Tag: Zen Habits

I Am Second

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“Did you write today?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re a writer today.” Julia Cameron ~ The Right to Write

In a recent staff meeting with the Zen Habits Team, it was suggested for each of us to go through one of Leo’s courses like a student would. I chose his ‘Beautiful Mornings’ course. I love waking up early and seeing the first light of day, but to do that and feel rested, I needed to reel in my bedtime.

In the course Leo’s asks that we implement something into our morning to make it more beautiful. There’s a book that’s been laying on my bedside table for years. You can tell by the cover it’s been well used, and the pages aren’t as bright, white as they once were, but it’s been laying there waiting to be used some more frequently. I’ve re-inserted it into my morning and praying over my adult children.

Most mornings I wake up and my mind begins rolling through the day, but last year I promised myself I’d ‘watch the day unfold‘. Being in need of more practice, I’m sticking with it this year. There’s one thing I feel the need to do before anything else, (even coffee), and that is to spend time with God.

No matter how the day unfolds, or what I see on my plate, by putting Him first I’m trusting His plan instead of mine. When it comes down to it lovely, the only reminder I need today is, I am second.

Credits:

Julia Cameron~The Right to Write

Stormie Omartian~The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children

Honoring the Light

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Some people walk into our lives and never really leave. They are the chosen few who make an impact and stake a claim to a piece of our heart.

His name is Coyote. Cool name, right? He’s a cool human. I met him in Fearless where he was largely in charge. He laid the groundwork for me to start working with Zen Habits, and taught me everything I needed to know up to a point. I loved people’s expressions when I’d tell them, “I work with Coyote,” so when he told me he was leaving Zen Habits, I was devastated.

I’m still not over it.

I believe that’s the point though. Some people create a space in your heart and when they leave there’s a void. There’s no replacing Coyote, so we keep in touch. Instead of mentor and student, we get to be friends. He hosts an online meditation twice a week and I show up for at least one of them. It’s my way of honoring who he is by showing up in his life and supporting what he lays his hand and heart to.

I’d love for you to join us. He begins the guided meditation at 9:00 am central time, every Thursday and Sunday, and it lasts 20 minutes. He’s even going to host it Thanksgiving morning, and I can’t really think of a better way to express Thanksgiving than by meditating in gratitude.

Coyote [he/his] hosts a meditation Thursday and Sunday mornings at 7am Pacific, 10am Eastern, 3pm London, or 4pm CET. Join in a few minutes before this time as we start right at the hour. You can sign up via email, and/or listen to previously recorded meditations here: https://coyotejackson.com/meditations/

Join us in honoring the light.

Eat the Frog

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I was perplexed by these three words displayed on my momentum plugin. It was early Sunday morning, and not enough coffee had been consumed, but I felt like I should know what this means.

Google and I had a conversation. Me: “Hey Google! What does eat the frog mean?” Google replies, “Eat that Frog technique delivers an important message that says if people wish to be successful in their lives, then they have to take immediate, and necessary actions without overthinking too much. According to Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog tactic should be implemented first thing in the morning.”

My momentum plugin needs to tell me that on Monday, not a Sunday. Up until this week, I was taking Monday’s off, but our Team has expanded. There’s a lot of activity in Basecamp on Monday’s and I tried to ignore it, but I can either be a part of it, or play catchup on Tuesday’s. I chose to be a Team player and be present on Monday’s. That way I can give immediate response to who needs what.

I’ll have a normal work week of Monday through Friday with Zen Habits! My other job will take a little bit of weekend time, but we’re going back to Self Care Sunday. Monday will be our designated day to eat the frog.

In My Corner

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We’ve been talking about creating spaces. Whether it’s wide open for an upcoming project, which may mean dismantling something you love, or an outdoor space to soak up nature and be available to whomever passes by. This corner was one of the first spaces created and the inspiration came from a Team member within my work.

In this spot you feel at ease, and there’s very little thinking required as the space stirs up creativity itching to be released. Some mornings I walk by it several times telling myself I don’t have time to enjoy it, but I’ve learned if I don’t sit there, my day suffers from not taking the time.

Nothing fancy. It’s literally a corner of the room.

But, it’s mine.

The chair is one of my favorite pieces, and it’s comfy to sit in, but not relaxing. That’s important because I don’t want to dwell there for long. I pour a cup of coffee or tea, place it on the window ledge and then sit in the chair to reflect on possibilities of the day ahead.

