Today Sarah talks more about solitude and the importance of it.
Start Quote
Living well IS all it's cracked up to be...
Deliberately seeking solitude
-quality time spent away from family and friends-
may seem selfish.
Solitude is as necessary for our creative spirits
to develop and flourish as are sleep and food
for our bodies to survive...
It is not enough for us
simply to endure or survive.
We must surmount,
learn to excel...
[We must find] the delicate balance
between our deepest personal passions
and our commitment to family, friends, lovers, and work.
As for me, I have discovered that
the surest way to hear the soft strains of harmony
is in the Silence.
End Quote
"It is a difficult lesson to learn today
- to leave one's friends and family and deliberately practice
the art of solitude for an hour or a day or a week.
And yet, once it is done,
I find there is a quality to being alone
that is incredibly precious.
Life rushes back into the void,
richer, more vivid, fuller than before."
I always feel this way after alone time.
Like new life has been bestowed upon me.
Don't just live.
Let's live well.
Also, give people space. If they need some alone time, do not judge them or think badly of them. Instead, praise them for knowing themselves and taking care of their emotional and creative well being, and also for being brave enough to tell you the truth instead of a white lie. And then pay it forward.
***
Gratitude Journal
***
1) My parents watched the kids while I slept in until 7:30. Then at noon we all went down for a nap, and then they woke me up three hours later. Sleeping at my parent's house is one of the best things in the world!
2) Mentholatum.
This stuff makes me think of my Nana. And it is to die for amazing. Don't ever use Vapor Rub again. Vapor rub smells awful and burns. This stuff smells amazing, feels amazing, and actually helps. I rub it on my temples when I have a headache, I put it in my nose and on my chest and the bottom of my feet when I can't breathe...and thanks to my mom now I know that it stops the itching of mosquito bites. I have like 10 on each leg right now, so I basically put mentholated on my legs like I would lotion. Oh. My. Goodness. Itching gone. She said if you put it on when you first discover it it works even better and you shouldn't have to reapply.
3) Lee Child and the Jack Reacher novels. One of the great things about being at my parents is I usually get to read a lot. I'm almost half way through a book in one evening and one day. I love reading.
4) Running with my mom and our dogs. We are so out of shape, but we tried! Running in the mountains is so hard.
5) Completely wearing kids out so that they just go to sleep, no questions asked. Jacob was even asking to go to bed.
6) Thrift stores!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are two that I didn't know about in Oakhurst (there's a few more, but these are the two ones new to me). The SPCA Thrift store by the Grocery Outlet, which is behind the movie theater and Raley's parking lot. And then go a little further up there is a New Life Thrift Store run behind the New Life Church. I found some great stamps, some puzzles and books, ladybug knee pads for Riley, some gorgeous picture frames, and some more frames. Anyways, I haven't gone thrifting, like serious thrifting, in about 100 days. I know, because the last time I went was to celebrate 100 days of blogging. Well, happy 200 days!
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