I’ve been Missing in Action. The Day Job completely derailed my life last week. A major machine failure, a minor fire, and the usual staff comings and goings – it’s been all hands on deck. I am thanking any deity within earshot that this has happened now and not in 5 weeks time when we will be insanely busy. Right now we’re just regular busy so it’s doable. Another silver lining to this particular cloud is it’s forced us to get another machine fully functional – something we’ve been working on for 2 years on and off. As I left work this afternoon, hubby was grinning from ear to ear because that machine had processed it’s first sheet properly and spat it out the other end ironed and folded! A thing of beauty if you’re in the linen game!
My search for a new cover designer also forced my hand this week – to subscribe to Photoshop and re-learn how to use it after 12 years. I was pretty happy with the result from the stolen moments I could spend in front of the computer, but when I did a test-upload I realise I still have a steep learning curve ahead of me.
There are just over 30 days left of this year. I’ve been doing #last90days as I have for the past 2 years. In keeping with the rest of 2020, the past 60 days have been an interesting ride, We’ve dealt with a serious number of retrogrades simultaneously this year, and Neptune was last to finish for the year. When Neptune goes retrograde our spirituality, inner tranquillity, and vision become the focus and that has certainly been true for me. I’ve been known to disappear up my own ass at times and while Neptune’s been in the murky backwaters, so have I. He went direct today and I am super grateful for the reminder to get out of my head and into my body,
So…my challenge for December is to do a series of sun salutes every morning. I’ve started already to get a run up. This is something I was doing at the beginning of the year, lasting until early May when my entire practice fell away during lockdown.
A gratitude practice has always been an integral part of #last90days. I like the suggestion by the founders of the movement (Rachel Hollis and Dave Hollis) to write specific events or things we’re grateful for from the previous 24 hours rather than just trotting out the same ol’ laundry list of ‘partner, kids, cats, etc.’
But then Emerson also said, be grateful for all things because they have brought you to this place.
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”
– RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Here’s a reminder of Rachel Hollis’ 5 to Thrive.
- Hydrate. Drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water every day to flush toxins from your body and ensure you don’t mistake thirst for hunger.
- Wake up earlier. …
- Give up one category of food for 30 days. …
- Move your body every day. …
- Practice active gratitude.
One area I am struggling with is the need to move my body more, hence the sun salutes.
The last 30 days of the year have been ear marked for a #30DayMentalChallenge with author Mitch Horowitz. As regular readers know, I LOVE a hashtag and I love a challenge and while I have promised myself to get out of my head and into my body, the next 30 days I will be focussing on all the positives in my life.
During this time I resolved to impose definite restrictions on my thoughts. In thinking of the past, I would dwell only on its pleasing incidents. In thinking of the present, I would direct attention to its desirable elements. In thinking of the future, I would regard every worthy and possible ambition as within reach.
https://mitch-horowitz-nyc.medium.com/the-30-day-mental-challenge-d8da0013a3c9
This is quite a challenge for me because during the Neptune retro I have been going deep into my shadow and doing a lot of EFT (tapping) to heal past traumas. I’m basically digging around in my psyche for any little traumas I can heal, aka, I am picking at emotional sores and I want to stop doing that. It’s crucial to know ourselves but sometimes it’s better to put the old stuff down and just relax for a while.
The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.
William James
Healing is important but sometimes the cure can be worse than the illness.
Then there’s the Law of Attraction side of it… Like a lot of people I read The Secret and watched the movie years ago but I always felt it was quite empty, consumerist, and reliant on a lot of wishful thinking. In Spiral Dynamics terms, it’s very Orange. Everyone I knew back when it was all the rage seemed very focussed on material things like mansions and new cars, trappings of wealth we grew up seeing on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and now we see plastered all over Instagram. A lot of people were faking it and not making it. Perhaps it’s not surprising that the GFC came just after this huge push for big houses, flashy holidays, and fast cars.
This #30DayMentalChallenge is a very personal approach to individual success, working Orange in the positive! Mitch offers his email address for anyone who wants to share their stories but not once is he recommending anyone go make a vision board to post on socials or suggesting we blast our goals from the rooftops (or on Twitter). We simply need to stay focussed on the positive in past, present and future tenses to all while working towards worthy and possible ambitions.
A positive outlook, daily action no matter how small, and discipline, are key here.
Something else to think about…
“We mustn’t let our passions destroy our dreams.”
ANONYMOUS
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