It takes about 30 minutes, and it varies each day. Sometimes I need to read, or simply jot down a few ideas, and at other times it’s a full on page of journaling to empty the mind. The ottoman is used to spread out inspiration bubbling up from within, or to prop my feet up if I woke up tired.

Do you have a corner? If not, let me encourage you to create one. The quality of the day begins in my corner.

Fire and Rain

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I cleaned up the firepit area and ordered curved, metal benches for seating. They were lost during shipment and never arrived. I received a refund for the benches and chalked it up to, God has a better plan, once again!

I’m still looking at benches, but in the meantime, I planted a ground cover around half of the pit. When it rains it gets muddy, so the ground cover is taking root and starting to spread. A few days ago, I noticed something while watering with the rain head. If I start at the top, the water cascades around the half circle and they water one another.

I purchased the fire pit two years ago and you can read about it here. Watering the ground cover was a reminder of the vision I have for creating this space. To sit around this fiery pit with whoever needs watering. Whether it’s a neighbor walking by I’ve never met, or a friend I’ve known for years, we can gather here to refresh.

The meme used as the feature photo in this post was published in the Fearless Mastery FB page. The people in that group are called Firestarter’s who continually light their lives on fire. I help manage the page for Zen Habits, and these souls encourage one another in a manner which mimics fanning each other’s flame.

It’s exciting to surround ourselves with the Firestarter’s of life, but every so often even the fire is required to sit with the rain.

A Beautiful Morning

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I’ve been thinking about this, and had a vision I’d like to share. It took some thought and planning ahead, but it’s well worth every effort. The first thing I saw to do was to scrub the beach rug clean.

It’s odd, but in January hundreds of birds fly overhead all day long dropping red berries. My truck looks like it lost a paintball match and everything is covered in bright, red, splatters, including my front porch. That is where the beach rug resides.

The beach rug laying on the front porch.

For me this year, outside is where I see a sacred space. To sit Yogi style on the rug at sunrise, wrapped in a warm blanket, and tap into the sights and sounds of the early morning. I imagine it being like unguided meditation at it’s best.

What is a beautiful morning?

It’s about creating some space for meditation, reflection, movement, writing, or anything else you’d like to have room for in your life. And finding some space in the mornings for that, a sacred space that takes advantage of the quiet and beautiful light of the mornings.

Leo Babauta-Zenhabits.net

After posting a good night’s sleep I learned as soon as my eyes open, to sit up in the middle of the bed immediately. To sip a glass of water and give my body a chance to catch up with my brain. Sitting in the middle of the bed meditating in that quiet, stillness of the morning is beautiful for me, but recently I find myself gazing out windows often. Like my heart is nudging me outside.

The front porch is clean and waiting.

Let’s follow the heart outside and see what we learn by being present in the early morning light. I’ll let you know where this leads, but in the meantime I wish you a beautiful morning.

What to Crave

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Yesterday was not a very pretty day Inbarbsworld. I allowed something to bother me to the point of sadness. That doesn’t happen very often and it’s not a good feeling. My daughter drove to the store and bought a cake. That helped.

This morning I received an email from a Blog I follow. This guy has wisdom and I enjoy learning from him. He always pulls me up to the 30,000 foot view and helps me see the big picture. His name is Leo Babauta from Zen Habits.

He is studying Buddhas Four Noble Truths in more depth and he mentions ‘crave.’ It made me ponder what I crave besides cake with buttercream icing on an off day. This part of the article drew me back to where I needed to be.

“Just be in the moment you’re in, and see what’s actually in front of you. Not what you read into the moment, but what’s really there, in terms of light and sound and physical molecules. See if you can accept all of that exactly as it is, without craving something else, without avoiding what’s there. Just accept.”

Today, I will do a better job at sitting in the present moment and seeing what is there. Sometimes I try to read more into the situation than is really there. That is not healthy for me today.

If you have read my Blogs, you know, I am a woman filled with love. To cover people with love and help them feel special brings me joy. When I do this throughout the day, my cup starts to empty. Give from the saucer not the cup.

When you give love, make sure you are receiving it in return. It’s okay to give and not receive, but don’t give it all away. When we do, at the end of the day there’s an emptiness which can crave to be refilled with love.