Day 234/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
We begin every single day in our "capable, resourceful, upbeat mode", and often take little time if any to consider what's going on beneath the surface. Let's call her CRUM for short.
This morning I don't want to get out of bed, but I put on my CRUM, reluctantly slide out from beneath the covers, and begin to attend to the routines of my day.
The whole day will be spent in CRUM mode, with little, well, let's face it, with no consideration what-so-ever for the reasons for my reluctance to start the day as I did.
When we miss the opportunities to explore beneath the surface we really will only ever experience the CRUMbs of life. (Ha! That worked well! Who'd have thought? Maybe I'm a poet and I didn't know it!)
Sarah suggests today to use poetry as a vehicle to understand ourselves better. Of course this is her journey of 366 days toward comfort and joy, and she is a writer. Mine and yours will be different.
However it's always a great idea to try something different. Something inspired by another's experience.
Poetry has never been my thing, mostly because I have a hard enough time imagining anything at all into my own life, let alone trying to decipher someone else's imagination.
Maybe that's not even what poetry is about. Like any form of art, it's not necessary to figure out what was going on in the artists mind. The real value is in understanding what it evokes in yours.
Notice the feelings, the memories, the unspoken words, the shivers through your body that arise in you? What connections become apparent. Curiosity around the threads between your experiences and the piece of art is where the gold is to be found.
Moments of realisation, enlightened thoughts and solutions to age-old concerns can mysteriously evolve as you contemplate a work of art that captures your attention and stimulates your imagination.
Then why not poetry?
Sarah suggests grabbing a book of poetry from the library and simply pondering one line or one verse as you go about your CRUM sort of day, as a way to learn something more about yourself. Nowadays you might find it easier to google the poetry or author that you might like to explore. Personally I love the feel of a real book.
At times, very few I might add, I have been known to write a verse or two. Is there really a poet in each of us? When school day memories of Shakespearean plays and poems come to mind I drop into a deep comatosed state of depletion. Is there any wonder that poetry is the least likely of my imaginative yearnings.
Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I shall attempt to renew enthusiasm for poetry, even for a single verse. Will you join me?
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.