Day 163/366 days Towards Self-Mastery
There's nothing quite like an ordered life to bring peace and tranquility to my mind. This discovery dawned upon me when my son was very small. A dear friend pointed out that routine and order were a mother's best friend.
Until then I had lived a carefree life with little attention to timeframes and check lists. A shift worker, I worked all hours of the day and night, and life fitted in and around it.
Motherhood on these terms was a bit chaotic and more than that, it leaves little people floundering in a sea of unpredictability, creating more chaos for the whole family. That aside...
Let's begin with those all important and hugely irritating pieces of paper that enter your life experience on a almost daily basis. I'm exaggerating here as nowadays it's unlikely to be daily pieces of paper. It's more like numerous emails with invitations, requests, bills to pay, subscriptions to renew, registrations to upgrade, online maintenance to attend to.
What do you do with all that stuff? Pretty boxes with decoupage exteriors are probably not your go to. I miss those tactile and beautiful creations that surrounded my desk with order and simplicity. Nowadays it's computer filing systems and external hard drives which even at their best, provide very little inspiration.
Bring order to your life. The human condition loves order, simplicity and harmony.
Find a solution for those sneaky pieces of paper that still come in the mail or that you pick up as you go about your day.
The car rego is the only one that sneaks through my online net and arrives in my postbox. However there are still a host of business cards, market stall flyers, art exhibition invitations and more that accumulate on my kitchen bench through the month.
Currently there's a load of packets of seeds that are too late for this season and sit there tormenting me as I decide what to do with them.
It's tempting to open a drawer and toss everything in. I've done that for years and that drawer has followed me around the many residences that I've lived in, until recently when I decided I could put it to better use.
Take some time to go through all those piles of paper and return most of them to the earth via your garbage bin or recycle bin. The pretty ones for art exhibitions and even chocolate wrappers, I keep for my craft. And when I'm really feeling activated I'll scan and electronically file any bills that arrive in paper form.
Nowadays we don't have to commit due dates to memory. Banking systems, accounting systems, and reminder apps do all the memory work for us.
I love that I can photograph those till receipts and upload them directly to my accounting package.
Bringing order and harmony into your daily habits pays dividends in your mind. How you keep track of those pieces of paper, or important notifications is a daily source of clutter to bring into order. Take some time to create a system that works for you.
Accompanied with great music this job can be very satisfying, and you'll love the space it creates in your mind as you enjoy clean benchtops and know that notifications and reminders are all set up to remind you when the next thing is due.
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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