah. Rather than ourselves. Yeah. And we're not really, not really taught how to live for ourselves and how to connect with ourselves. Yeah. Um, because we, um, you know, we're like you said, from a really young age, like we're taught, do this, don't do that. You know, we're, we're really guided by our parents, which is their job and that's what they're supposed to do. And it's totally fine. No knock on parents. Yeah. Yeah. But, um, And then we, we, you know, listen to our friends and engage what the social group, and that's part of our survival mechanism, right? Where we have to, we have to stay connected to our drive in order to survive. And so that's, that's all wired and it's a normal, natural thing. Right. But the thing that we are so often missing that I feel like we kind of, we, people grow up and then I mean, that's why we have like midlife crisis, you know? Yeah. Who am I? Exactly. Then we kind of try to figure out who we are as an individual rather than a person that fits in this group, right? As we go off, we don't have our friend group anymore. We get married. We go, you know, we go have a job. We like, you know, we just separate. And it's interesting too because when you grow up and you do move, And it's like a culture shock. Like even if you move somewhere, you know, in the States, you know, like for us, we grew up in the States and just like moving to a new place is there is some culture shock and things that are different. Like I grew up in Seattle and people there wear fleece like all the time. Like it's just a normal

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thing.

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you know like fleece sweaters and jackets and stuff and then moving to other places it was like oh that's an interesting style you have yeah and I never thought about it as like wearing a fleece jacket is not stylish it's not like my style but yeah it's it's just what people wore there right and realizing that that wasn't across the board like everywhere that's uh yeah you know like a choice people make it's not like a normal standard thing for everyone yeah so the people are like Oh, that's interesting. It's an interesting choice. It's just like, what? What are you talking about? Yeah. And just like realizing the world is like a bigger, I don't know, a bigger, there's so much more possibility. Yeah. And it's just, it's interesting to see how, where we grew up and the people that we spend our time with really shape us in a lot of ways. And then I think that's part of what the midlife crisis is too of like you kind of break from that and realize like wait do I even like these things like who even am I how do I fit in my new environment and be true to myself be true to myself and I feel like when we heard this you know challenge of I mean it was a soft challenge it wasn't like this hard like go and delight yourself it's just like here's a new way of thinking about things but when we heard that it was um almost just permission to come back into alignment. Yeah. And to, and to just notice like what brings me, what brings me joy and like just even the small moments, you know, noticing how the sunlight, you know, hits the leaves and, and, you know, just small things that are like, just, yeah, just bring joy. Yeah. And it's interesting because I feel like I've always, you know, kind of leaned towards doing that like I have always kind of done that you know like saw the little flowers in the cracks of the sidewalk and it was like oh that's so fun you know and wanted to delight in those little things and the things around me and things that maybe other people didn't notice or didn't appreciate or was like okay whatever you know and so I think I've always had that inside of me but never felt like it was, it was okay to delight in them and openly and, and, um, and fully, um, even to myself, you know, like I would notice it and be like, Oh, you know, but then kind of dismiss it in my own head without saying anything to anybody. And so, um, yeah, I think it, I think too, I've been reading lots of books and self-help because this has been in my heart. I wanted to figure this out. How do I fully embrace myself and be okay with that? And so I think there was a lot of stepping stones that kind of led to this fully like, oh, that was the last kind of thing that needed to kind of fall into place for me. Right. And there's so much resistance to it too. For both of us, when we first heard it, it was this like, I don't know. Can I do that? Is that allowed? Is that allowed? Am I allowed to just find– joy and like stop and smell the roses am I allowed to just like take those moments like literally stop and smell the roses yeah on my walk right and not feel like oh somebody's gonna think I'm so weird for yeah or stopping and smelling the roses you know it's gonna inconvenience somebody or yeah you know people are gonna think you're weird or you know yeah no just yeah enjoy the beauty in life and, and not just, you know, in general, but what genuinely excites you, what genuinely makes you feel more alive and, you know, excited to get out of bed every day, just noticing those moments and having appreciation for them. And, you know, I think there's a lot of, um, You know, just this idea of it just being– what's the word I'm looking for? Kind of, I don't know, taboo or– Well, yeah, like kind of selfish, kind of fanciful, kind of, you know, like you're just living, you know, in your own little world and you're not being realistic. Yeah. You know, all of those kind of ideas like just get like thrust on us when– We really should just come back to ourselves and find joy and delight in our lives. And what an impact that makes in every aspect of it. I mean, for us as artists, it helps us lean into what we're creating and wanting to create. And then we produce more impactful art. more meaningful work. And then there's more joy. There's more joy in the process. There's more joy in all of it. But then that also, it impacts being a parent.

