Hey all! Happy Thursday!
I reached my one month mark as a blogger on LolaUncorked this past Sunday. It has been fun, exciting, revealing. (Boy yes, revealing!) Of course it is only the tip of the iceberg. Definitely want to continue adding content, building, growing and seeing where it goes. Most importantly connecting with you all.
I had this blog brewing but there is all this end of year stuff going on fat work (#teacherstruggles) so it was difficult since I am dealing with summative conferences, final observations, state testing and field trips. Phfew! But it’s wrapping up nicely.
Let’s talk about finding spiritual balance. If I had a solid practice in place these past couple of weeks wouldn’t have been so overwhelming and stressful.
Let me ask you this, do you guys find yourself not having enough hours in a day, to do all the things you want to do? And for those of you trying to be on a spiritual journey, is it difficult finding time to consistently meditate, journal, work out/yoga, read your self-help and/or inspirational books AND still sleep and play?
This has been my struggle – balancing it all! I read so much about how we need to develop a practice – a consistent spiritual practice and how that practice has to include all the above mentioned. But it’s a struggle to get it all in. Sheesh! I do have to sleep!
What time do I get up in the morning in order to journal for 15 minutes, write 10 things I am grateful for, meditate, exercise, pack my lunch, get ready and be at work by 7am?
How do I fit in cleaning, food shopping and cooking, reading, blogging, yoga and meditating and still get to bed at a decent time?
I started to think of all these coaches and spiritual teachers whose writings I try to live by…and it was like a lightbulb turned on! Uh! They are all WEALTHY!!!!. Meaning they have cooks and flexible schedules and housekeepers. It’s easy for Deepak to meditate for FOUR hours everyday! Seriously.
Is this an excuse for me stay off the wagon when I fall? Is this an excuse not to be consistent with my spiritual practice? Is this an excuse to beat myself up for not getting it “right”? Absolutely not. What I can’t do is compare myself to the Deepak’s of the world, making my practice and growth will be unique.
I think it’s easy to kind of just toss it all to the wind. As I sometimes do. But I always manage to go back to it because I feel a difference in my spirit when I am actively engaged in some sort of spiritual practice.
I listen to Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday podcast pretty much every day and I think I was getting overwhelmed wanting to do all the things that all the interviewees do, forgetting that they had a beginning and a process to their journey and it wasn’t always as it is now.
I’ve also learned from spiritual teachers that it doesn’t matter what or how much you do as long as you do something, EVERYDAY, that moves you closer to your spiritual purpose.
And everyone’s practice is individual and unique. And you don’t have to do it ALL to feel like you are moving.
With all this said, I have decided to begin a consistent practice and do only three things EVERYDAY for three weeks. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. I won’t do anything else but these three things even if I have the time to more, because I find that I get disappointed in myself when I can’t keep it up.
So what are those three things? Here you go:
- Journaling is such a great way to give gratitude at the beginning and end of your
Journaling is a great way to clear the clutter from your mind, reflect on day, give gratitude, set intentions. day. I am going to combine my journaling practice with my gratitude giving (Kill two birds with one stone). I’ll write three things I am grateful for in the morning and in the evening. I think we get pretty caught up in complaining about all the things we don’t have or don’t like about our lives. Or how much more we want and forget all the wonderful things we have already been blessed with. Big and small. Journaling helps you notice how much you are already blessed with.
- Meditation is such a tough one for many people. Sitting still in silence is just not part of our DNA. We live in such a fast-paced, technology-driven, instant-gratification world, that the idea of sitting still for ANY amount of time is like WHOA! But wait, I have so much to do. What we don’t realize is that sitting in silence for as little as 5 minutes a day can make your day so much better. Meditation is a great time to get settled in your body and get ready to tackle the day. As you confront stressors throughout the day, the tone meditation set can help you allow those stressors to flow through you and not at you. Making for a much more pleasant daily experience. just [wpvideo gbh31dxk]
- Intention setting – I love the word intentions. I used to make new year’s resolution and we all know what happens with those. Two weeks into the new year they are forgotten. Sometimes because they are so unrealistic and BIG, right? We all do it too. But, intention setting is more about taking small daily steps that move you closer to those larger life goals. When we set resolutions and fail, we beat ourselves up and we give up. When you set intentions, one or two and you fail, it just feels easier to re-intend the next day. It doesn’t feel so catastrophic as not following through on a new year’s resolution. Set some intentions for your day. One or two intentions are perfect. It could be as simple as making eye contact when you say hello (which we don’t do because our faces are always in our phones!) or as difficult as not complaining for a whole day. (Not easy at all!)
I am learning that we all have the capacity to grow and be better. And that it takes work and effort. It doesn’t happen overnight and it is not measured by how others are doing it.
We have to choose a practice that feels authentic to us.
If the practice is not authentic then it becomes a chore. A spiritual practice shouldn’t be a chore but rather a natural progression of you day with the sole intent of moving you closer to your true self.
What is your practice? If you don’t have one, do you think you will start one? If so there is no better time than now to begin!
But remember it’s all about finding balance!!!
Oh! And Happy 1 month blog-niversary to me!!!!
♥LolaUncorked