Daily Archives: March 25, 2009

Leave room…

My lesson for today and always is a lesson I still need to learn and perhaps it resonates with you as well...
LEAVE ROOM...

Leave more than enough time before you get somewhere and bring a good book or book on tape or cd or phone call that you can make before your appointment.

Leave room in your ears, especially whilst in traffic. I love hip-hop and rap but I can't listen to it when I'm in bumper to bumper as it makes me uppity. Listen to smooth jazz, classical or nothing at all. I know people who listen to classical and it gets them uppity. Enjoy the silence.

Leave room between you and the car in front of you, at least one to two cars. It won't stop the flow of traffic but allow traffic to move the way it's supposed to, smoothly. When I'm cramming to the car in front of me, I use more gas and have to think harder. I'm usually listening to rap. Even if you are in a rush, use that room; it will help a great deal. Tried, true, tested and approved. This method will actually get you to where you need to go faster.

Leave room in your life. Don't sign up for every workshop and class known to man because it scares you or you will learn more and it will inform your life's work. In theory, now and then, it's a good choice. If you are me, you are always signing up for the next thing and not allowing the thing you just did to sink in and allow you the sense of accomplishment that you deserve for doing it.

Leave room for the sense of accomplishment that you deserve for doing things. If you take on a new challenge, don't be so quick for the next thing. Accomplishments should serve your soul for a long time before the longing for something else attracts you. My problem, I'm an explorer. I keep taking on things I don't have time for but because they are out of my comfort zone or new or scary or interesting, I feel I have to say YES to it and go for it. The comfort zone is underrated. It's a great space to live in especially after you've just completed something that's outside of the comfort. If you are the opposite of this and NEVER do anything outside of your comfort zone, well, get off your butt and do something!

Leave room to feel miserable. Allow yourself no more than a half an hour, tops, to vent to a friend or family member or write down what you feel crappy about and when the timer hits 30, you're done, no more feeling bad about whatever it was or however long the list of crappy instances or feelings you have, after 30 minutes, you are done for the day. Move on.
Miserable takes a lot more energy. Content takes nothing and happiness gives you energy so whatever it takes to get you to the content or happy place, make it happen.

Leave room at the end of the day, to be grateful. Make a list. No matter what challenges might occur in your day, there are always things you are super glad you have in your life. By the end of the day, when I get home after fighting traffic and feeling like I've been in a war, I can see the sea. I get home to a parking space that's marked for me, up to a beautiful albeit small studio that is zenned out to my liking, with cable I never watch but is there. I have library books waiting to be read, food in the fridge, clothes in my closet, friends and family to call or write. By the end of the day, I look around and I am grateful. Grateful that no matter what life throws at me, I still have a 'job' I can get up for and love doing. Whatever else happens, happens, I can bitch about it for 30 minutes and be done.

Leave room after dinner. Desert is a wonderful treat. Save half your dinner and enjoy it the next day for lunch. You'll remember the meal and company and get to enjoy something sweet afterwards. If it's a crazy desert, you can burn it off your next work out. It's worth it.

Leave room to breathe, enjoy, be quite, see friends, watch TV, read a book, and do NOTHING.

We're of a society that needs to keep up. The speed of life is so fast these days that it’s easy to watch life go by as we take on and conquer. It's ok, not to DO all the time.

This is my main problem and I've vowed to my friends and family and now right here on my blog that after today, for the next 365 days, that's a year, that I will not sign up for anything new. I will continue on the path that I'm on, and really like by the way and let that enjoyment steep into my comfort zone. After a year, well then maybe I can try something new, and maybe it will be something that scares the bejeezus out of me or maybe it's just a new skill. Until then, I allow all of you to slap me in the Internet if I decide to take on a new skill or task. It's that simple.

However, I am toying with the idea of giving up coffee. I think we all agree that's best for the type A yogi.
Is that a new skill or task?
I guess I will find out.
365...
starts...
now!

Leave room, because as bad as it might get, there is always room for good, if you allow it.