If you want to do really good work it helps to understand how you tick.
If you want a snapshot of this that comes right from your gut, try making a soul collage.
You’ll need a few supplies: Continue reading
I’m loving listening to Sharon Salzberg’s free daily meditations this month. I met Sharon in 2007 when she was speaking at an Omega Institute Conference in NYC. Of all the classes I took that weekend, Sharon’s is the one that has stayed with me the longest. Sharon lives a Zen life, and her advice and teaching are always about finding the middle path – not too relaxed and not too tense!
In her meditation prompts this week, Sharon focused on breathing, something we barely notice and yet… try not taking a breath! I start each of my talks on Organizational Zen with quiet breathing. This is a great way to help you feel focused. And I like how even five minutes of quiet breathing helps transition you from one space, or project, or idea, to another.
Here are a few of Sharon’s exercises to get you breathing. Start each of these sitting quietly in a comfortable chair or on the floor. Make sure your back is straight. There’s something magical about having a straight back when you breathe. Your backbone is like an antennae to the Universe! However you sit, you don’t want to feel either too tense or too relaxed. You want to feel attentive and alert. Continue reading
I was walking Grace this week and decided to take one of her favorite paths up behind Crescent Beach. The path alternated between open dry grass in the sunny areas, and a mix of snow and ice in the tree-shaded areas. I was carefully choosing my steps with Grace off-leash when I heard voices up ahead. I could see a couple of moms with little kids so I clipped on Grace’s leash.
Just as the leash clicked, Grace spotted their dog and with a “woof” of greeting, took off at full tilt with me riding behind her, on my butt, across what turned out to be a particularly icy stretch of path. Continue reading
There are so many ways to get good work done. Getting grounded in a hygge atmosphere can bring you back to simple pleasures in life that are easy to miss in our over-planned, e-driven world. Hygge (hoo-gah) is a Danish word that has many, many layers – each one more inviting than the next.
I just finished reading Meik Wiking’s Little Book of Hygge. Here is Mike’s “Hygge Manifesto.”
How many of these elements can you invite into your life, praise them for being in your life, and talk about how cool they are to have in your life?
Atmosphere
Create an atmosphere at home and at work that’s warm and inviting. With lamps that create pools of light. Candles. Great music mixed with times quiet enough to listen to the weather outside. Natural wood and colors. Vintage furniture. Plenty of books. Plump pillows. Continue reading
Close your eyes and picture the last time you were really happy.
[pause to ponder – I’ll wait!]
What were you doing?
Who were you with? Chances are you were with somebody because at our core, we’re social animals and being around people and animals we trust and can laugh with is a big part of what makes us happy.
When you picture that happy time, do you feel an energy bubble in your gut? Continue reading
My #1 suggestion for anyone thinking about getting organized is to start by getting healthy. If you aren’t feeling healthy, the last thing you want to tackle is a major decluttering/reorg of your life.
An important part of getting healthy is being really picky about everything you put in your body – including medications. Personally, meds don’t work well for me. I know for many, they seem to work well but are they good for you in the long run?
Consider this from an article published last Friday in the Washington Post. Continue reading
“The future has an ancient heart.”
I love this line from Italian writer Carlo Levi. The thought is that you are who you are from the moment you’re born, and the future reveals what’s always been there.
If you’re struggling with where you’re headed, look back at where you were when you were 5, 10, 15, 20… Continue reading
Do you have something you really want to do but never seem to make time for? Here’s a simple idea: Set a deadline.
Right, you say. I’ll just break it if it’s my deadline.
How about this?
I’m reading Tiny, Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. The book is a compilation of advice Cheryl offered in her column, “Dear Sugar”. As I read, I’m struck by the number of people who reveal a secret, a doubt, a fear, or a wish. And I’m struck by the fact that most of the secrets, doubts, fears and wishes are the same ones we all have.
When I worked as a volunteer at the Center for Grieving Children, I saw secrets of grief revealed every week. Grief is a weird, hidden thing. We think if we don’t talk about it the loss will hurt less. We don’t talk about it because it makes us cry. We don’t talk about it because we don’t want anyone to worry that we’re still sad. We keep grief bundled up and secretly tucked away, and it feels huge. Continue reading
Organizational Habits 