Monthly and Annual Goals

Although I prefer to call them challenges rather than goals... so then my goal is to succeed at my challenges.

Words are funny.

So I am attempting (again) to meditate daily for a full calendar year and/or 365 days in a row.

I have completed January successfully!  So I want to celebrate that win.

There was a big routine change in the middle of the month with kittens entering my life, so my habit of meditating 8 minutes downstairs while my coffee brewed stopped working on work days. Kittens are very distracting.  This week I switched to meditating upstairs first thing upon waking. So far so good.

Onto month #2!

I also have short term monthly challenges, so more on February's challenge later.

serendipity while thrifting

The season is turning toward Summer. Memorial day is behind us and I have purchased new corduroy trousers. In time for Autumn .... which is 4 months away.

It's weird but that is how thrifting goes. When you find something you have been looking for, regardless of the season, you purchase it. Especially when it is less than $3. 

Then you tuck it away for the next 4 months [or 6].

It is possible to shop like this and maintain a minimal wardrobe but it takes some preparation.

You have to know what you are looking for...in this case I have had "corduroys in a warm favorite color" on my list since September 2014. I looked for them in the nine months since with no luck. I even tried retail. I reached for patience as I was not finding what I wanted.

Last Friday I was scanning a rack [for skirts] and a bronze-y olive color leaped out at me. I looked more closely and saw corduroys, in my size with no wear. They fit well and didn't need hemming [a small miracle]. They had been marked down three times and were priced at $2.75 because what sort of crazy person buys cords at the beginning of June?

I am that person. I am also the person who had thought about the holes in her wardrobe and what I wanted. The result; I can buy off season without worry that it will go to waste.  I save resources and cash and I also have clothing that I love. Which is the whole point of thrifting for me.

I am guessing this will not work if you have a closet so crammed full you cannot see everything or if you don't know your preferred colours. Perhaps though it is helpful to see some of the results of bringing mindfulness to something that you deal most days - what you wear.

I wish warm breezes and sunshine for you if it is turning toward summer where you are as well. xo

lots of labyrinths and 5th garden reflection '11

Saturday morning I had the wonderful opportunity to go out to paths of peace and wander the many labyrinths. There are 15 out there but I only managed to walk 7. Such an incredible creative charge from all of it along with one very stiff ankle.

The morning set me up for the planning meeting that afternoon for the 2012 annual international gathering that will be here in WI. It also gave me a creative push for a workshop idea which I am really looking forward to developing for next year.

Third Bed, NE, the good:

The scented geranium was a joy with its variegated leaves. The two colors of osterspernum worked together, the plummy purple in particular seemed so happy. My big experiment of the Cynthia Johnson lavender are in this and the 4th bed outlining the main entrance. They grew well and I am hoping they are will be as perennial as the claims, I can't wait to see them next summer as well.

Third bed, NE, the bad:

Borage, it was a mistake to plant it on the edge near the sidewalk, it attracted tons of bees. Also I just didn't really like it that much, I don't think I will have it next year. Again those calendula needed constant dead-heading, that got to be too much really and then they just looked ratty.

Overall in this bed some things were great and some just eh. I thought of it as my carnival bed it was jumping with so many bright colours.

making space

Since the weather heated up I stopped meditating in my herb garden. It was just too hot.

By the way have I mentioned how much I love that garden and my seat/arbor? I am thinking about throwing a little garden party just to have more people enjoy it.

Anyway, then I wrestled for weeks about where I wanted to meditate and I realized that what I really wanted to do was to change/clean/rearrange and fix up my office* so that I had a designated meditation space.

Granted it took me awhile to realize that even so it's been several weeks and it feels like the project is moving super slowly. I'm not sure why. Some possibilities are:

-it's a bigger job than I realized.
-I'm running into things that need to move on and I am having 'issues' with that
-I'm just tired and I need a break/vacation before.

It's about space. I frequently feel like there is too little of it, feel cramped, crowded...
and that leads right to feeling defended. sometimes anyway.

And I realize that being outdoors is a way of combating this that I do all the time.
Except not recently, I been feeling hateful about the weather which got in the way of spacious enjoyment. It's a big circle really because meditation supports my love of outside space.

so to summarize...it may just be all PMS.

*office is the name I give the room that is my personal space

poetry shortcut

When you are struggling with words to express yourself poetry can be really handy.

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.

by Wu Men