My thoughtful daughter-in-law gave me a little gem of a book,
Meditations For Women Who Do Too Much by Anne Wilson Schaef
Not wanting it to sit on the shelf with so many others I collect with every good intention of reading, I aim to gather these daily meditations and weekly get a post written about these daily thoughts.
January 1
Anne begins the year by reminding us to avoid the temptation to think we have to "get caught up" and "close out" the old year. In doing so, we're already setting ourselves up for unrealistic expectations in how much we can cram into a day. We have to stop trying to always "get it right" and learn that it's ok to give ourselves a break and just live, one day at a time.
January 2
"We are powerless over our workaholism and our busyness, and our lives have become unmanageable."
This isn't saying we are weak or powerless as a person. It is saying perhaps we need to be willing to realize we can be powerless over our busyness and something has got to give.
January 3
"So at an early age I witnessed the fact that work was of the first importance, and that it justified rather inhuman behavior." Mary Sarton
Many of us have such trouble having power over our busyness because that work attitude has been ingrained into us since childhood. We value ourselves by how much we can get done, as if we need to convince ourselves and others that we are worth our very existence. Work before play has been the model many of us followed by witnessing how our families lived their lives. The problem is that the work never gets done, we get tired, we get older, and we get bitter.
January 4
"Time heals all heels." Jane Ace
People who work too much tend to lose the ability to laugh at themselves and with others. They tend to feel so pressured with all that is going on that they take things personally and view a little poking as a put down. Good humor is very healing for both ourselves and for others. We need to be healers rather than heels. We all have it, it doesn't die, it just gets buried.
January 5
"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Chicken Little
Crisis, deadlines and pressure can become so "normal" that we can actually become a little bored when life settles down. To live any other way than with the "this too shall pass" attitude is too exhausting for our mental and physical health. Adrenaline isn't meant to be coursing through our bodies all the time. It is ok to multitask, it is not ok to feel drained all the time.
January 6
"We live in a system built on illusions and when we put forth our own perceptions, we're told we don't understand reality. When reality is illusion and illusion is reality, it's no wonder we feel crazy.
Anne Wilson Schaef
We live in a society where there is an illusion of control, an illusion of perfectionism, and an illusion of objectivity. When we participate in any of these illusions, we are deceiving ourselves, and when we deceive ourselves, we lose ourselves. Denial is very strong in our society and the "truth speakers" out there are usually not very supported. Perhaps that is why those who shy away from the norm so often feel out of sync and just don't feel they fit in.
January 7
"Changes (in life) are not only possible and predictable, but to deny them is to be an accomplice to one's own unnecessary vegetation." Gail Sheehy
Change can be a bit scary. Many people put forth a lot of energy trying to keep things from changing. The attitude that "it has always been this way therefore there is no need for things to be any different" is not going to help us grow as human beings. Having order and control in one's life is fine, but to become so rigid about anything different is to become stagnant. Lillian Smith says, "When you stop learning, stop listening, stop looking and asking questions, then it is time to die." Life is like a stream. To resist going with the flow either saps a lot of your energy or has you standing on the bank watching it pass you by.
No comments:
Post a Comment