Archives for posts with tag: sufficiency

One Very Good Day

September 26, 2018 //

Yesterday was a good one. Productive at work, minimum hassles, an easy commute in both directions, a comfortably chill evening that was also an evening on which I got a few things done; it was lovely.

I sit sipping my coffee and considering it, smiling, feeling content. It’s not that it’s some specific requirement to give yesterday more time, today; it’s just a great practice to make time to savor good moments. Doing so regularly has the power to slowly rewire my brain to be more easily able to bounce back from stress, to live in the context of implicit recollection (and limited certainty) that more difficult moments will be quite temporary, and that life is, generally, good. I have found it a highly effective practice, and along with practicing explicit willful gratitude, it is a practice that has taken me a long way from those dark days, well behind me now, of being mired in past trauma and present stress.

The day begin most delightfully with a ludicrously easy commute. I hit all the lights green. There just wasn’t anyone in front of me. It was… relaxed. There was that big full moon in the sky. It was quite pleasant and utterly stress free. I got into the office, got the work day started, and noticed that big beautiful moon sinking low over the city. I made time for that moment, right then and there, and alerted a camera-toting coworker of the opportunity to grab a couple cool city shots, each of us, sharing that experience with each other. It was fun. A great way to take a break.

One lovely moment. One beautiful city.

The day continued from that point, a series of moments, a series of opportunities, a series of choices. It was a very good day. The evening, and even the commute home, was equally pleasant, and, yes, productive. I managed to get a few things done before yielding to fatigue and arthritis pain, and those things were more merely the end of a day, than any hardship. Balance. It was… worth remembering. 🙂

So, I sit here with my coffee smiling. One nice thing about such an extraordinarily pleasant day? I experienced that, which means it can occur, and if it can occur, and has occurred at least once previously, it could occur again, making it all quite possible. I like that idea. 🙂 It wholly undermines that annoying experience that is characteristic of despair – the feeling that nothing good can come of anything we say or do, and that only bad outcomes truly exist, and well, fuck… then why bother, at all, it’s only misery and more misery, anyway? Yeah. Not pleasant. Also – not true. 😀 I can do better.

I notice the time. I finish my coffee. The day awaits, and it is time to begin again. 😀

Tags are you going my way?, be here now, be the change, begin again, being and becoming, breathe, choose wisely, cityscapes, emotional self sufficiency, experience, good self-care, I am my own cartographer, mindful living, mindfulness, mindfulness for beginners, mindfulness matters, my home my rules my way, p.s. I love you, perspective, practicing the practices, ptsd, shooting the moon, sufficiency, taking care of me, TBI, The Art of Being, The Big 5, the map is not the world, there are verbs involved, walking my own path, what matters most?

Categories Allegories, art and the artist, autumn, Brain Injury, Despair, Free Will, Healthy Living, inspiration, Logic & Reason, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Moments, Parables, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Practices, The Art of Being, The Big 5

Software Upgrade – It’s Banned Books Week!

September 25, 2018 //

Hey, don’t forget to upgrade your software. You know we become what we practice, sure, but don’t forget we can upgrade our own software anytime – through the magic of reading! It’s true. It’s even a wonderful time for it; it’s Banned Books Week!

If you’ve been following along, you’ve already watched this video, and maybe you’re also experiencing some difficulty getting into a book (and maybe you remember when it was much much easier to do)… It’s not too late to take back your attention span. It’s going to take practice, and it’s going to take a very specific new beginning. Are you ready for it? Here’s how it works:

Turn off your device, or at least silence your notifications.
Pick up a book.
Begin reading.
Keep reading.
Go back to reading.
Seriously, are you not reading?
READ!

Yep. It’s that easy. 😉

If you’re not sure where to start, there are plenty of lists you can start with… here. Here. Here. Over here, too. One thing there is no shortage of? Books. Read some!

