Today was a long day. You know those days? It was a very early start (did you know there is a 4:30 in the morning? Who knew?) to get the boy to the airport. I wanted to watch the sunrise at the beach but I really wasn’t dressed for the rain. So I headed back to my warm house, and instead of going back to bed, I did what I used to do before quitting my job; I did my meditation and morning pages as the sun rose. It was lovely.
The rain stopped then so I took a nice long walk and after hubby went to work, I got a little more exercise by vacuuming the floor. I am super grateful to have such a lovely big house, but I am also really looking forward to my nice little minimalist flat with hardwood floors and a fucking Roomba!
Having less stuff is not just about having an empty house. It’s about freeing up the time that is currently spent maintaining said stuff.
Pico Iyer says that real luxury is not a matter of the things you have but of all the things you can do without. I can’t work out if that’s truly profound or nonsense, to be honest…
Okay so not having a car is contingent on the luxury of having time to walk everywhere; or living close to work/school whatever…I think that’s kind of what he means.
So after that salubrious morning, I went to the office with the plan of #gettingshitdone but first I treated myself to a coffee. I have been obsessed with having coffee for a couple of days and I finally gave in after patting myself on the back yesterday for 30 days without it. I sat down with my lovely almond milk flat white and opened the magazine on the table to this quote.
My first thought was “oh fuck off Nadia” but I know she’s right. I have been feeling a little blah the last two days. I mean, yesterday I didn’t post a blog. It just felt a bit pointless. I haven’t been eating clean and I certainly haven’t been disciplined about my writing.
My excuse is that this week in September is always a bit rough with major anniversaries and I get quite distracted. I really do spend a lot of time wondering what the hell I am doing and why.
The I employ a technique that Eric Maisel and loads of other creative coaches suggest; changing your mind or mindset reset.
I forgot that we have to REMIND ourselves daily what we want and why we create. We need loving self-talk, positive language and perspective shifts. Why do I write? I certainly don’t have to write to earn a living (although I wish!). I write because I love writing. I love telling stories. (I know some writers say that they don’t enjoy the act of writing, but they love the feeling of having written. I get it because I hate cleaning the house, but love the feeling of having cleaned! Is there anything better than a freshly cleaned house for a writer? Better still, the boy is away ’til Sunday so it should stay relatively tidy. Haha, sorry Boy.)
We have to use the morning pages, our meditation, affirmations or even just a handwritten note stuck to the mirror to remind ourselves why we’re here because we humans have terrible memories and we have important work to do! We can get so distracted by the shiny things that we forget to live simply and simply live, or we get distracted by the gaping holes that we want to fill with all the things we think we’re missing. Either way, we’ve forgotten what is truly important.
It’s not what we go through in life, but how we go through it. We could have more money than the King of Saudi but still not have enough. We could have someone who loves us the way Kanye loves Kanye and still feel lost and alone.
It’s all in the mind.
Some of my vipassana techniques.
I meditate on the things that are healing or teaching me.
Deepak says to ask “Am I Aware?”
Of what, am I aware? (Our awareness resting lightly on those sensory elements around us.)
Then we ask, Who is the I that is aware?
This is a good one.
Some other questions I ponder while in meditation, especially at the moment when I am experiencing some imbalances in my base chakra (back problems, people! gah!)
What am I doing to disturb my inherent health and happiness?
What am I not listening to?
Thought provoking! Thank you — love the questions about being aware.