Unscheduled (Nurturing Thursday)

August 4, 2016 · 8 comments · Categories: Musings · Tags:

I had in mind to get my Nurturing Thursday post up bright and early this morning because I’d been posting them later than usual this summer, and I felt like I had been slacking and ought to do better. But as it turned out, I couldn’t use the computer early in the day because of massive (and somewhat buggy) Windows updates yesterday, which caused a backup to fail last night. My husband started the backup again this morning, and it had to run for a long time.

That turned out to be serendipitous, though. I started thinking about the value of a relaxed attitude toward time as part of self-nurturing, and that ended up becoming today’s post. I asked myself, what’s the big deal anyway about posting blog entries on a schedule? A blog is supposed to be fun, not work. It shouldn’t feel like looking at the clock and filling in project codes on a timesheet.

Shiny brass analog clock.

So, my self-nurturing resolution for this week is to just let my blog posts flow naturally while having fun writing them, and banish all thoughts of slacking!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Letting Monkey Mind Out to Play

August 1, 2016 · 2 comments · Categories: Musings · Tags:

When I was little, I enjoyed the Curious George storybooks about a pet monkey getting into mischief. My dad saw how much I liked them, and he started telling me bedtime stories about a mysterious creature named Goosey Poosey who secretly lived in our basement and got into things when we weren’t looking. Although I investigated the basement pretty thoroughly and never found anything, my dad assured me that Goosey Poosey was very good at hiding.

I recently thought about those stories in relation to the “monkey mind” that gets in the way of meditation. The monkey mind is the part of the mind that just can’t sit still and be quiet but is always full of distracting chatter, like a monkey making noise. However much we try to keep the focus on peaceful feelings, there’s a mischievous little part of the mind that keeps peeking out and wanting attention.
 

Monkey with big eyes peering over a log.

(Creative Commons image via flickr)
 

Usually people think of the monkey mind as an annoying obstacle that needs to be pushed aside through willpower. I wonder, though, if perhaps there’s a worthwhile message from the subconscious in there somewhere. Maybe our inner monkey pops up to let us know that we’re being too serious and not giving ourselves enough freedom to let our thoughts wander along creative paths.

Quieting the mind through meditation helps to set aside worries; but humans, by our nature, are a creative, storytelling species. Our brains were never designed to be in full control of every thought, but instead to make random connections and intuitive leaps, often through play. When we impose too much structure and discipline on our everyday lives, we’re likely to turn to meditation as a way to relieve the stress—but maybe, sometimes, what we need more is just to let Monkey Mind out to play.

Looking Brighter (Good Things)

July 31, 2016 · Write a comment · Categories: Musings · Tags:

My oven gets cleaned regularly because my husband is so well organized, he sets calendar reminders to turn on the self-cleaning cycle. That makes it much easier because there is very little ash to wipe up afterward. But I have to admit that when it comes to oven mitts, I don’t have that level of organization. Last week I realized that it had been about five years since I bought oven mitts and, well, they looked like it. So I got new ones when I bought groceries on Thursday.

Pair of red oven mitts on the kitchen counter.

Now the kitchen is looking brighter with new oven mitts instead of the old faded ones, which were still functional but had a few rips and stains. Small kitchen items like that are cheap, so I wasn’t trying to save money by not replacing them sooner; I just hadn’t given it any thought. It makes more of a difference than it might seem, though, because when we regularly see shabby worn-out stuff we’re subconsciously left with feelings of lack and stagnation. Bright new little things coming into the house make it feel like there’s plenty of abundance and good cheer!

* Good Things is a weekly series featuring the many unexpected joyful things that show up when clutter and stagnation have been cleared away. It’s meant as a reminder that life is always full of happy little surprises, when there’s enough space for them!

Beautiful (Nurturing Thursday)

July 28, 2016 · 8 comments · Categories: Musings · Tags:

Although most of us don’t go through life expecting to be perfect, we do tend to see our flaws (whatever they may be) as more of a problem than they really are. Truth is, most people don’t even notice them, and we are just pointlessly wasting our time worrying about nothing! So, for this week’s Nurturing Thursday, I decided to post a little reminder that everyone has plenty of flaws and that beauty—of both the inner and outer variety—does not require perfection:

Word-art that says "You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful" -Amy Bloom

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Fun Flavors (Good Things)

July 25, 2016 · Write a comment · Categories: Musings · Tags:

Last year my husband gave up caffeine to improve his health. He bought decaf K-cups, but some of the flavors were not that interesting. And what’s the point of drinking decaf unless the flavor is good enough to get the morning off to a good start? So, last week he bought an assortment of decaf Crazy Cups, which have fun flavors like “Death by Chocolate” and “Frosted Oatmeal Cookie.”

K-cup carousel with assorted "Crazy Cups" decaf.

