Season reset for an intentional life
- irisjonsthovel
- Sep 22
- 5 min read
It’s been a week since I came back from vacation, which always brings a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, it feels good to settle back into routines and check off some to-do’s at the end of the day. On the other, you want to hold on to that breezy version of yourself who wasn’t constantly overwhelmed by news and tasks. Before our three-week holiday, I was feeling uncreative, unproductive, and pretty anxious about, well, everything going on in the world. (I mean, who doesn’t these days…)
My goal for this vacation was therefore simple: more laughing, less stressing. I clearly needed a good laugh and to stop taking everything so seriously. (Tip: watching the old Indiana Jones movies really helps with that ;-).
Setting intentions for vacation
To make sure I’d stick to that goal, I made a plan and set an intention for each week separately. Breaking up the trip into three parts gave it a nice design, which made the designer in me even more excited. Week one was going to be an art retreat in a mountain cabin, with the intention of sparking creativity. Week two pure nature immersion, outside all day every day, clearing our minds, and literally reducing the noise. Week three would be a city trip, to soak up art, architecture, design, and get inspired.
What my art retreat taught me
So, I started with my art retreat, which sounds extravagant but really wasn’t. It was just me, two boxes of paints and craft supplies, and zero goals attached. No art show to prep for (but, wouldn’t that be nice), no phone, only some printouts for inspiration and whatever ideas came up. I would say it was a medium success, mindfulness-wise. My perfectionist brain took over a few times, my experimenting brain fought back, and my judgmental brain told me to “do better.” If you’re wired this way too, you know the cycle. But all in all, I’m really glad I’ve made it happen because I did come up with ideas for some new works.
Lessons from the mountains
After that, we went to see and touch some rocks. And some rocks turned into every rock you could possibly see with the far eye. No internet and back to basics felt amazing. In three days we hiked 60 km up and down the Jotunheimen mountains and valleys, passing quite a few very cool dogs as hiking partners. So between watching our steps and ankles on loose rocks, we chatted about how exciting it would be to expand our little family with an adventurous dog like that. Of course, we know having a dog is not as glamorous as we imagine. We are Dutch, after all, and it’s in our DNA* to judge every scenario in life through the lens of: is it convenient, feasible, and affordable? Which is fair, but also a bit of a loveless way to go through life I think. Because life is not for convenience and ease and groceries at your doorstep. Life is for embracing chaos and loving, is it not?
*For Dutch readers, this article nails the “handig, haalbaar en betaalbaar” mindset hilariously.
City energy and inspiration
We left the mountains with fresh eyes, clear minds, and dreams of maybe adopting a dog one day… when life is less busy and we have more money to spend. Which probably won’t be anytime soon, but still, it’s nice to dream, especially on vacation. The last week of our trip was spent in Stockholm, where we gorged on art, architecture, design, and eating out for every single meal (which felt like an insane luxury, I almost couldn’t handle it). The city energy certainly delivered and Stockholm in 22°C was incredible. But coming back to sleepy Oslo felt just right too. I felt inspired, but ready for a slower pace again.
Season reset for an intentional life
And now being back home, it’s clear fall is here. For me, fall always feels a little like a reset of life, a check-in with priorities and how I’m spending my time. With less than four months left of the year, I’m reflecting on what things I want to give my energy to, that will make me love my life more. I was reading my favourite newsletter recently (by Kelton Wright, who writes about her small mountain-town life), and in an essay called Questions to ask yourself this fall, she posed this gem: If I imagined a regular day one year from now feeling incredible — what would that look like?
Thinking about it from a perspective of aliveness instead of financial greatness, here’s what I imagine for myself.
I walk our dog and she does something hilarious that I can’t wait to tell Kjeld about
I teach a Pilates class (in Norwegian!) at my home studio
Then I head to my atelier to work on art for an exhibition
I pack up a commission and drop it off at the post office
Then I grab lunch with a friend to talk about a new project idea
I’ve got some toolkit orders to ship and record a podcast interview for Alta
I join a Pilates class taught by a friend, then we jump into the sauna right after
Time to head home where the dog greets me with a jump-hug, the fire’s on, and Kjeld and I make dinner together
We go for a sunset walk with the dog and I capture the cuteness
Then we end the night with music, a couch crash, and talking future plans
What a dream. And what I love about these kinds of questions is that they make me appreciate what I already have more deeply, instead of making me feel like I’m lacking something. Because almost every point on that list already exists in my life in some form and none of it feels too out of reach.
The aliveness scale
So, if in the next four months I could narrow down my focus to the things that hit high on the “aliveness scale,” what would I choose? For me, it comes down to more time in the atelier and with friends. If I can finish one artwork each month until my birthday on January 2nd, I’ll be one proud ass Iris. And if I can throw in some fun coffee dates and improve my Norwegian along the way, even better.
When you, like me, feel like bringing some focus into these last few months of the year, maybe give these questions a go as well. You might surprise yourself with the answers!
Warmly,
Iris
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