I wanted to share some changes I've been making in my life lately in the interest of living simpler.
I rearranged my room so that my "office" was in the smaller part and my "bedroom" was in the larger part (since I have this wierdly and amazingly shaped attic room). I did this to reflect my change of heart: work is not the highest priority for my bedroom. Rest, entertaining siblings, reading, and enjoying ARE.
I quit AWANA and started helping in youth group because in youth group there's praise and worship and it's less stressful and I don't have to work with little kids ALL week (teaching ballet).
I decided to walk slowly. (Unless I'm walking with my mentor Paula - heh heh)
I'm trusting God with the coming together of this year's ballet recital, and if I feel stressed out, I force myself NOT to work, because it's always a downhill spiral from there. If I think I can get on top if I just ----. I'll chase it to the end of the world. But if I STOP, STOP trying to get on top, then I might enjoy the journey.
I decided not to stress about things I can't fix. I can not get all the pictures up in my ballet studio before the first day of classes, because I can't find a frame that fits this one picture and others can't go up till that one does. So. What.
I stopped setting my expectations unrealistically high. I'm only one person, and I don't have to save the world.
White space is not wasted space. Margin is not marginally important.
I believe that small things are big things.
I look my siblings in the eyes when I talk to them.
I look for ways to invest in EVERY relationship I want to keep.
I've decided to not worry about being a perfect friend, and just to offer what I've got. In the same vein, I'm not going to worry about only investing in perfect friends. We're all broken people, are we not? And we are beautiful people... people with gifts I want to receive.
I will not stress about reading. It's not a chore or a must. It's a gift for certain days and not for others.
I CAN get rid of that shirt I bought and never wore. Yes, I wasted money. But I'm not going to waste any more space - physical or mental! (Thank you Haley at thetinytwig.com.)
I can live with less stuff. Maybe even live better with less stuff. (Thank you Allison Vesterfelt.)
I must process.
"Know thyself," said Socrates, a maxim I've sought to follow for most of my teen years. To continue learning to know myself is the key issue for me. It's not something I should just stop. If I get out of touch with me, I'm out of touch with my passions, hence priorities, etc.
And the most recent:
I treat my life like it's beads on a thread. When I'm focused on one bead, I shift all others and the worries attached to them out of the way. They are clear of my heart so I can focus my presence on the priority at hand.
It's not about enumerating the beads. It's not about organizing them or deciding which bead to use. It's about the visual image of pushing all else aside to be in the moment. It's about letting the moment be itself, with nothing else clinging to the vestiges of my memory. Letting it be peaceful.
I have a rest bead, a one-on-one chatting bead, a conflict resolution bead, a processing or introspective bead, a listening to my siblings bead, a paperwork bead, a teaching bead, a creating bead.
Note that I don't have the to-do bead or the surely-I've-forgotten-something bead.
If let them back on, my life would be again the roller-coaster it was. No more.
Any of these resonate with you?
I rearranged my room so that my "office" was in the smaller part and my "bedroom" was in the larger part (since I have this wierdly and amazingly shaped attic room). I did this to reflect my change of heart: work is not the highest priority for my bedroom. Rest, entertaining siblings, reading, and enjoying ARE.
I quit AWANA and started helping in youth group because in youth group there's praise and worship and it's less stressful and I don't have to work with little kids ALL week (teaching ballet).
I decided to walk slowly. (Unless I'm walking with my mentor Paula - heh heh)
I'm trusting God with the coming together of this year's ballet recital, and if I feel stressed out, I force myself NOT to work, because it's always a downhill spiral from there. If I think I can get on top if I just ----. I'll chase it to the end of the world. But if I STOP, STOP trying to get on top, then I might enjoy the journey.
I decided not to stress about things I can't fix. I can not get all the pictures up in my ballet studio before the first day of classes, because I can't find a frame that fits this one picture and others can't go up till that one does. So. What.
I stopped setting my expectations unrealistically high. I'm only one person, and I don't have to save the world.
White space is not wasted space. Margin is not marginally important.
I believe that small things are big things.
I look my siblings in the eyes when I talk to them.
I look for ways to invest in EVERY relationship I want to keep.
I've decided to not worry about being a perfect friend, and just to offer what I've got. In the same vein, I'm not going to worry about only investing in perfect friends. We're all broken people, are we not? And we are beautiful people... people with gifts I want to receive.
I will not stress about reading. It's not a chore or a must. It's a gift for certain days and not for others.
I CAN get rid of that shirt I bought and never wore. Yes, I wasted money. But I'm not going to waste any more space - physical or mental! (Thank you Haley at thetinytwig.com.)
I can live with less stuff. Maybe even live better with less stuff. (Thank you Allison Vesterfelt.)
I must process.
"Know thyself," said Socrates, a maxim I've sought to follow for most of my teen years. To continue learning to know myself is the key issue for me. It's not something I should just stop. If I get out of touch with me, I'm out of touch with my passions, hence priorities, etc.
And the most recent:
I treat my life like it's beads on a thread. When I'm focused on one bead, I shift all others and the worries attached to them out of the way. They are clear of my heart so I can focus my presence on the priority at hand.
It's not about enumerating the beads. It's not about organizing them or deciding which bead to use. It's about the visual image of pushing all else aside to be in the moment. It's about letting the moment be itself, with nothing else clinging to the vestiges of my memory. Letting it be peaceful.
I have a rest bead, a one-on-one chatting bead, a conflict resolution bead, a processing or introspective bead, a listening to my siblings bead, a paperwork bead, a teaching bead, a creating bead.
Note that I don't have the to-do bead or the surely-I've-forgotten-something bead.
If let them back on, my life would be again the roller-coaster it was. No more.
Any of these resonate with you?