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It

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impacts friendships. Every aspect of your life because you're showing up more fully as you. I don't think we really fully grasp that. Like, I don't think I fully grasp that either, you know, but of, of how impactful that is and how important that is to show up fully as you. I think we just discount ourselves so often. Yeah. That is like not that big of a deal. It's fine. You know, I wouldn't make that big of a difference, but when you are showing up fully as you, as yourself in your full goodness and beauty and light, it's, it spreads, it spreads and, um, it inspires also, you know, it, it just spreads so much goodness and so much light and so much, I don't know, I just, all the good things, truth, beauty, you know, all the good things. And I feel like, I don't know, there's something you said earlier, but I feel like we, um, we kind of go through this and feel like delighting in those little things and taking time, you know, and pausing and living in that head space, like you were saying, is kind of like this fanciful, you know, unrealistic kind of, you're just in your head and you're not in the real world. But the light coming through the trees and the beautiful flowers and the beauty around us, that actually is the real world. Right? It is. That is the real world, right? Especially when you think about it. A lot of us do live in fantasies, but they're like doomsday fantasies. The anxiety, the worst case scenarios. A lot of us roll through that in our minds. It's there. It's in the back of our minds. We're constantly worried about it. Problem solving. Yeah. Yeah. And instead, it's like we could use that energy to notice the beauty, the good things, the magical moments, the moments of joy. I mean, if you just take a second to think about, imagine that difference of those two mindsets of the spiraling, the negative, the just fully in your head, thinking about things, thinking about problems, stressing and walking through life. I mean, we were just talking the other day. It's like, we, we don't even like, we go through life pretending so often that like things don't exist. Like other people don't exist. Like at the grocery store, you don't even, you don't make eye contact. You like, you just go through, you like get your stuff. You're all about you and what you do. And you know, you just like, that's the way that our culture goes through life. Yeah. And, and then if you contrast that with So being in your head, being spiraling, you know, all of that, that doomsday, and then contrast that with looking at your surroundings, like actually paying attention to what's around you and feeling grounded and in your body and like, noticing things that are around you and smelling things that are around you and hearing the things that are going on around, like all of your senses and what a more, like a full body experience that is. And it's so much calmer. Yeah. It's so much calmer and so much more comforting too. Yeah. And I think if we took the actual time to practice that and to notice that, the things around us, I think our world would be a lot calmer place. Oh, for sure. And, and, you know, it, it's really living in the moment and being in your, like really coming back and like being in your body, being in the moment and making the most of the moments that that we have. Yeah. Like I was telling you the other day is like I walked into my kitchen and I had a bunch of dirty dishes in the sink that I needed to take care of. But at the same time, there was gorgeous sunlight coming in through the window and it was like making all those dirty dishes sparkle. And it was just not something I would like take a picture of. But at the same time, it was so beautiful. Right. You know, and just like I mean, as an artist, I noticed light a lot. I've done a lot of studying of art or of art of, of light. Yeah. And so it's something that I do notice a lot. And I, I do find a lot of, of joy in it. Like it just, you know, like winter ends and spring comes and you start getting those like beautiful, beautiful, sunny days, beautiful, sunny days. And it just fills me up and it makes me so excited to just be alive. Yeah. And it's, In the past, I would have walked into that kitchen and been like, oh my gosh, I have so much to do. I have so much work to do. I can't even wrap my brain around taking care of these dirty dishes. Instant overwhelm. Instead, it's like, you know what? I can just look at that light. It's so beautiful. Allow myself that moment of peace and happiness. It's kind of a silly example, but it's really just making the best of the moments that we have. Yeah. I mean, I was on the drive over here this morning and, um, kind of did the same thing where I was stopped at a red light and I looked over and there's like a median, you know, with a tree and grass in, in between the lanes. And it, and it was just this tree with the, with the leaves starting to bloom and, and green, you know, and the light was coming through it and then kind of like sparkling on the grass. And, and And it was like, wow, that's so beautiful. And then there was like a gas station right behind it, you know, but it's like, it wasn't all beautiful, but it was that small little pocket of beauty. Right. Right. And it gave me so much joy. And whereas normally, you know, you're just going through and it's like, oh, there's the, there's gas station. There's this, you know, it's just like, oh, it's normal. But having that pause and noticing and paying attention. it gave me that little, that little brief pocket of beauty and peace and, and wonder of like, wow, how the light comes through the leaves. And, and then, you know, I too, as an artist was like, I wonder how I draw that, you know, which is, you know, it's a beautiful thing about being an artist. That's something I really love noticing, but it doesn't have to just be, you know, as an artist mindset. But, but finding those little pockets in our days that are, that are beautiful. Even when we're going through hard times. We're able to look at that moment and we like, you know, have this conversation about, you know, like even when the bad things are there because they happen and they come up and there's hard things that we have to deal with and go through, but there's still beauty like intermingled in that. And there's love. Yeah. And, you know, if we only focus on the bad, then we're so missing out.

UNKNOWN: 21:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 21:58

we're missing out on life. We're missing out on ourselves. We're missing out on relationships. Like, yeah, there's just, there's so much goodness in the world that, um, it would do us well to focus more. Yeah. I heard, um, a podcast, um, Oprah Winfrey was being interviewed, um, by Jamie Kern Lima. She's, she's the author of the book worthy and it is just so amazing. Um, But in that interview, I don't remember what question Jamie asked Oprah, but I remember Oprah saying, you cannot fully become like your full truest self without, if you don't kind of get out of yourself. And not just focus. So I'm, I'm paraphrasing this terribly, but, um, um, you know, just the, the fact that you have to have a broader perspective, you know, and, and that's really the key to, um, to becoming your, your best self.

