1:54 p.m. - 2008-01-07
January Blahs vs. Simple Pleasures
Monday, January 07, 2008
Currently Reading
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy
By Sarah Ban Breathnach
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DO YOU FEEL TIRED, BORED, UNINTERESTED IN ANYTHING? Is it difficult for you to think of anything good enough to blog about? Is it almost more than you can bear to brush your teeth and wash your face in the morning? Do you have a headache, or your teeth hurt or it is just too much to breathe?... Do you stay in bed for hours, even though when you finally get up; you feel like you haven't slept at all?
Let me diagnose you....for free....no kidding.... and No, I am not a doctor.... But I am sure you have....
THE JANUARY BLAHS...!
Yes, that's right. The Blahs.... Actually they can come on at any given time but they seem to be a real epidemic about this time of the year. You know, we all worked so hard to get ready for the holidays. We shopped, wrapped gifts, decorated, cooked, baked, cleaned and prepared for company. Then we washed and cleaned and took down all the decor. We found places to store the gifts, we may have even have started ....shudder.... decluttering our homes. But it still got to us. Yep, the January Blahs.
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Someone I know very well has recently made a big change in her life. She has been in a 4 year relationship. The guy is a wonderful man but, as all of us do; he had his faults. He has commitment issues. She realized the relationship was deteriorating. No matter what she tried to do to fix it; she couldn't. And it was to the point that it was hurting more than anything else. So, she ended it on New Year's Eve. She had not planned to end it. But, because of his lack of interest in spending time with her and in particular because he didn't want to even eat a meal with her after they went to a football game; it all just fell apart. She is hurting. She is very sad.
But she is moving on. She is making changes in her daily life. She is opening herself up to new possibilities. She is hopeful. She is brave. She told me that one of the sermons she heard this week talked about allowing one's self to take a chance.
The analogy was that a lobster grows so large; the shell doesn't fit anymore. If the lobster stays in the shell; it never has a chance to grow more, change its surroundings, be open to life's challenges, be vulnerable or open to new possibilities.
So she is being vulnerable. She is moving out of that old - too confining - uncomfortable shell. She is looking for a new place to feel at home. I think she is going to do it. She already signed up for a Habitat house building project. She signed up for a church food project and to help drive people to different events. She is taking a class on Teen Love and Logic which will not only help her deal with her own two children but she thinks it will be beneficial to her in the middle school classes she teaches.
I admire her courage and determination to go forward. I know she feels a bit lost but she is a survivor and I am sure she is going to have a wonderful year in 2008. I wish her the very best and I love her very much.
Now....I need to get off my bottom and do something to get out of the house myself. I received the book,
Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
It is a book of 366 essays, one for each day, with a thought provoking theme for you to read and think about.
Simple Abundance is defined as: 1. an inner journey; 2. a spiritual and practical course in creative living; 3. a tapestry of contentment.
Some of the most recent themes were: THIS ISN'T A DRESS REHEARSAL...meaning that most of us act as if our daily life is just a practice. We hold back. We don't go for the joy. We think we need to save something like a pretty dress or our best china for "tomorrow". Sometimes....tomorrow doesn't ever come.
Another recent essay was entitled "THE WOMAN YOU WERE MEANT TO BE. You may look in your mirror and not recognize the face you see staring back at you. This is called "displacement of self"; it may occur during times of great stress. You think that face looks vaguely familiar but bears little resemblance to the woman you were expecting to see reflected back at you. You have a sadness you cannot name. You miss the woman you used to be. You miss your authentic self. You miss the one little voice who used to tell you...try it, do it...take a chance. The essay says we haven't lost our authentic self; it's still waiting for us to reconnect. Listen to the whispers of your heart.
Here's an essay that really spoke to me. STANDING KNEE-DEEP IN A RIVER AND DYING OF THIRST. The revelation that we usually have everything we need in life to make us happy but simple lack the conscious awareness to appreciate it - is key. Let's choose to quench our "thirst" by being aware of all we already have in our life.
And finally, today's title is HOW HAPPY ARE YOU RIGHT NOW? Do you even know what it takes to make YOU happy? You probably know what to do to make your parents, spouse, children, friends and even coworkers feel joy. What about you? This is reminiscent of keeping a list of gratitudes....What simple joys are in your life. The sound of your children laughing? The purring of your cat? The smell of great coffee? The touch of your husband's kiss? Simple pleasures waiting to be enjoyed. Simple pleasures often overlooked as we go about our busy day.
So....instead of dwelling on the January blahs, I choose to find my simple pleasures today....and every day this year.
And one of the first simple pleasures was writing this blog and turning it from a 'blah" entry to a simple pleasure.
