Day 351/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
What an incredible year 2020 has been. I think it's a good day to spend in reflection of the year that was.
It's never occurred to me to spend a day in reflection of the events and lessons and experiences of the year gone yet that seems to be a very appropriate ritual to begin to form this year.
Sarah suggests to practice this ritual on your birthday but I'm thinking today is as good a day as any.
My gorgeous companion cat, Tabasca, has been fed, the beds made. I have a freshly made coffee on my bedside table and I've lit a candle for 2020. The day is warm, the humidity is high. It's not a day for productive garden or housework.
It's a perfect day for inner work. Inner reflection touching on the pain and sorrows of 2020, the joys and jubilations of life changes that they have heralded in, the end of an era of study and so much more.
To breathe deeply, allow my emotions to flow, thoughts to emerge, energy to settle. A parade of beginnings and endings, gains and losses, new starts and anxious future dreams. Let it all wash over me as I reflect and absorb, let go and relax into the end of this most unusual and life-changing year.
Covid itself has had very little impact on me, yet I am aware of the devastating impact it has had on others. I've become acutely aware of the impact on many people's fragile mental and emotional well-being in my local community and in the world at large.
There are family stories and incidences with elderly family members that consumed energy and commitment and changed lives to reflect upon.
There is the end of my studies and an unpredictable future to ponder and settle into comfort with.
There is Christmas with family at a time when gathering is fraught with not only the anxieties of meeting again in usual dysfunctional patterns but also the added risks of covid as a potential guest.
There is the commitment to life that I make every single day, to embody deeply and wholly.
It feels like a worthwhile and valuable reflection, a day of ritual to honour the year that was, to tie up loose ends, properly grieve for any losses and equally, celebrate any wins.
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.