Day 195/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
The isolation and restrictions to movement for this COVID experience began in early March. It's now mid-July 2020. So that makes it about 18 weeks of living differently.
At the outset, perhaps because of my familiarity with contagion from my nursing background coupled with my own chronic respiratory concerns, my natural reaction was to ensure that my pantry was stocked with the staples for any emergency.
Planning your shopping is not only a time saver, but also keeps your supermarket spending under control. My staples are well memorised, thanks to having to plan carefully when I was weary, pregnant and building a multi-million dollar business.
It was a time I relied heavily on checklists. Checklists of shopping for pantry items, protein, fruits and veggies and personal needs was a life-saver.
Sarah suggests having a file of about 15 favourite meal recipes complete with side dishes and desserts. That would have helped as well, and still would today. There's nothing quite so tiresome as the boredom of the same meals served up too frequently with little variety to break the monotony. That I am guilty of.
Note to self. Write that list of favourite meals, and update the shopping checklist.
With lifestyles that are generally time poor, it might be a good time now that we have more on our hands, to make that checklist, work out a new meal plan, and plan to cook more home-cooked nutritious meals.
Frequenting the supermarkets less often will mean less impulsive buying and more money in your pocket. At a time that many people have lost their jobs, mortgage payments and other loans acquired during more prosperous times are looming, managing the household money efficiently is a priority.
And take a serious look at living more simply going forward. These times are upon us without warning. Life's like that. It sneaks up on you and happens in unexpected ways.
During prosperous times it's worth putting funds aside for emergencies such as these. Living prudently and simply can bring peace of mind and a sense of abundance that large debts will never allow.
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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