Day 267/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
The conflict between working in our passion, immersing ourselves in what we love, and paying the bills is a real one. Our worldview around how we earn money and how much we need to earn to support lifestyles consistent with said worldview are in direct contradiction with a life of living authentically and on purpose.
When we work in our passion it is often unlikely to generate a regular income to meet the schedules that are set up for our bill payments, at least initially. Why is that? Well, mostly our passions are in direct opposition with the economic plan for our culture.
We have built a life, especially in the West, based on consumerism of a lot of unnecessary stuff, and to continue to support that we either rely on filling aimless jobs ourselves, or worse, we contract it out to developing countries so that we can work in trying to earn more money to buy more stuff.
Living on purpose, immersing yourself in your passion requires very little lifestyle maintenance if you undertake to live simply. By living simply, I mean without all the expenses of unnecessary and hardly life-enhancing extras we sometimes call luxuries. Annual overseas holidays come to mind, that new handbag, new dress, new pair of shoes, and enormous home with unused bathrooms and bedrooms in which you spend little time.
Seriously, I know that once in a while a little luxury is welcome and exciting, but a weekly shop to the gift stores, candle shops, fashion houses, or the travel agency trying to keep ourselves stimulated and engaged in life isn't the answer.
I don't have all the answers about how and when money will arrive as I live my passion. What I do know is that the more I build capacity, the more I am able to receive. Those receipts come in all forms that are magic and unexpected. I am never without, and I am grateful for everything I receive.
My commitment to this path is absolute in spite of the often surfacing concerns that I have lost the plot. What I know is that I am content, I am happy, I am doing what has meaning for me, I am growing and expanding as a human being, I am becoming more. That's enough right now.
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.
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