07/366 days Towards Self-Mastery. Status: blissing out!
An integrated lifestyle has been on my agenda for a while now. I read all about it in the Harvard Business Review.
You know, everything blending into one enjoyable life experience; my family responsibilities, my home responsibilities, my interest, my hobbies, my study and my work. All the bits complementing each other and enhancing each other.
Of course they referenced Michelle Obama, Sheryl Sandberg and Bruce Springsteen as shining examples of a well integrated lifestyle.
Me! I had to wait until I was child-free after several gruelling years of adolescence, physically well enough to tackle a new business and settled back into my homeland after 26 years away.
Figuring out what it takes to integrate my lifestyle came next, and has been an exercise in searching for what really excites me, really spins my wheels. What makes me really happy? Over the year I kinda lost track of that.
Today's inspirational challenge is to embrace moments of happiness that are truly unique to me that appear in my every day.
How happy am I right now? Do I know when I'm are experiencing joy? Do I notice the moments of delight?
Sarah suggests that if you knew what makes you happy, then you'll know what it takes for you to have a happy life.
I've totally got this. I've mastered this one!
Twenty years ago it took 3 excruciating weeks to form a list of 5 things that I found enjoyable. Yep, that's right. 3 weeks. That was misery central, I have to tell ya!
Today!
Splashing fresh warm water on my face in the morning.
Smoothing silky smooth coconut oil over my skin.
My morning walk around my garden, greeting my plant with the company of my kitty.
Patting my cat. Her's name's Tabasca.
Preparing food from my garden in my lovely kitchen.
Connecting with like-minded people - An hour of pleasure was gained today as I chatted with a super interesting woman I met online who has similar interest to me, just to hear her perspective.
Receiving complements - I received the most lovely email from my website today, complementing me on my services and the work that I do.
Gayatri Mantra - my all time favourite background music.
Waking to the morning chorus - my alarm clock went out the window decades ago.
Immersing myself in silence with just the sounds of nature to fill me up.
Witnessing a client come to a realisation that transforms her.
Anagamu - okay, another favourite that gets a good workout as background music.
Searching family heritage - my niece wanted some help to locate birth certificates for her great grand parents who were born in a small village in Italy in the late 1800. She phoned the right person because I love that sort of challenge.
Walking in my community feeling safe and free, through boardwalks, under mature trees, along the creek, and spotting platypus, or is that platypi?
Sitting alone in a park hanging out with a colony of bats and chatting to the trees.
Getting into the beat of a bit of rock and roll as I passed by the gym.
Long conversations with strangers that I meet along the way.
Oh! And writing. I do love to write.
Life! You've gotta love it! After decades of abject misery I've figured out how to love life.
And I'm getting closer to that integrated lifestyle. So far I've got what I love down.
My clients fit in around my day with ease, or it's more that I fit my day around my clients, with ease. I have ambitions for more though, so we'll see how it goes as things develop.
Until tomorrow - figure out what delights you and share it with me below!
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.