admintina

It’s always refreshing getting ready for Spring. Spring brings to my mind new life and new beginnings; however, it is also a time of getting ready.  It was traditional in our home to spring clean, which meant we would have the house in a state of chaos for about a week.  We would tackle the project in some cases one room at a time, the bedrooms for example, and the main living rooms became a disaster as we removed, washed, rearranged, and then put it all back together again.  As girls we hated this part of spring because it was a lot of work and it lasted for a long time.  Had we thought and then planned the project out we could have avoided maybe a few extra moves and a few extra days to our spring-cleaning yearly ritual.

Our homes can and I believe should be our sanctuaries especially now as the world seems to be in a constant state of chaos.  We all need that place where we can BE and allow all the tensions built up during the day to be expelled from our bodies in one deep cleansing breath.  One of the many benefits of spring cleaning is to create and invite new energies in and remove what has become stagnant during months or even years because we’ve become too busy just surviving.  I continue to believe that as humans we are here to thrive, learn, grow, love, and live our lives the best we can.  Sharing with others in ways meaningful to us is an important part of what we are here to be and do.

What Can You Do Right Now

What can you do right now to create a more harmonious, tranquil, and loving space for you and your loved ones?  I would suggest following the simple steps, which I have done and found to be helpful to me.  I share in the hope that they will also help you if you choose to follow them or that they inspire you to begin creating your new home sanctuary.

First, KISS it!  Keep it simple smartie.  Begin by not creating chaos in the process.

Second, take a few minutes or hours and consider where it would be most important to begin, so that you will see immediate results.  Best to start with a common area room that is going to take only a few adjustments like changing out pillows, placing a new plant in the room, etc.

Third, once you are inspired look around your home and change the location of the furniture, or exchange furniture from one room to another and without having to buy anything new you have created new room.  Important to keep it to 3 areas of each room that you decide to tackle.  If you are anything like me, you will get so inspired that you just might create more work than necessary.  The objective is to KISS it (keep it simple smartie) and create the first rendition of making your home your sanctuary. 

When you are out of practice of seeing your home and life with fresh eyes, the very simple and mundane idea of spring cleaning, moving a few items around to create a new way of viewing your home may seem too simple and won’t have enough gusto for what you may consider too much effort.  As my sister likes to remind me, “Perfection is in the Practice”.  Have compassion for yourself and remember that any step taken is a step in the right direction.  Keep the vision of what you want to achieve and make those small and simple adjustments that will see you having more energy and drive to accomplish them.

I’ll end by suggesting that when you come upon resistance from yourself or anyone else you consider asking yourself this question, “If this is so, what else is possible” and remember that really your world is your oyster.

What do you think of when you hear the word “Relationship”?  Most of us first think of romantic love, the love for our children, our parents, our friends.  But how many of us stop to consider the love for ourselves?  How does this love show up in our lives?  Is this an area you never even think about?  Is it something you’ll focus upon when you are not so busy or preoccupied with making it through whatever is your current focus?

Many of us know we should be making time for ourselves but there just never seems to be the right time.  We say we want a different reality and all we seem to do is continue our journey on the hamster wheel.  What keeps you in perpetual movement and yet not feeling like you are getting closer to your wishes and dreams, and all those things you talk about with your friends?  Could it be FEAR?  Fear of not knowing what you truly want.  Fear you are unable to live your dreams.  Fear of where you’ll end up when you do something about your dissatisfaction with things as they are.

There are many reasons for you not taking action.  One of those reasons I propose is that you may not like yourself now and what if you end up disliking yourself even more?  I find it interesting that we loftily speak of loving ourselves, it’s a noble emotion after all.  But liking ourselves is so ordinary and because it’s so obvious and a commonplace idea it is often overlooked.

My husband has always paid me what I consider the highest of compliments, when he tells me how much he likes me.  He says that while he loves me what seals it for him is that he likes me more.  When he says this to me, it helps me to remember to look at what I DO and don’t like about myself.  More than at any other time, due to the division and insecurity of current events facing ourselves may feel like it’s just too big of a burden to tackle now.

