by Kat | Feb 22, 2021 | General, Words
I am joining Carolyn again this month to share my word update.
This may be the most exhausting blog post I have ever written. I started it on Friday, rewrote it on Saturday, deleted it on Sunday and started again…exhausting to the nth power! And even then… hitting that damned publish button! February has just been so mentally difficult. Despite a plethora of recommendations, I had been avoiding Brené Brown for a very long time. Something in the things she said just hit way to close to home for me and I was not ready at all to even begin to think about why. But then February came… and I figured, how bad can starting be? Especially in such a short month…
Oh boy…how bad?
Apparently really bad because I listened to The Gifts of Imperfection…twice. And that was not enough so I ordered a physical copy and have been reading it, marking it, underlining it, writing in it ever since. There has been lots of anger, tears, frustrations, if only’s, and thoughts about how ignoring things just doesn’t work long term. This phrase really hit home for me:
“The universe is not short on wake-up calls. We’re just quick to hit the snooze button.”
― Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
Yep. Exactly.
This month I began the work of not hitting the snooze button anymore and started to peek into my inner closets that are jammed full of all the things I don’t really know what to do with.
I started out by using a combination of Carolyn’s Being vs. Doing prompt for February and the worksheets that Brené has on her website for Wholehearted Living. Before I knew it, those pages were full so I moved to the margins and wrote more and then flipped over the paper and wrote still more.
And while I’d like to tell you that I have found a solution in all this reading, thinking, and writing. It just is not as easy as all that.
But what I do know is that I am not going to solve anything. I just need to find a way to release it.
If only the doing was as easy as the knowing what to do…
I will be back on Wednesday to share some unraveling (fingers crossed that there is a finished sweater!!)
If you want to see my journey with release, you will find it here.
by Kat | Jan 25, 2021 | General, Words
A New Year, a new word, a new day, and a new home for our monthly link up! I am excited to join Carolyn as she hosts us this year!
January word studies might be one of my favorite things. Digging into a word, looking at all the possibilities, releasing any preconceived ideas I might of had…it’s so much fun.
Carolyn opened my eyes to looking at the root word of my word… something I had never even thought of doing in words past. I looked up release and I loved what I learned:
release (v.)
c. 1300, “to withdraw, revoke (a decree, etc.), cancel, lift; remit,” from Old French relaissier, relesser “to relinquish, quit, let go, leave behind, abandon, acquit,” variant of relacher “release, relax,” from Latin relaxare “loosen, stretch out” (from re- “back” (see re-) + laxare “loosen,” from PIE root *sleg- “be slack, be languid”). Latin relaxare is the source also of Spanish relajar, Italian relassare.
c. 1300, “to withdraw, revoke (a decree, etc.), cancel, lift; remit,” from Old French relaissier, relesser “to relinquish, quit, let go, leave behind, abandon, acquit,” variant of relacher “release, relax,” from Latin relaxare “loosen, stretch out” (from re- “back” (see re-) + laxare “loosen,” from PIE root *sleg- “be slack, be languid”). Latin relaxare is the source also of Spanish relajar, Italian relassare.
release (n.)
early 14c., “abatement of distress; means of deliverance,” from Old French relais, reles (12c.), a back-formation from relesser, relaissier (see release (v.)). In law, mid-14c., “transferring of property or a right to another;” late 14c. as “release from an obligation; remission of a duty, tribute, etc.” Meaning “act and manner of releasing” (a bow, etc.) is from 1871. Sense of “action of publication” is from 1907.
Yes, there is so much that I want to pick out… cancel, lift, relinquish, quit, let go, leave behind, abatement from distress, and yes, transferring of property to another! And that is where I began this month, spurred on by this quote:
Literal cleanliness and orderliness can release us from abstract cognitive and affective distress – just consider how, during moments where life seems to be spiraling out of control, it can be calming to organize your clothes, clean the living room, get the car washed. — Robert Sapolsky
So this month I have spent sorting and thinking. And while I still have more to do, the process of emptying closets, drawers, and bins has been cathartic. Contemplating, cleaning out, and yes, releasing. Some things have been tossed and it felt so good! Some things will go to someone else…that sock post that so struck me… well, I have a stack of things that will be heading there shortly.
And some things… well, they just need a bit more thought. And that is okay, too!
Midway though the month it occurred to me that my house does not have a storage problem, I have a “things” problem. And so this month release seemed easy. It was freeing. And in doing some organizing, I freed my mind to begin to contemplate the hard work of release I have only just begun.
Again, thank you Carolyn for hosting us! See you all on Wednesday for some Unraveling!
