I started reading today and Sarah's first quote
had me thinking about The Lion King and the circle of life.
"There's more to see than can ever be seen,
more to do than can ever be done.
There's far to much to take in here,
more to find than can ever be found.
But the sun rolling high, in the sapphire sky,
keeps great and small on the endless round..."
Sarah quotes Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
"So many worlds, so much to do
So little done, such things to be."
Then Sarah tells us about Flannery O' Connor.
Now lets just be honest,
a lot of the people Sarah mentions I've never heard of,
and Flannery is no exception.
But boy am I glad to have heard of her now;
there are so many interesting people in the world
and so many amazing stories.
Start Quote
What her close friends remember best about Flannery
was her determination to revere and savor the gift of every day.
Her close friend (and editor of her letters), Sally Fitzgerald,
calls it "the habit of being,"
a deep joie de vivre that animated her daily round.
Flannery's passion for life...was "rooted in her talent
and the possibilities of her work, which she correctly saw
as compensating her fully for any deprivations she had to accept,
and as offering a scope for living that most of us
never dream of encompassing."
Her mornings were sacred, reserved for her writing,
but the rest of the day was devoted to being Flannery.
The habit of being
- the exultation in the present moment -
is an exquisite concept, one that could
enrich our lives beyond measure.
We're all habitual creatures, but usually we practice
the habits of doing:
getting up, making breakfast, getting children
off to school and getting ourselves to work.
Then there are our habits of brooding:
projecting into the future, dwelling on the past,
nursing old wounds, holding imaginary conversations,
indulging in comparisons, conducting endless
mental calculations about money, gnawing on regrets,
second-guessing inspiration, ruminating on
problems at work, anticipating the worst.
The habits of brooding are rooted in the past or the future,
and they can rob the present moment of all
harmony, beauty, and joy.
But what if, as curators of our own contentment,
we deliberately cultivated the habit of being:
a heightened awareness of Real Life's abundance?
The habit of being is a grateful appreciation
for the good surrounding us, no matter what
our circumstances might be today.
What if you knew there was always going to be
a simple pleasure to look forward to every few hours?
What if you made sure there was?
How do you think you would greet the day?...
Once you commit to cultivating
the habit of being,
nothing in your daily round will lack meaning
because you'll discover that the meaning
is within you.
End Quote
You can do this.
It's just another way to look at life,
it's just changing the way you see things.
Isn't it funny?
How something so simple and ordinary
can change into something extraordinary
just by seeing it differently?
The objects don't change,
our situations and circumstances might not change,
it's just us.
We change.
Lets change for the better.
***
Gratitude Journal
***
1) Self Care. I really needed it tonight. I got my night off, so right after dinner I took a bath. I shaved my legs for the first time since goodness knows when, and scrubbed every dead skin cell off of my body, gave myself a mani pedi, I even tried one of those mask things. Sure, it took me 4 hours, and I still had to blog, but it was worth it. I'm pretty sure if I did a little more self care every day, it wouldn't take 4 hours.
2) Hot water and epsom salt. So good.
3) Finishing a costume. All three kids are done, now just Robbie's and mine to go.
4) Accepting that I'm not perfect. So all of the kid's costumes aren't perfect, they are hastily done and not 100% accurate. I had to accept today that I wasn't shooting for 100%, I was going for pretty darn close, and I know I got pretty darn close. I also royally screwed up dinner. That was lame...at least it still tasted good. Accepting that you're not perfect is really relieving, it takes a huge load off. I'm so grateful for all the opportunities I'm being given to practice "I did my best and it's good enough. I am enough."
5) It's time for bed. Is it really only Tuesday?
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