The ease and convenience of the Internet is no substitution for learning a subject with depth, or enjoying a long involved tale, or riding the emotional roller-coaster of poetry. Kind of a similar magnitude of difference as between “small talk” and deeply intimate conversations, actually. No need to coast through your existence being unimaginably facile, though; books exist (and so do deeply intimate conversations between very authentic people).

I’ve got a stack of books that I’ve not yet read.

Books, rather pleasantly, also give one time to soak things in, and give full consideration to new learning – no rushing necessary. I often set one aside and come back to it with greater appreciation or understanding, or having taken time to cross-reference a point that needed some clarification (or just to look up a word I didn’t understand in that context). Books don’t “turn it into an argument” if I disagree, either, they just wait for me to turn the page and learn more, which may broaden my perspective.

…You may be getting the impression I’m a huge fan of reading. 🙂 I am. It’s true. It’s a thing. I love to read.

I don’t read as much as I once did. Internet. I can clearly correlate the decline in my reading to the increase in my time online. Huh. I bet my software is way out of date as a result. It’s time to upgrade!

It’s time to begin again.

What are you reading?

Tags a quiet afternoon of reading, are you going my way?, ask a librarian, banned books, be the change, begin again, choose wisely, experience, grab a book, I am my own cartographer, listening deeply, perspective, pick up a book, practicing the practices, ptsd, read!, reading list, recommended reading, step away from the device, sufficiency, taking care of me, TBI, The Art of Being, the map is not the world, there are verbs involved, unread books, walking my own path, what are you reading?, what matters most?, words words words

Categories autumn, Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, inspiration, Logic & Reason, Mindfulness, Moments, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Practices, The Art of Being, Words

Headphones, No Music

September 14, 2018 //

I slept in a bit. I’m glad I did; I needed the rest and have a busy fun weekend ahead. I smile and have another drink of my off-brand fizzy water. I didn’t really feel like putting in the effort to make an exceptional cup of coffee. I also did not feel like drinking a crappy cup of coffee. So… coffee can wait.

It’s okay to choose. I’m not “on rails”. A common result of making a plan and forcing into action, even in the face of other circumstances, needs, or inclinations, tends to be less than ideal execution, and sometimes an anecdote-worthy crappy experience. It’s not what I’m going for. I woke up thirsty; I’m drinking water. I was tired; I slept until I was rested. I needed to really relax yesterday evening; I spent the evening making the choices that got me there. This morning, I put my headphones on, drowning out the sound of traffic on a rainy morning, but don’t much actually feel like music (or sounds) this morning; I didn’t turn any on. 🙂

This is a weekend that looks on track to unfold with an unusually high amount of spontaneity. I’d made some plans to do some things, but I find myself mostly just interesting in being. It’s enough. These aren’t choices that “change the world” in any grand sense, but they do change my experience, and I am both in, and of, the world…so… small improvement, then? With enough of that sort of thing, the world is indeed changed. (And in that sense, our self-care, and good general regard for ourselves, and our common decency to others, is in fact world-changing!)

One or two more things I’ll take care of before I get on the road. My glasses are smudgy… and somewhere around here I have lens cleaning cloths… I put them where I could not forget them, so, obviously, I’ve no idea where they are now. LOL Start the dishwasher… take out the trash…

…Begin again. 🙂

Tags are you going my way?, be here now, be the change, begin again, choose wisely, emotional self sufficiency, good self-care, I am my own cartographer, mindful living, my home my rules my way, perspective, practicing the practices, ptsd, sufficiency, taking care of me, TBI, The Art of Being, the map is not the world, there are verbs involved, walking my own path, what matters most?

Categories autumn, Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, Mindfulness, Moments, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Practices, The Art of Being, Words

3 Mondays & 1 Moment

September 13, 2018 //

This was a weird week. Work felt like 3 Mondays – and I believe 3 Mondays make a case (…of the… lol. I know, it’s bad.) Yeah. So. Today, though? Not a Monday.

