Day 275/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
In a world that values hard work, striving and the promise of a luxury lifestyle, workaholism and perfectionism become valued and sanctioned. Is there employer on this fine earth who doesn't value a perfectionist?
The pursuit of perfectionism breeds workaholism, and consumes us. We wear it like a badge of honour and are rewarded by the puritans who vehemently believe that God's grace is achieved through back-breaking work, grinding self-discipline and demanding struggle. Thank you Sarah for this fine description.
Well, that's one worldview that I discovered enslaved me.
It wasn't an easy decision to trust life. You might like to think of it as trusting God, or trusting spirit. For me it was about trusting in the very essence of life itself.
We came into being effortlessly. Everything we see around us in nature thrives effortlessly. Why do we think that like needs to be a struggle? Where did the notion that we need to make everything hard work originate?
There is a difference between working diligently and with purpose at something that you love, that has meaning for you and that has purpose in the world, and working hard just because you need to, want to or are compelled through an addiction to hard work to keep your hands busy.
My father worked hard all his life to resource a large family. He loved what he was doing from daylight until dusk. Each morning he awoke refreshed and renewed to spend the day doing what he loved. From this I took faith.
On the other hand we children were kept busy with all manner of menial tasks to keep our hands busy and our minds occupied so that we didn't have time to explore and imagine the world we wanted to create and live in. In this way we lost the point of the exercise. Our menial tasks were meaningless in the scheme of things and conditioned us to the puritanical hard work ethic that left us limited and bereft of imagination.
Taking the leap of faith into trusting in the flow of life restored my health, and set me on the path towards self-mastery. My life is meaningful, simple and exquisitely happy during moments of stillness. It is full with creative space and appreciation for the joy of life and all things living. It is constantly unfolding as I move towards an embodied sense of my purpose here on this green planet.
Are you living your best life?
Are you looking into the future and saying, "When..."? Are you imagining that there is no way out of where you are right now? Covid-19 has come along to remind us of what is important in life. What have you discovered?
It's time to live your best life. You too can trust in the flow of life, and hang on for the ride of your life. You are stronger than you know, more resilient than you can imagine and more resourceful than you think.
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.