I've become more enamored of podcasts and YouTube videos lately and just trying to look at my life differently. Sometimes when things aren't quite working in the way you would like them to, and you cannot come up with any concrete answers yourself after giving it a think, well you look for outside inspiration to see if something gives a spark to your imagination.
Something that stuck with me that I recently listened to, was about taking a look at how you spend your days. I know in theory, it may sound simplistic, but the words expanded and went a bit deeper.
When you think about how you want your days to look like, it is also important to think about how you don't want your days to look like.
Wow, right?
I know speaking for myself, I've never really given a thought as to how I don't want my days to go. I mean, I know I don't want them to be bad days or anything, but I've never wondered about the things I do not want my day to consist of.
I don't like hurrying and I don't like rushing. I know sometimes that can't be helped, but there you are. I don't like inhaling my first cup of coffee, just to get it in my veins faster.
I don't want my days to constantly be filled with task-performing endeavors. Errands have their place in the grand scheme of things to be sure, but what is their degree of importance? Can things wait?
What do I want my days to be filled with?
Well, I am a mother and a wife, and part of being in these particular relationships require me giving something of myself, naturally. But the other part of me?
That part needs fruition.
I want my days to be filled with creativity and slow living.
Creativity is just a part of who I am, fundamentally at my core. I need to create. It doesn't always have to be writing, although I am passionate about sharing my words. But creativity for me, also encompasses design whether that is craft-making, or changing around my interiors, or making my wardrobe last just a bit longer by coming up with an outfit combination I hadn't quite thought of yet.
Creativity is also experimenting in the kitchen. Making new dinners and desserts that I've never made before. Trying new ingredients and introducing them into our repertoire. Not rushing through the process and stressing but enjoying the feel of the ingredients and slowly putting it all together to make something delicious.
I don't want my days to be filled with frenetic activities, I want slow living. I am still on a journey of trying to figure this part out, to be honest with you. The older I get, the more calm I need in my life. I don't like loud, I like quiet. I need things to slow down somewhat because modern life is becoming too fast for me. Most days, I've felt like a spinning top and any sort of spinning makes me dizzy. I feel like I've been on a carousel that I didn't even know that I was on, and I'd like to get off now, thank you very much.
Like I said, I am still figuring this part out but one thing that I have implemented so far is a daily meditation practice. I try to do it every morning, sometimes I don't get to it until nighttime, but every day, I meditate anywhere from 5 - 20 minutes. It is my uninterrupted time to calm my mind and slow my breath and to just be.
Something that started off as a simple attempt for some breathing room and space has now become a non-negotiable for me. I enjoy meditating and actually look forward to doing my daily practice. I feel so much better afterwards, I really do. And even if the day spirals out of control as days are wont to do, I feel like I am better equipped to handle it because I took a few minutes to center myself and breathe.
I want to spend more time outside especially now that we are entering a new season.
I don't want to be ruled by the clock.
I want more days of meaning and less days of minutiae.
Life is well, basically life and I know that not every day will be the same nor full of bright sunshine and white fluffy clouds. But life is also what we make of it. We either see the birds fly above us and marvel at their color or we are looking down at the ground, wondering what is going to trip us up this time.
I don't want to spend my days pessimistic that I can't stop the hamster wheel.
I do want to spend my days off the hamster wheel, living a full and creative life, slowly and on my own terms.
And I am excited to see where my journey takes me.
Your lovely rendition of what you want your day to be like is much like mine. Finally, I've reached a time in life where all the parts fit into spaces that allow me to be ... just be ... and do what I want to do as well as those daily demands that keep things together. It only took 74 years to master it all. And I'm fairly sure something will come about that will upset the whole well-oiled mechanism of life. C'est ls vive.
This was brilliantly thought-provoking and I really related to what you said about needing creativity and fruition in your life, whether it be actually creating something or living creatively. I also really hate rushing! Here’s to more slow and aligned days xx