I am joining Honoré and friends again this month to share an update on my word.
Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. — Mary Anne Radmacher
I am discovering that living intentionally in Coronavirus Times can be more steps backwards than forward. July was one of those months. In a very big way.
There were so many steps back (I shared a bit here) and it felt a bit like a month of failure. But as I look back and contemplate, perhaps that is not one hundred percent true. I found that my day was a bit like filling buckets… time spent filling my meditation bucket, time spent reading, time spent knitting, and the largest bucket of all… my garden where I spent oodles of hours watering, picking, and tending…in the 900 gazillion degree weather. My garden truly needed my attention and it was an excellent diversion.
But I also intentionally ignored many things…the internet and my PC topped that list. I learned that living with intention means stepping back from things that are not good for you…finding a new rhythm and breaking the cycle that was fueling my stress. All that was surprisingly easy, which is shocking to me – who knew I was so good at avoidance! Haha! I think August will be another month to avoid those things that are stress-inducing.
No big “ah-ha” moments, but a series of small “oh!” moments worked for me!
You can see all of my Intentional Journey here.
I did notice that you’ve been “around” less online, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I’ve found that I’m actually checking the news less these days, mainly just watching the news during breakfast and dinner, and while at first I felt anxiously disconnected, lately I’ve noticed I’m a lot calmer. The news is almost always bad, and hearing it without being able to do anything to help is only making things work. I’d say it’s much healthier to be out tending your garden (as long as you’re wearing your sunblock and drinking enough water!) than to be online these days.
Good for you Kat to step back and avoid those stress-inducing things. I’ve long been a fan of not all that much time on the computer and less time with news (I’ve been that way for decades!!). I stay informed, but beyond that I leave it alone. I’m happier and better off.
My daughters and I were talking about take more breaks from devices. I read a book recently about how to step away from the pull of infinity pools. That was a very intentional move in your part.
How IS your garden growing? I so wish I would have grown some tomato plants this year, but since I never got a break from working, by the time I went to buy some tomato plants, they were all gone. Also didn’t get many flowers (just 6 pots-4 I bought, 2 from my daughter and granddaughter) since when I was looking for them, they were all sold out.
Glad you have taken yourself away from the PC/online and are finding other ways to occupy your time! 🙂
I love your intentional living quote, and firmly believe that I need to live as if this is all there is because this IS all there is! Bravo to you for stepping back and filling the buckets that matter!
I think those small moments are the key to all of it. The big ones are great but they are rare, the small ones come on a daily basis. You sound much more calm than you did a month ago.
I like how you put that—the avoiding. I think Intentionally Avoiding is one way of curating what you want room for in your life. (And you get to decide what you put BACK into it! And how much of it you put back…)
Gardens are places of healing – even Jayber Crow said so!! I’m so glad you’ve been tending your plants and getting your hands in the dirt, it’s amazing what that can do for your soul.
I’m not going to lie – I’ve missed your internet presence, but I totally get why you’re doing it and I think it’s wonderful. You’ve got this!
I nodded with each paragraph you wrote. I am like you, I find some activities fill my bucket and others deplete it. I like to be informed but too much news is NOT a good thing ever. My sister is very good and being unaware of any news and I admire her ostrich head in the sand approach – but I guess I like to keep trying to spin plates and balance.
I am not surprised to read that you are wanting to step back from the news and being online. I am reading a book which talks about the news and how, because it invariably focuses on the negative and the sensational that over time that has magnified. It also has the same effect on us as drugs would do, we become addicted to it and don’t necessarily realise the effect it is having on us, that is until we stop.
I think you’ve made great progress by stepping away … and growing real things!