Day 344/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
Seriously, I've made myself the promise, again, that I'll start to think of Christmas gifts well before the last fortnight before Christmas!
With less than 2 weeks to go, I'm frantically making yummy things for gift giving that could have been made months earlier. Jams and favourite chutneys, macerated fruit minces, brandied fruits, crafted cards and gift packaging. All left until the last fortnight.
Next year I'll get it right. I say that each year and then as the Christmas season wears on I completely forget that the best bargains of the year are purchased the day AFTER Christmas. Ribbons and papers and boxes and wrappers at bargain prices! You'd think I'd be in there stocking up for next year. Nope, my stash of cards and labels and papers are decades old. Why? Because I store away the ones I least like, only to mull over them next year, and the next, and the next. This year they are getting turfed. Truly, I can date some of them back 45 years!
My gift giving is centred around hand-crafted and home-made. That means I have all year to think about it, but who really wants to think about Christmas in March? In a way, part of the fun of Christmas is the focus on all things Christmassy, including making wrappers and cards. Maybe this year I'll make a few extras to use next year.
There really is merit in having a list of those you usually gift, along with their interests and desires. You can always check their facebook or instagram account these days to find out what they are currently interested in. Makes that whole job so much easier and much less of a guessing game. Then you can ferret away gifts throughout the year.
That means having a special place to keep all gifts purchased or crafted in advance. Wrapping and labelling them so that you aren't tempted to gift them back to yourself throughout the year. I'd also keep a list of what the gifts are so that I didn't have to remember later in the year. That's if I was clever enough to take my own advice.
How about you? Are you ready for Christmas? Have you left it all to the last minute to juggle all the usual end of year stuff as well as the Christmas gift buying debacle? I wish you well out there.
Maybe next year I'll be more organised.
366 days Towards Self-Mastery
When I considered my New Year's intentions for 2020 I had just one: To allow my heart to love what it loved...and let it lead me. (If not now, then when?)
I've spent months working on integrating my life. To live life more fully with my home life, my interests, my work, my responsibilities, all coming together, all connected. I want to give each the attention that they desire and need, and still have time and energy for the others. That means living and working from the heart.
As I was clearing out my bookshelf over the Christmas break I discovered Simple Abundance. I set it aside to explore it on New Year's Day as I lazed through another delicious day of nothingness. Sarah, the author, says this book is about living in grace. Living in grace I realised, is about Self-Mastery.
My thirst for understanding the human condition has driven me all my life, and hand-in-hand with self-mastery it has been a life-long goal. And seeing as I love to write, that living in grace is about self-mastery, and I love a bit of a challenge, then if I am truly going to let my heart lead, I really don't have any other choice. So scary as it feels, I'm starting out on a daily mission of leaning into the suggestions of this daybook and making a daily post to keep me accountable. If not now, then when?
I'm Josie. You can find out a little more about me here.
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy: by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
This book is written for the Australian and NZ market because it refers to seasonal changes. It's available on Amazon here if you'd like to follow along.