Hello Friends, I've moved!

Yes, we have physically moved. But I've also moved to a new blog. It seems that the time for Random Chaos and Clutter came to an end, and the time for new beginnings has finally arrived. Join me over at Walk.Think.Breathe. for more thoughts. They will be as random, I assure you, but possibly a little less chaotic and cluttered.

Hope to see you there.

Wonderful Blog Post on CHANGE

I just read a wonderful post on zenhabits on CHANGE.  Take a look.  I especially like his final thoughts about freedom from the fear of failure ... and this quote

‘Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’ ~Samuel Beckett

Happy Reading!

Breathe

The word of the day.

When it has been too much ... when sleep evades ... when the people are everywhere and solitude absent ... when I just need to stop for a few moments ... but when life continues on in its demanding way ...

I try to remember to just BREATHE.

 

Peaceful moments to you today.

Kicking the Q-Tip Habit

As I've been thinking about simplification, consumerism, consumption and green living, I've realized that there is a very small single-use item that I use everyday ... the Q-Tip.  Using Q-Tips is not going to fill the world's landfills. It isn't going to break the bank. I won't go thru withdrawal without them, or suffer physical harm if I use them or I don't (unless I'm the kind of wax pusher that doctors warn us about!). So what's the big deal?

Well, either I'm committed to all the baby steps leading to a sustainable, minimal carbon-footprint life or I'm not.  Seeing as I am ... Q-Tips.  I googled "green alternatives to Q-Tips" and found very little. No one seems too concerned. But I've been determined, and I've kicked the Q-Tip Habit!

A few facts (probably relevant only to me):

My little finger fits in my ear plenty far enough to take the place of a Q-Tip.

I only used Q-Tips because I wanted to dry my ears, not to "clean" them ... that happens in the shower!

Towels are too thick, when wrapped around my pinkie finger, to do the job.

However ... a cotton men's handkerchief is perfect!  So, there's my green alternative.  Using the size of a dime for each ear, it takes many days before I need to wash it. The hankie is small, and doesn't add to my laundry burden. It is soft cotton, which makes my ears happy.  And in my life, another single-use item bites the dust!

Okay, now is your chance to comment. I expect most of your thoughts to be about me having way too much time on my hands to think about irrelevant things! That's okay ... keeps me happy :-)

"You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die."

I think it was my granny who used to say this ... "You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die."  I always thought it was metaphorical, but maybe it has a literal application as well.  However, it is a bit hard to swallow in today's hyper-clean, germ phobic, civilized world. But what if our phobias about dirt and germs have robbed our children of developing a basic love for the stuff of this planet of ours?

Simple Mom posted a blog today about letting our kids get dirty!  Jump on over and check it out, and enjoy a playful, dirty-filled day!

And just in case you were wondering ... just how much is a peck anyway?  It is the dry measure of 2 gallons.  That's a lot of dirt!

The Dreaded SHOULD List

I would like all of us to live as fully as we can. The only time I really feel awful is when people have not lived a life that expressed themselves. They lived with all their "shoulds" and "oughts" and their blaming and placating and all the rest of it, and I think, "How sad.

Virginia Satir (1916 - 1988)

 

I came across this quote this evening, and thought ... yes, how sad.  The reality of a life lived according to the SHOULD list is sad. I'm guilty, how about you?

What are the things that creep into your life that place a SHOULD across the path of doing all that you wish to do, and being all you wish to be?  Where do all these SHOULDs come from?

I look back at the mountain of SHOULD, and at the base of it, I see the first little pebbles ... people pleasing ... fear of rejection ... running from the need to stand alone and stand strong ... wanting to be "normal" ... the list is long.  Then, upon that foundation  grew the long list of things that I SHOULD do in order to maintain a fragile peace around me.  Strange the sacrifices I will make to my heart's peace in order to orchestrate the false peace around me.

Have you shouted "NO MORE"?  I have.  Yet, it is a journey to growing back into the uniqueness I was born with.

The highest thing on my SHOULD list ... 

 

I should be able to do it all, better! 

 

Go ahead, say it ... psycho!  But it does seem to be the mantra to which I bow.  What's your greatest SHOULD? 

Let's go out on a limb and vow, together, to put aside our SHOULDs, just for today.

 

 

 

More wisdom from Virginia Satir ...

"I am Me. In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine, because I alone chose it -- I own everything about me: my body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or myself. I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears. I own my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes. Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me. By so doing, I can love me and be friendly with all my parts. I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know -- but as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles and ways to find out more about me. However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically me. If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought, and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which I discarded. I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me. I own me, and therefore, I can engineer me. I am me, and I am Okay."

 

To that, I add ... Thank you, God, for making me just as I am!

Good Advice ... No Workaholics Here!

I ... am a workaholic.  There.  I've said it. 

No, I'm not a workaholic where my paid job is concerned.  I can draw boundaries there. But I'm an "at home" workaholic.  I can't ever sit still and relax without forcing myself to do it.  I ... am a human doing, not a human being!  Today, I came across a new article about 11 Creative Ways to Avoid Becoming a Workaholic.  The article addresses the workplace, but is SO applicable to my life.  Take a look, and tell me how you avoid overworking yourself during your "free" time.