SPEAKER_02: 23:14

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 23:15

Um, And I think we so often just focus. So we have tunnel vision, you know, we do, we have tunnel vision. We get in these modes of just problems, problems, problems, or solving, solving, solving, or this thing, this thing, you know, and, and we don't look outward and we don't appreciate the things around us as much because we just, we just move right past it, you know? Yeah. And, and we just are in our go mode. And so I, I, have always really liked doing a gratitude journal. I've done it since I was a teenager and had off and on years where I haven't done it. And then I got back into it, but it's really helped me. But recently since hearing this mindset of delight, I was like, instead of doing a gratitude journal, I want to do a delight journal. Like what delights me. What delighted me today? That's what I write on my page. What delighted me today? Yeah. I love this. I love this so much. Yeah. And just that simple little switch too from gratitude to delight. I don't know. Both are great. Yeah. But it was, I really liked thinking of it in that way, framing it that way. What delighted me today? You know, what filled me up and gave me energy and made me happy and made me smile and feel good, you know? Yeah. What delighted me. And I think as I practice that more, it's going to, it's going to be more apparent and it already has, you know, my thinking of it, um, trying to think of it as in my days and what I've seen and things like that. Um, yeah, it's just, it really helps. And that really helps too. Like you said, get through the really hard things, right. When we have that And emotionally. Yeah. And just, and see things differently. in a different perspective

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and

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in a more, I think, rounded perspective too, you know? Right. Because we can't just dismiss the bad. It's there. Because it's there. That's not healthy either. Right. Right? But being real, like this was a really hard day. But also, you know, I really loved– I don't know the sweet, the air smelled really sweet last night, you know, in the evening and it felt like, like florals, you know, and it has like chocolate. Yeah. Yeah. Like I had a few moments of laughter with my child. I got a phone call from my friend. Yeah. All the little things. Cause even, even though they're little, if we add them up, they become big, they make a big difference. They do make a difference.

UNKNOWN: 26:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 26:11

Yeah. And I mean, this is all what– I love that you're doing the Delight Journal. We talked about that. I have not been– I haven't been writing in my– I need to start. It's hard to– It's been off and on. Yeah. Yeah. Anyways, I want to start doing that. But I've been trying to notice more and just letting myself feel– and notice things that get me excited and to not tamp that down. Yeah. Like that's the big thing. It's like just letting myself have those moments and just being excited and having fun and to not, not, yeah, just not tamp it down, not suppress, not suppress who I am. Just let it be. Which is, it's a, It's a big deal. It is a big deal. It's a big deal. It can be, I mean, it's so ingrained and it's so taught and we have so many habits, years of habits of doing that.

SPEAKER_01: 27:10

Yeah.

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And so being able to even recognize is, is big, you know, is great. Yeah. And then being able to let yourself have a moment of that, you know, like not immediately shut it down. That's the next step. That's also, that's a great step. You know, that's also, that's growth. And then, you know, hopefully then the next step. Yeah. It always starts in small, small steps. Right. And, you know, I feel like that's the healthiest, best way to go about it because that's going to bring the lasting impact. change because it really is you know we're rewiring our brains and rewiring our nervous systems yeah to allow ourselves to see the good things and let the good things be safe yeah building that new pathway in our brain yeah so I mean I feel like this is just Everything that the art piece experiment is supposed to be about. Exactly. You know, it's like coming back to ourselves. And when we started this, you know, we didn't have that idea of delight. I feel like we did, but we didn't have it fully. We didn't have the words. We didn't have the words. Yeah. Yeah. We didn't, we weren't fully giving ourself. That permission. Yeah. Because we didn't realize we needed to. And then when we realized we needed to. It was like, oh. Like, yes. Click. It just made everything so much more clear. Yes. So we really want to challenge you to just let yourself delight in things. We just want to extend that challenge. Get curious about what delights you. Yeah. Ask, what delights me? What do I delight in? What makes me feel good? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. want to spread that a little more yeah what a difference it's already making and we want to see that for you too so we want to hear if you if you would like to share please leave us a comment and um and let us know yeah share share something that delights you today we really want to hear about it and it'll make our day a little brighter too yeah all right we'll see you next time That's it for today, friend. Thanks for spending this time with us. We hope you're leaving with a little more light, a little more peace, and maybe even a nudge to go be creative just because it brings a little more joy to your life. If anything in this episode spoke to your heart, sparked a thought, or made you smile, we'd love it if you'd follow the show, leave a quick five-star review, or share it with someone who might need a little creative encouragement too. And remember, your creativity matters. Your voice matters. You matter. We're cheering you on Always until next time, keep making, keep softening and keep showing up as your whole beautiful self.