Even if we spend a lot of money on gifts for everyone in our family,
nothing we buy could give them as much happiness
as the gift of our awareness,
8/16/19
Time
I was thinking this morning after my walk how we aren't really living a meaningful life if we never stop to contemplate it and enjoy, LOVE, whatever moment we are in, no matter how difficult.
When I was the mother of many littles-babies who stay up all night, or toddlers that wake at the crack of dawn, I never really was very successful at carving out time for myself to just stop and journal and enjoy. There was always a need, something to be done, a list of things that were necessary for doing a good job at my mission-the mission of motherhood, being the keeper of the home and our life here.
But when I am really honest, and we all need to be, there were so many unnecessary distractions-distractions every single human is vulnerable to. But it's a catch-22. Because if you stop and think, and spend that time in the present moment, thinking about the purpose of life, and enjoying that stage, it is so much easier to not allow those distractions into our lives.
Distractions-what others have, and what I want, and ways to be "successful" and if she can do it why can't I, and this is hard, I'm not doing a great job, and things have to look a certain way now, and in the future I want, and in the past I wish, and in 6 months it will get harder, or easier, or I want this much money, or let's set this goal to have, and I want to make this look like this, and I am willing to waste money doing so, even if it's just a farce of illusion from a magazine or a blog or what someone else has accomplished. I want to be this thin, why can't I, and start a new system of doing this or that, read this blog and I'm doing it all wrong and why aren't we like that family, or that other one.
I can go on and on.
It's the constant bombardment from our society-a culture we choose to torture ourselves with-that robs of us real joy.
It's the crazy expectations that are all wrong, are the opposite of what life is about.
It's not settling in. It's not presence. It's not gratitude really, or at the least it's definitely not contentment with here and now. And that takes work, everyday and is the ONE THING that will completely change our lives as mothers.
I had a million and one excuses to not fit that daily prayer/contemplation/journaling/meditation/quietness into my life.
And not ONE excuse is or was or will be ever valid.
So if I can tell you all one thing-if there is any younger mothers out there still reading, this time set aside every day will change your life more than anything. It really is what you are seeking, not any of that distracting junk.
If you can step back and look at the big picture of the incredible life you are leading, the enormous job you are doing every day, and just be content with it all, you will find a peace within you, that blesses your home more than anything else could.
When I was the mother of many littles-babies who stay up all night, or toddlers that wake at the crack of dawn, I never really was very successful at carving out time for myself to just stop and journal and enjoy. There was always a need, something to be done, a list of things that were necessary for doing a good job at my mission-the mission of motherhood, being the keeper of the home and our life here.
But when I am really honest, and we all need to be, there were so many unnecessary distractions-distractions every single human is vulnerable to. But it's a catch-22. Because if you stop and think, and spend that time in the present moment, thinking about the purpose of life, and enjoying that stage, it is so much easier to not allow those distractions into our lives.
Distractions-what others have, and what I want, and ways to be "successful" and if she can do it why can't I, and this is hard, I'm not doing a great job, and things have to look a certain way now, and in the future I want, and in the past I wish, and in 6 months it will get harder, or easier, or I want this much money, or let's set this goal to have, and I want to make this look like this, and I am willing to waste money doing so, even if it's just a farce of illusion from a magazine or a blog or what someone else has accomplished. I want to be this thin, why can't I, and start a new system of doing this or that, read this blog and I'm doing it all wrong and why aren't we like that family, or that other one.
I can go on and on.
It's the constant bombardment from our society-a culture we choose to torture ourselves with-that robs of us real joy.
It's the crazy expectations that are all wrong, are the opposite of what life is about.
It's not settling in. It's not presence. It's not gratitude really, or at the least it's definitely not contentment with here and now. And that takes work, everyday and is the ONE THING that will completely change our lives as mothers.
I had a million and one excuses to not fit that daily prayer/contemplation/journaling/meditation/quietness into my life.
And not ONE excuse is or was or will be ever valid.
So if I can tell you all one thing-if there is any younger mothers out there still reading, this time set aside every day will change your life more than anything. It really is what you are seeking, not any of that distracting junk.
If you can step back and look at the big picture of the incredible life you are leading, the enormous job you are doing every day, and just be content with it all, you will find a peace within you, that blesses your home more than anything else could.
8/14/19
I Love August-Ordinary Days
School supply lists with checks and cross outs.
New shoes.
Locusts buzzing in trees.
Comforting texts from mom friends all feeling the same.
A reason for ice cream every night.
Closets weeded out and straightened.
Summer growth recorded with pants too short and too tight.
Bathing suits hanging from hooks.
Zucchini bread, zucchini fries, zucchini.
Arrivals and departures.
Rooms that endure arrivals and departures.
Excitement.
Nervousness.
Bright sun.
Puffy clouds.
Bike rides.
Cooler mornings.
Darker evenings.
Memories.
Sweetness.
Melancholy.
New shoes.
Locusts buzzing in trees.
Comforting texts from mom friends all feeling the same.
A reason for ice cream every night.
Closets weeded out and straightened.
Summer growth recorded with pants too short and too tight.
Bathing suits hanging from hooks.
Zucchini bread, zucchini fries, zucchini.
Arrivals and departures.
Rooms that endure arrivals and departures.
Excitement.
Nervousness.
Bright sun.
Puffy clouds.
Bike rides.
Cooler mornings.
Darker evenings.
Memories.
Sweetness.
Melancholy.
Are all little girls hoarders?
We did some fun estate sale/rummage sale shopping and I found so many awesome things. My Etsy shop dream just might come true.
Someone was in heaven at a friend's birthday party.
Andrew as my brownie making buddy when he was tiny and now I have two.
Many new GORGEOUS babies added to extended family and Janey and I might just be in heaven.
From my garden. Ivy, hydrangeas, hosta and ferns-don't need anything else.
A gorgeous sunrise, new routine and gift of an ordinary day.
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