stop and smell the roses

on small joys that keep me grounded in my 20s

Apr 26, 2025

in chapter two of the artist’s way by julia cameron…she shares a story about her grandmother and how despite all the chaos…trauma…and emotional struggles she lived through…she stayed grounded by paying close attention to the world around her.

what i mean by this is: during her lifetime, she wrote long, detailed letters filled with small, beautiful little moments and things she noticed in nature and daily life: from what flowers were blooming that season…what birds she spotted that morning…how the desert sunlight hit the cactus in her yard juuuuuust right…of course…her being extra observant of the world around her didn’t magically erase the heaviness she carried...but it gave her little sparks of joy to hold onto during hard times.

i finished the artist’s way earlier this year for the third time…and every single time i’ve done the artists way this section of the book has always stuck out to me the most….literally ever since my eyes first grazed those pages.

i’m such an overthinker. i overthink everything.

it’s honestly impressive.

and lately…as i’ve been inching towards saturn return (literally will never shut up about going this lol) i’ve been completely rethinking my life path…my career…my relationships…my purpose…and just reflecting on my twenties in general.

something about me is that while i do think self-reflection is important…too much of it can sometimes do more harm than good. like…i’ll catch myself psychoanalyzing everything and end up spiraling and then I’ll get stuck in that anxious headspace way longer than i need to be.

i’m trying to get better at not letting my brain convince me everything’s falling apart when honestly...i probably just need a snack and a long ass walk.

and yesterday…when i felt yet another anxiety spiral coming on…i did exactly that: i ate a nature valley granola bar and went on a walk around my neighborhood.

while i was on my walk...i came across these creamsicle-colored roses spilling out of someone’s yard. i literally...had to stop and smell the roses:

can you blame me? do you see how beautiful these roses are?

maybe i’m just the kind of person who gets too excited about pretty things (especially in nature) but seeing those roses briefly brought me out of that anxiety spiral. (this might sound suuuuper corny but it’s true) it reminded me that even when everything feels too big...there are still tiny…beautiful things happening all around me. like these flowers!!!

and isn’t that such a special thing? i think it’s such a special thing.

if you enjoyed this piece…here are some others i’d recommend: