I invite everyone to share your link to your What I’m Into blog posts in the comments below and let your community know that you are doing so. We’ll do this every month, next on Wednesday, May 1. I’d be honored if you would spread the word.
Whew! As I type this I am exhaling from the month of March. Oh March! You were filled with incredible highs and implausible lows. I am in awe of the magnitude of what I have experienced. Yet, I’m still here – a little stronger, a little wiser, and more at peace than I have ever been in the entirety of my life.
- For most of March, my family has been fighting this flu-like, but not flu-like virus that has hopped from one person to the next, and seemingly went around again. So, for most of this month, I have been stuck at home. Which turned out to be a good thing because it was my intention to focus on the home front and continue the process of tidying using the KonMari method in March. I’m sharing my experience with you and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, head over here to check it out. Being at home gave me no excuse to not get into that third category of papers that I had been dreading with every fiber of my being. But I got it done and you can look for all the details in the next week or so.
- The day that I essentially finished tidying my papers, I felt another moment of the “life-changing magic” that Marie Kondo describes. I can’t wait to share it with all of you. I was riding high.
- Then a week and a half ago, my family experienced a low. Prior to my work of intentionally being uncomfortable, being in the present and doing the “next right thing”, this experience would have broken me. The Hubby gave me fantastic advice, which he generally does whether I can see it as such at the time or not. He said, “do whatever you need to do to be who you need to be at this time.”
So, with gratitude, I encourage each of you to develop the tools that you need to stay sane, now. If you don’t know what they are, experiment until you find what works for you. For me, what’s working is:
- Moving my body – my favorite is running in the early morning as the sun’s just coming up. That time of quiet and serenity has been vital to my sanity as life has swirled around me.
- Writing – via journaling and even sharing my experiences with you on this blog.
- Meditating/Praying – I am learning that I can combine this with running and with writing for greater impact.
- Reading – books and magazines, both nonfiction (inspirational, etc.) and fiction (to take my mind off things). Emily P. Freeman’s new book, The Next Right Thing, releasing tomorrow, has been a Godsend for such a time as this. I wrote a full review here.
- Listening to Great Music – sometimes you just gotta create a playlist. And more importantly, listen to the playlist that you created. Why is that so diffcult?
- Talking to someone – close friends and family and a professional. If you don’t have someone to talk to, reach out to someone. Don’t worry if you are rebuffed. Reach out to someone else but keep reaching out. Don’t give up. Find the person(s) that is there for you, even if you must pay them. And if you already know who they are in your life, sincerely thank them.
Thank you all for reading this blog. Thank you for linking to your content. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey.
enjoy life…
I am getting new bookshelves so that I can see all my books. Right now, most them are stored behind each other because while my bookshelf is very wide, it is not very tall. After I get the bookshelves and as I place the books on the shelf, that I will probably purge some more. My bookshelves will be constantly evolving: highlighting the girl I was and showcasing the woman I am now while pointing the way to who I hope to become.