How this blog came to be....
I bought a book several years ago (perhaps 10) that I thought sounded divine, and yet finishing the book never made it to the top of my to do list. Perhaps I was recently inspired by the movie "Julie and Julia", or perhaps it is because of the events that have occurred in my life over the past few months, or perhaps it may also be because I feel there is something more that I am searching for in my life and I am not certain what that something is at present. Either way, today I decided to take this book off my bookshelf, dust it off, and begin my journey. The book is called " Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy", written by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
I want to quote a few parts of what the author wrote in the foreword, as it helps to explain what the book is about and the purpose therein:
"What I wanted to write was a book that would show me how to reconcile my deepest spiritual, authentic, and creative longings with often-overwhelming and conflicting commitments -- to my husband and daughter, invalid mother, work at home, work in the world, siblings, friends, and community. I knew I wasn't the only woman hurtling through real life as if it were an out-of-body experience. I knew I wasn't the only woman frazzled, depressed, worn to a raveling. But I also knew I certainly wasn't the woman with the answers. I didn't even know the questions. .... I was a woman in desperate need of Simple Abundance".
"As Simple Abundance evolved from creating a manageable lifestyle into living in a state of grace, I began to barely recognize the woman I once was. Simple Abundance has enabled me to encounter everyday epiphanies, find the Sacred in the ordinary, the Mystical in the mundane, fully enter into the sacrament of the present moment. I've made the unexpected but thrilling discovery that everything in my life is significant enough to be a continuous source of reflection, revelation, and reconnection: bad hair, mood swings, car pools, excruciating deadlines, overdrawn bank accounts, dirty floors, grocery shopping, exhaustion, illness, nothing to wear, unexpected company...."
"Simple Abundance has given me the transcendent awareness that an authentic life is the most personal form of worship....."
"...at the heart of the Simple Abundance journey is an exhilarating and earth-rumbling awakening, one that has utterly changed how I view myself and my daily round. The authentic self is the Soul made visible".
The author, Sarah Ban Breathnach, also mentions that the book is set up as a "walk through the year, beginning on New Year's Day". However, it does not really matter if you start it in any other month, but she does recommend that if that is the case, then one should still read the month of January, "in which the six Simple Abundance principles and how they work are explained". I hope to blog 2 dates per day over the next few days in order to be on track with the book for the next year....something that works best for me - I have noticed.
In the beginning I may quote more of the author in the blog to explain what is happening. I may or may not share certain things on the blog, but know that I am working through them.
January 1 - "A Transformative Year of Delight and Discovery"
"There are years that ask questions and years that answer." ~ Zora Neale Hurston
Task: to find a quiet time today so that I can put pen to paper and dream. "Only dreams give birth to change". Instead of resolutions, I am to write down my most private aspirations - "those longings that you have kept tucked away until the time seems right. Trust that now is the time. Ask the questions....Believe in yourself".
My aspirations.....to begin, I will say that I am a Yoga teacher and Nia teacher, and I do feel that I am on the path that I was meant to be on. I came to yoga about 10 years ago when I hurt my back, and my Chiropractor recommended yoga. I followed his reccomendation and found a class in my community. From my very first class, I felt like I had come home.....the feeling of balance in my life, contentment, and bliss were overwhelming. I vowed that it would be part of my life forever, and I wanted to be able to share this feeling with others. From my very first class I knew I was embarking on my new path, and I listened to my intuition for guidance. It was not an easy path, but I am grateful for taking it. I then found Nia, purely by chance, about 4 years ago, and again I fell in love with it, and knew that it too would be part of my life....Yoga and Nia complement each other beautifully - I love them both. After my 2nd child was born, I decided to leave the office world behind and begin my own business of teaching yoga and then eventually Nia, and during that time, my family and I moved back to the area I grew up in as well. I was quite overwhelmed, and yet I was determined to make it all work. I sit here now, 3 1/2 years after moving, and it feels good and right. I love my family and friends. And, I love what I do - my students are wonderful. I love life, and yet much like what Sarah Ban Breathnach has written, I still feel something is missing, and I have felt this way for about a year now. I cannot quite put my finger on it, so the timing is right for me to take this journey of Simple Abundance, and delve deeper.
I once read this question somewhere that asked "What would you do if money was not an issue and you could do whatever you wanted?" Without hesitation, I know that I would still teach yoga and Nia, as I feel passionate about both and I love to share this with others- it truly makes my heart smile to help others! This alone tells me that this is the correct 'career' path for me. I would however, hire someone to do the bookeeping, and some other admin. stuff, so that I would have more free time to delve even deeper into my practice of both. I would also simplify my life a little more, so that it is not quite so busy. I want more time daily with my children - without feeling rushed. I think I would also want to travel more - to explore - with my family and sometimes with friends.
I am off to think some more on this, as I take care of some administrative stuff and hope to be back later tonight to post more. Looking at this, I think these blogs may get shorter as I go along, or they may not. Either way, it's all good, as it is a journey inward for me, and blogging helps to bring it to the surface to explore consciously.
