Day 88/366 days Towards Self-Mastery. Mood: confident
It's early days in the CV-19 crises in Australia, and it's worth reflecting on the progress that other countries have navigated to where they are today. Hold what you read and hear lightly and make sense of how it might apply to you here in Australia and our situation.
Here in our corner of the world, we are in the "going into hibernation" stage of isolation. We're getting a feel for what its like to spend the day at home with the children, adjust our life to new priorities and dealing with the strange feelings of having our routines disrupted.
Not to mention having to work our way through the loss of jobs and income, and living with the uncertainty of where our next funds will come from. Check my blog on making financial adjustments to support you through this time.
Today's inspiration from Sarah's book "Simple Abundance" is to consider parting with what is no longer useful.
Yes we are still working on the wardrobe, and we can use this idea to prepare for the future that may look completely different to what we've come to expect.
I'm trying to use this time and Sarah's inspiration to guide us forward in these unusual circumstances when nobody is remotely interested in fashion! There seems to be merit though, in reframing her focus to support us now.
Take all your clothes out of your wardrobe, and spend a few hours going through each piece, reflecting on your life when you purchased, loved and wore it last, and decide which pieces are no longer of value to you.
As an exercise of decluttering, now is the perfect time to do this task.
As we are working through what we can do with this extra time, our usual to-do lists are no longer a priority, beginning with decluttering your wardrobe is a valuable project.
Decluttering lightens the load mentally and physically
Decluttering is a great way to free up your headspace for the unusual and sometimes difficult decisions you will be facing now and in the near future.
Often we put off this task and fight our wardrobe every day to find something that we want to wear. My suggestion is to par it back to those things you wear and take the rest out, putting them aside.
It will open up your physical space, you'll feel lighter, and it may even be reflected in your respiratory system, enabling you to breathe more freely. Our body responds to the environment we live in.
Do the same with accessories, handbags, and shoes.
Later
If you think ahead a little, with so many people unemployed, the economy stalling, and prices rising in the supermarket, what are your thoughts about how the future might look and your needs there?
Prepare for these times now.
If Australia follows the lead of other countries with regards to the progress of CV-19, then we can expect to reach a time when having something to trade might just be what we need.
It could supplement your income for the short term and / or provide you with a valuable resources to trade for essentials down the track.
Building resilience
At this time the next step to building resilience is to think ahead, expect the unexpected, and figure out how you can make the most of the situation now.
It's about being practical and resourceful.
As you declutter your wardrobe, consider how you might make use of these items to support you sometime in the future.
Clean, fold and care for the better pieces. Put them away safely somewhere, perhaps in a suitcase and keep them for the time being. You can take them to recycle boutiques later on or trade them for essentials if need be.
Other pieces can be bagged for rags which might come in handy, or given away to charitable organisations who might be looking for clothing for the homeless or otherwise disadvantaged.
None of us know for sure what the future will look like. We do know what today looks and feels like, and we can use our time to build in some solutions that could be assets later on.
Stay well.
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.
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