Day 327/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
Those blessed Christmas bells are ringing in the department stores I'm sure of it!I haven't been near them for years but I can hear and feel them through the ether! It's a frenetic time for most people and challenging for many of those who subscribe to spending their hard earned money on gifts for all the family.
There is at least one thing that I am eternally grateful to my family for, and that is the gift of giving from the heart and not the wallet at Christmas time. I'm sure it has had an enormous impact on my emotional and mental health as I see those who are either suffering from too little or suffering from too much.
So let's talk about priorities.
As you're coming into the Festive Season how is your health going to hold up? And when I speak of health I'm speaking about physical, emotional and mental well-being. You could easily add financial well-being in there as well because it sure will impact your mental health!
What plans if any do you have to support your overall well-being, and how will you know when to pull back and self-care?
This time of year we often forget this important priority in favour of keeping up with the Christmas cheer. Seriously, I love Christmas, but I have no time for meeting other's expectations at the expense of my health and well-being. My Christmas will match my budget and that includes my gift giving.
Your body has a drive to thrive. If you are able to tune into that you'll plan a Christmas that will support you. Your body, totally and completely connected to and impacted by your emotional and mental well-being, is always sending you clear message of how anything and everything that you are making contact with is impacting your well-being.
Tune in, check in, and take note.
You don't have to focus on your body's health all the time, nor worry too much as long as you are taking the steps to live in a healthy and wholesome way. Your body's drive to thrive will always point you in the right direction.
I eat well, it hasn't always been that way'll confess I, so I'll enjoy the Christmas goodies, knowing that the day after Christmas I'll return to my normal eating patterns. I don't drink alcohol unless there is an occasion, so I'll enjoy a glass or three on Christmas day.
My plan is to be with people I care about and avoid those that disturb my mental and emotional equilibrium. Not always easy but this year we have COVID as our friend, and a great excuse!
Christmas comes around every year. Your health and well-being are your greatest treasures. Do you appreciate that? We often don't until we no longer have them.
Feel into your body, and tune in to see if it is giving you a definitive YES or an absolute NO to your choices. Trust it as it knows how to thrive.
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.