I like them too; and although I haven’t given up caffeine, I do agree it’s best not to overdo the stuff, and having a variety of options is always good!

* Good Things is a weekly series featuring the many unexpected joyful things that show up when clutter and stagnation have been cleared away. It’s meant as a reminder that life is always full of happy little surprises, when there’s enough space for them!

Always Weeds (Nurturing Thursday)

July 21, 2016 · 16 comments · Categories: Musings · Tags:

Birds and small animals occasionally drink from the little fountain on my front porch (shown here). Today I saw a chipmunk and was going to take a photo, but the chipmunk was scurrying away under a bush by the time I got back there with my phone. I noticed that the bush needed mulch and that a few small weeds were coming up around it.

Small weeds under a bush that needs mulch.

Of course, there’s always something in the yard that has weeds or is otherwise in need of maintenance—we expect that. Then I started wondering, why do we expect so much more from ourselves than from our gardens? We wouldn’t complain that a garden was a bad garden for having a few weeds, but we criticize ourselves for all kinds of small imperfections. We might do better simply to accept the fact that, just like the yard, we’re always going to have a weed here or there!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Delicate Care (Good Things)

July 17, 2016 · 2 comments · Categories: Musings · Tags:

This past week was rather quiet. On Friday, my husband added a jug of vinegar to the grocery list, for cleaning the hard water stains off our boat. I wondered what sort of sponges to use. Plain soft sponges might not get those spots off, but kitchen scrub sponges might be too harsh and leave scratches on the carbon fiber. So I looked around at the supermarket and found a pack of “Delicate Care” scrub sponges.

One sponge in an open pack of three Scotch-Brite "Delicate Care" scrub sponges.

The hard water spots came off quickly and easily, with no problems. And that left me thinking—sometimes it’s useful that our consumer economy has so many varieties of whatever we might want. Although everyday items can end up as clutter if we’re not careful, buying the right tool for the job doesn’t always mean it will end up in a heap of stuff that never gets used again. What’s needed is a healthy balance.

* Good Things is a weekly series featuring the many unexpected joyful things that show up when clutter and stagnation have been cleared away. It’s meant as a reminder that life is always full of happy little surprises, when there’s enough space for them!

A Mysterious Box

July 16, 2016 · 2 comments · Categories: Musings · Tags:

Here’s a puzzling post for readers who enjoy dream interpretation! A few days ago, I dreamed that I had a large box, which looked like a coffin. The police were investigating me because they suspected I might murder someone and put the corpse in the box. I thought that was ridiculous because if I had any plans to commit a murder, I wouldn’t get a coffin ready first, like Clint Eastwood in the movie A Fistful of Dollars:

“Get three coffins ready…”

Now I’m left wondering why my subconscious mind wanted to give me a coffin-shaped box. Maybe it’s telling me that there is something in my life that needs to get buried, or boxed up and put away, such as old habits or ways of thinking that no longer serve me well.

The investigation could mean that whatever might get buried or put away is unknown. Maybe the police are there to stop me from going too far and “murdering” some part of my life that is good and healthy. The dream could have been telling me not to worry because it wouldn’t actually happen.

If any readers have more suggestions, feel free to post them—I’m curious!

What We Have (Nurturing Thursday)

July 14, 2016 · 4 comments · Categories: Musings · Tags:

Because there are so many consumer goods and advertisements for them in today’s world, people often feel poor as a result of not being able to buy everything at once. Even though many of us actually have lots more stuff than in the past, it doesn’t always feel that way. So, when those ads make us feel like we don’t have enough, it’s best to keep in mind that the most important things in life have nothing to do with money.

Word-art that says "Some people are so poor, all they have is money."

Having an expensive house and buying all the latest cars and gadgets may be fun, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that a person is rich in what really matters.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Summer Colors (Good Things)

July 10, 2016 · 6 comments · Categories: Musings · Tags:

Earlier this year, I put a box of store-brand facial tissues in my bathroom because the supermarket gave some away for free to get people to try them. I wasn’t much impressed. The box had a plain, boring design, and the tissues felt coarse and hard. When I needed a tissue, I usually went and got a Kleenex from somewhere else in the house instead. That box sat on the bathroom counter for months.

When the freebie tissues finally got used up, I bought some real Kleenex in a box with cheerful summer colors, which immediately made the bathroom feel like a brighter and happier place.

Kleenex tissues in a blue, green, and white box on my bathroom counter.

And then I wondered why the heck I hadn’t done it sooner. Avoiding waste may generally be a virtue, but using up every one of those cheap tissues the supermarket gave away while they left my bathroom looking blah for months was taking frugality to an extreme!

* Good Things is a weekly series featuring the many unexpected joyful things that show up when clutter and stagnation have been cleared away. It’s meant as a reminder that life is always full of happy little surprises, when there’s enough space for them!

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