After a long winter, springtime is finally here! What with the lengthening days and Naw-Rúz, it’s a perfect time to revisit one’s New Year’s resolutions. I don’t know about you guys, but I often need a lot of external help in keeping some of my tougher resolutions and persevering through slumps; one of the tools I use as oft mentioned on this blog are mantras.

I tend to surround myself with mantras; some of them are “short-term”, helping me get through a specific project or event. Others are more “long-term”, in that they address a more profound change I’m working on. For the former, I use Post-Its and even the proverbial lipstick on the mirror. But for the latter, I like devolving the responsibility to people like Anne Garrison, whose gorgeous prints brighten my personal space by combining inspiration and art.

(For a limited time, Anne is offering Sahar’s Blog readers a 15% discount on the items featured in this post; just use the code Sahar15).

Four of her prints in particular represent what I feel are some of the most important profound changes a person can choose to undergo. Although we know that despite all the darkness in the world, we are in the process of building an amazing future for the human race, it sometimes gets hard to remember the good stuff; we have to choose what to focus our thoughts on, and it has to be on the positive. Anne’s “Always Bring Your Own Sunshine” is a beautiful gold on white print that serves as a constant reminder of this important, profound change essential in fuelling ongoing perseverance.

Having faith in things like the innate nobility of man and our common capacity to create a better world is vital to remaining positive; I’m sure then that it comes as no surprise that Anne’s “Have Faith” print is another one of my favourites. The words written on a grey background remind me of a ray of light piercing through the gloom, while the delicate, swirly font reminds me of the constant state of joy faith brings us. It also reminds us that although it might look like it, we’re never alone.

Building a good life is something within everyone’s grasp and combines easily applicable elements with the difficulty of remembering to apply them regularly. Anne’s “A Good Life” print is a reminder of some of these elements and comes in handy when deciding what particular virtue to focus on that day/week/month. Anne’s “Whatever You Are Be a Good One” is a reminder of the importance of striving for excellence however we might choose to contribute to our personal development and to that of the community.

Which of Anne’s prints represent some of the profound changes you are working on?

Photo Credit: Anne Garrison Studio.