Day 312/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
For eons of time people have connected to nature, inside and outside of their homes. On the ancient walls of Greek and Roman and Egyptian temples there is evidence of the appreciation of nature.
If you are lucky enough to have your own garden it becomes a while lot easier, however even if you don't you can do as the ancients did, and those of us who love to be surrounded by nature do, and adorn your home with botanicals.
When it comes to choosing prints for my home, I'm all about sifting through the botanical themes. When it comes to my art, I want to perfect my hand at botanicals themes in watercolour.
And whilst I love flowers, and especially roses, it's not practical nor within my budget to have a vase of roses to delight me in my office nor living room, nor bedroom on a regular basis.
Instead I have become very adept at arranging foliage, even wild foliage from the surrounding bush lands, to brighten my day with the scents and visuals of botanicals.
My home is blessed with a bushland surrounds, evergreens visible from every angle. So lucky am I.
A recent trip to a nearby parklands yielded gifts from every tree and with them I have created a beautiful autumnal arrangements of seeds, pods, leaves, bark, gum nuts and more, a visual masterpiece if I don't mind saying so myself.
There's a very real reason that we are enchanted by botanicals. When we enter the bushland or parklands we immediately feel calm and at peace with the world. I don't know anyone who doesn't find some sense of well-being when they surround themselves with nature.
When the energy of nature is measured it is said to be coherent. Nice smooth waves of energy that settle our system and bring us back to the calm that makes life and living vibrant.
When we are alive with the joys of life, in sycn with the natural rhythms of the day or season, consume living fresh food and stable fresh living water, exercising gently and regularly, our body is able to be well and healthy and functioning to support us. Then too our natural rhythm remains coherent.
However our busy lives, driven by deadlines, immersed in wi fi, anxious and worried about making ends meet, comparing ourselves, striving for nebulous goals, this creates an incoherence in our system that benefits from the steady health-giving rhythms of nature.
Spend as much time in the beauty of nature as you can. Fill your home with botanicals. Connect with your natural rhythms. We are nature. Every cell and atom in our body is made of the stuff of nature. Be nature. Be naturally rhythmical and coherent in your life.
Exuberance and joy are natural ways of being. If we are striving for anything, let it be to live life fully and with excitement.
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.