The morning started with a foggy drizzle and chilly, still, air. No breeze. No traffic. The commute was easy. I don’t remember it in any detail, aside from the pure moment of delight as the signal light at intersection after intersection turned green immediately ahead of me. Bliss! I maintained a disciplined eye on my speed, marveling at the sequence of intersections, and enjoyed the uninterrupted momentum. I wasn’t speeding, wasn’t going slow… just… driving. It was lovely.

I parked and stood in the chilly morning cityscape for some minutes, just breathing, listening, watching. It felt… mischievous and tempting. I considered getting back in the car and going… where? Somewhere. Somewhere new, or strange, or… away. Ah. Is that it? I smile at the morning, gray and misty. Am I needing “a getaway”? Cuz… that usually means I’m not taking care of myself, and have made that infernal “to do list” a bit too long. I nod wisely to myself, as if I think I know something, and head to the elevator to enjoy a few hours of feeling like I know things.

I got home less concerned about knowing, and more focused on being. It’s a chilly evening. I turn on the gas fireplace. I make a cup of tea. I put everything else aside and properly care for this fragile vessel, and the woman in the mirror.

…At least for the moment, I am not concerned with politics, the scary world we’ve made, how mean people can be to each other, the cost of living life, my health, mortality, or bank account. I’m just sipping this cup of tea, and taking a few quiet minutes. (You think I’m writing; this laptop is balanced carefully in my lap, I am seated on my meditation cushion, with a cup of hot tea gently perched on my knee – a sneeze could be very costly right about now – and I am sitting contentedly with my thoughts, and the lovely view of autumn arriving slowly, and only writing now and then… and almost not at all.

I sit awhile.

Then awhile more.

I finish my tea, and continue, seated… relaxed.

…

…Sometime, later, I begin again. 😉

Tags 3 Mondays, a case of the Mondays, be here now, be the change, begin again, breathe, emotional self sufficiency, give me a minute, hang on a moment, I am my own cartographer, just one minute, listening deeply, MBSR, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness for beginners, mindfulness matters, perspective, practicing the practices, ptsd, slow down for slowing down, sufficiency, taking care of me, taking time, TBI, The Art of Being, the map is not the world, there are verbs involved, walking my own path, what matters most?

Categories anger, Anxiety, Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, Mindfulness, Moments, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Practices, The Art of Being, The Big 5

The End of Summer

September 11, 2018 //

That was my first thought when I got home last night; this looks like the end of summer. A soft rain was falling, and the deck was littered with fallen leaves. I turned off the A/C, probably for the year; an open window will be adequate from this point, most likely.

…I think to check the weather. My assumptions, my internal narrative, my recollections of prior years… none of these rise to the level of “facts”; I check the weather, this morning. My musings on an autumn-feeling evening are not relevant to my experience of what the weather may be on a late summer morning. There is rain in the forecast, and a high of 68. Yep. That’s autumn. 😀

It’s time for change.

The seasons are changing. The wheel continues to turn. There’s no avoiding evolving without actually quitting the journey entirely. We’re aren’t really made for standing still.

I take a deep breathe, and glance at the clock. I finish my almond milk chai latte with lingering amusement that I woke too lazy to make a cup of coffee. I don’t have to settle for that, with myself. I shrug and smile into the pre-dawn darkness.

It’s time to begin again. 🙂

Tags be here now, be the change, begin again, choose wisely, emotional self sufficiency, I am my own cartographer, mindfulness matters, perspective, practicing the practices, ptsd, sufficiency, TBI, The Art of Being, the map is not the world, there are verbs involved, walking my own path

Categories Allegories, autumn, Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Moments, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, The Art of Being

One Very Good Day

Share this:

Software Upgrade – It’s Banned Books Week!

Share this:

Headphones, No Music

Share this:

3 Mondays & 1 Moment

Share this:

The End of Summer

Share this:

Archives