Saturday, December 21, 2013

MA MA MA MA MA MA MA MA Mantra

#ThinkKit 21: Repeat After Me

Write a mantra for the year ahead - how you'll approach it, what you wish it to be.

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The past year has been a doozy. Lots of change and a very clear sense that I am a much different person now than I was this time last year. It's good; it really is. At the same time, I have become much more conscious of places where I feel fear, which has led to all kinds of self-explorations through writing and art about the truths and lies my brain latches onto. Despite being Wiccan/Goddess-based, a big believer in good and bad energy, and a frequent user of terms like the Universe, I have never fully embraced things like meditation and daily mantras. Some of it is fear and some of it is a swirly brain that doesn't want to hold still/be quiet for too long. (I keep trying, though.) Without further delay, here are some mantras that speak to me:

"Feel the fear and do it anyway." -- Susan Jeffers, author

“I am flexible and flowing, open to the new and changing, at peace, and I trust in the process of life. Every moment is a new opportunity to become who I am. I move with life.” -- Author unknown; found here

“To accomplish something you have never done before, you have to push beyond your comfort zone, trust your instincts, practice and believe in yourself.” -- No clue who said this, but when I went looking, I was led to this blog post. Any site called Life Without Pants gets my vote for all the things. Even if the author is just now 28. *groan*

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.” -- Joseph Campbell, author

I know. Four mantras, two messages. Mayhaps that's a hint? (*cough* Sarcasm.)

My favorite mantra, though, comes from my friend Becca. I no longer remember the name of the book where she read this advice, but it's stuck with me since I heard it: "Just start." It's so simple while also being profound. I'm really good at avoiding things I don't want to do and becoming lost in a sea of thoughts while tasks pile up. Consider the relatively simple task of dropping off a bag of recycling:

Which drop-off site will I visit? If I'm taking this bag of cans, can't I also take that other bag with the cardboard? Wait, the site that accepts aluminum doesn't take cardboard. Should I go to two places? I don't have time to go to two places. I have to run that other errand by noon. What time is it? 10:30. Well, I don't want to leave, come back, and leave again in an hour. If I can't take both bags, I guess I won't go today. I can take both bags tomorrow when I have more time. 

I go to bed happy and hopeful, thinking about the sun rising on the golden landscape of Tomorrow™. Tomorrow is the mystical and magical day where Productivity and Accomplishment await my arrival! In the morning, I wake to find the sunny glow lost in the shadow of 812 waiting errands, each one brought to you by our sponsor, Procrastination. (Mu ha. Ha ha.) Queue panic and the paralysis of being overwhelmed. Go back to bed. Deal with it tomorrow.

I'm getting better at not being an ostrich. Two night ago, I tackled the wreck my living room had become. I actually started because there was an Internet outage for about 90 minutes and I had to find something to do offline. *facepalm* Brighthouse wanted to send a tech to my house in the morning and I declined, panic evident in my voice. In my best There-can-be-only-one Highlander voice, I thought, "No one can come in this house." Boom. I set a timer, did what I could in short little bursts that night and the next, calmed myself when I felt overwhelmed, and rewarded myself with Kathy Griffin stand-up specials on YouTube. I still have to clean off surfaces like my desk, better known as The Teeming Pile of Whoa!, but I have, for the most part, my living room back. Goddess only knows what I could get done if the Internet was off longer than a couple hours. It's like Not Without My Daughter, but with WiFi.

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