Day 93/366 days Towards Self-Mastery. Mood: feeling reassured
Trusting your instincts is about trusting your gut feelings, and for a raft of reasons that come flooding into my mind, that's not easy for a lot of people.
Please be patient and kind as everyone tries to figure out what is best for them and theirs.
We are experiencing exceptionally unusual and unsettling times. Even with the best intentions we still find ourselves immobilised by strange and uncomfortable feelings in the pit of our stomach. The feeling that we're not safe, the feelings of powerlessness, the feelings of ambiguity and uncertainty about what's next.
We might even find ourselves questioning everything we do, even when we take that trip out to the supermarket, or connect with a friend who coughs. We're worried about things we never thought twice about before.
Each step of the way forward is a step closer to knowing ourselves deeply.
When you get those uncomfortable feelings, stop. Breathe. Allow them. Be curious about them.
How are they impacting your life right now?
Has your mood changed?
Are you lashing out at others?
Be curious about what it is that's unsettling you. By taking the time to feel into it you might just reveal some answers that you've been glossing over by trying to make things feel more comfortable.
By simply slowing down, experiencing everything that is there to be experienced, we are able to access our creativity for imaginative solutions that work best for us and those we are caring for.
It might be something completely unfamiliar but you've had the inspiration to try it to see how it goes.
When I discovered that this waiting for inspiration was giving me more useful information than anything I'd learned before, I realise that I was missing an enormous resource by doing my old rick of glossing over things and turning up with "I'm ok".
I was ok, but I was much better for allowing myself time and space to feel what I was feeling, to getting curious about it and trying something new.
Stop, breathe, get curious, try something new.
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.