When will be a good time?  When life has left you exhausted trying to keep a happy face on? When illness comes to visit? Or when your life has been turned upside down by a death or a separation?  I claim that until our relationship with ourselves is addressed, we will continue to be on the hamster wheel instead of behind the wheel of our own lives.

Yes, it takes desire and courage to move toward your dreams no matter how big or how small or insignificant they might seem.  Afterall they are your dreams, and you are deserving of living them out right here and right now.  For too long we, especially women or those in nurturing roles, have left ourselves out of the equation of needs as we serve our businesses, our jobs, our families, our friends, our communities.  You can’t do any of these things if you don’t first fill up your own cup and give to others the overflow.

How would it feel and look for you to have a life of more harmony brought on by finding the balance between the aspects of your life so that you are in the driver’s seat en-joying what you are creating and living each day?

I am so grateful and blessed to these months of February and March to focus on the important facets of my life; our home, new lifestyle (retiree husband) and time away from the conflict and division currently distracting from the inner work we ALL can do to bring each and everyone of us closer to knowing ourselves as human beings and soul beings.

Today as I chatted with a dear friend and she shared her thoughts with me, she uttered the word “simmering” referring to my current state of BEING.  I had observed that during this past year I have enjoyed viewing the outside from the vantage point of being inside my apartment home and my house home.  Observing the outside has helped me see the beauty that exists before my very eyes and that all of us take for granted because of its utter simplicity.  The other thing observing from the inside the outside has done is shown me the importance of being surrounded by beauty and order.  Taking the time to put our house home back together after being away for almost 2 years and because of repairs done, I realized that I AM no longer willing to wait to bring back “inside” the joy of being surrounded by the things that are meaningful, practical and functional.  These things bring order, joy, beauty, peace and love to my life as the main ingredients that “simmer” daily and create the soup that is allowing me to live my life fully.

Beauty helps us remember what is important and allows us to drop much of what no longer serves us to live our life EN~JOY.

I invite you to find ways in which you can bring beauty back into your life in whatever way you want to begin.  You can look at your home, at your career or education, or spiritual practices or your relationships.  Begin with one as the first step of your path to wholeness.

I’ve spent most of my life figuring out how to fit in.  First with my family, then friends & schoolmates, then colleagues and loves and then right back to family.  There is a cycle here that forms us and allows us the opportunity to BECOME who we were put on this Earth to BE.

If you are luck, you get to connect the breadcrumbs and see the path.  Many of us have detoured on the path to BEING.  We’ve listened, experienced, and entertained many ideas discovering they have led us nowhere or they have built us up on your life’s journey.

Many of us are seeking our purpose from that place of need and want.  Yet we don’t allow ourselves to see the purpose in BEING who we are.  When we live from our hearts, we find that the simple joy of living the ordinary can transform our existence.

Many of us have had religious upbringings and/or spiritually guided lives.  However, we have for the most part placed our relationship with Spirit as the last area of focus in our daily lives.  There is the focus on school, work, sports and social relationships and by the time the day or week ends we find ourselves out of fuel and our relationship with Spirit or inner compass is delegated to another day or week.

This time of RESET either self-imposed or imposed by those with authority over us has offered us an opportunity to go within and seek to understand ourselves.  If we can find the courage, we will take the time to explore what is important and beneficial to our lives and RELEASE what is no longer serving us or has value.

There is the possibility of rebirth as we emerge from the restraint of 2020 Lockdown.  You can choose confusion and despair, or you can create joy in the discovery of rebirth.  We human BEINGS get to choose if we want to be hamsters spinning out of control on our wheel or we can choose to BE present, BE compassionate, BE respectful and BE in LOVE with a new ME.

Choice is our birthright as a human BEING, and we must accept that we create our lives by the choices me have made and continue to make.   What are you wanting to create that is your “signature/purpose” in this life?