43 Abundance

"Not what we have, but what we enjoy constitutes our abundance." -Epicurus

43 Abundance

Day 12 of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days project

8" x 8" acrylic painting on watercolor paper 

After a good night's sleep (and even a little extra since I went to bed much earlier than usual due to a bad headache), I'm feeling very energized and back to feeling like myself again and being excited about this project and having the opportunity to create. I didn't think I was sleep deprived as I make sure to get 8 hours every night but I sure do feel like a new person this morning. Sleep is transformative! 

My stillness practice - of sitting and concentrating on my breath for at least 10 minutes every day - has been my foundation. Admittedly, these last two days I've needed to sit longer that I regularly do because I've found it so challenging to still my mind. After 10 minutes I wasn't feeling calm or grounded in the slightest. I felt like the dog from the movie Up who's distracted at the slightest movement of a squirrel. Yesterday, while sitting on the floor of the corner in my basement that I like to call my art studio, I stopped mid-meditation to do 3 different things. I can't even remember what those things were now but they likely had to do with decluttering or moving things around to where I'd prefer them to be. One might have been an idea that I had that I wrote down because I didn't want it to vanish into the ether. Each time I came right back down to sitting still and starting over again until the thoughts settled down to a normal trickle and then let them ride in and out like clouds on a summer day. Giving myself the extra time for centering did the trick so I'm going to continue it today and enjoy the gifts that come from it. When we take the time to listen to our bodies and make time for stillness our truths unfold.

Today, I'm going to take the added measure of reducing the mindless social media browsing and allow more times for tiny pockets of stillness weaved into my day. I've realized that when I do this I have more clarity. It's the doing part that's the difficulty. With the ability to always have sensory input and stimulation at the push of my iPhone power button, I find that small parts of my day that might have been filled with looking out at the trees or letting my eyes linger on the photos on my fireplace - the times of breathing space and mind rest - have been replaced with scrolling Facebook or Instagram and I'd like a little more of the peace back. Doesn't a little more peace sound ohhhh. soooo. goooood? I'd love for you to join me if you think it would be helpful to your peace of mind.

Comments

[Trysimplelife]

Oh I so agree with you about the need for breathing space and mind rest. I too am very guilty lately of replacing that peaceful time with mindless scrolling through social media feeds. I just started to become serious about this today. At lunch, I forced myself to turn my back to my computer and phone, and stare out the window at the sunshine while I ate. I also removed Twitter and Facebook apps from my phone so I don't get all the notifications. Instead, I am going to check them once a week on my computer (that's the plan!) After work, I tried to limit my phone time to one episode of Instagram before dinner. I kept that on my phone as I do smile when I see other's posts. I feel like I am in recovery admitting to these small steps lol!

I also need to reduce the number of blogs on my blogfeed and pare it down to those that resonate with me; yours is one of them I want to keep :) You inspire me to slow down, create and enjoy life more.

[Lisa Cohen]

Good for you, Lisa! I think its something that I need to repeatedly be more vigilant about. Its just so easy to get sucked in and then be like, Oh, man, whered the last 90 minutes just go? Moving the apps so that they are out of sight is a great idea. Ive done this with my Facebook and Twitter too (though Twitter isnt my downfall, its Facebook, Instagram, and reading blog posts in Feedly) but Ive kept Instagram a one-click app (i.e., the app is on my home screen and not in a folder or on another page). I just did a little sweeping up in Feedly too and I cant recommend it enough. Our interests change, as do our reading preferences, so it makes sense to edit the content we consume for better clarity.

Were both in recovery! So youre in good company. LOL. I think just being aware of these things is a step in the right direction. I love the calmness and inspiration from your life that you share on your blog and when I added your blog to my Feedly reads I deleted some others.  I dont/cant always do that but its nice when I am so that Im not just adding to the pile of things I want to read but actually *refining* my reading list.