Over on the Living Namaste blog, we're talking about intentions. Which, naturally, has me thinking a good bit about intentions in general, as well as my own personal intentions.
I've learned a lot about myself, especially in the last five years. What a ride it has been! Parenthood, maybe domesticity in general, for me, has been a little like the "death roll" a crocodile takes its prey on. I let the duty of it and the needs of others twirl and pull me down into this wicked spiral. Truly, it was only when I was at the bottom of my ocean, with my lungs ready to explode from this desperate need to breathe; did I finally fight to get back above water and claim that giant gasp of life!
Soooo, I don't do that anymore, well, not for such long bouts of time at least. I seem to see the warning signs in myself. Then, I get twitchy and defensive, the house starts to look terrible and I panic the moment a client approaches me with a new, super-fun task. Whoa!!!
When I first started working entirely from home, I was SO dedicated! I planted myself at my desk at a certain time, no matter what other tasks or needs were taxing my mind. I've realized, I'm not very efficient that way. I'd sit for hours, and yet, only manage to clock a couple because I was so unfocused!
Now, this brings me back to intentions. I have to work on listening to myself more.
After the holidays, I realized I was quite crispy with burnout. The last three months were wildly unfocused, and I was drained! I became the priority, because I couldn't focus on work. I've spent some hours taking care of the house, implemented a little morning walk as soon as the kids get on the bus (I don't even go back in the house! Just hit the path, it works!). Sometimes, a shower must pre-empt the draft I've promised. But when I do those things, you know what happens?
The work is accomplished. Faster.
So here is my intention for myself this year: Do more... for me.
I think I will chronicle it here, for me, for you. Hey, you, reader - do you want to do this with me? It doesn't have to be expensive or even time consuming. But let's find ways to sneak in the me. It will make you better, more thoughtful, more in-tuned, maybe even more efficient! Let's try. Who's coming?
About the walking. I had sat at my desk so much, I had pain in my back when I rolled over in bed. Walking will strengthen your whole body, including your abs and back. So even my 10-15 minute walk a day, after only a couple of weeks is beginning to help. Plus, I feel more energy brewing and I re-enter my house happy, content... and ready for a half hour of yoga. Yep, I make time for that too. Breathing is the best!
So my next little mission for me is a bath. But not just any bath, a Super Spoiler bath! I want rose petals, and candle light! To bring this one to life, I may just wait until summer and use rose petals from my very own rose bush. I will also be researching Ayruvedic baths in the meantime, so this may not be my only Super Spoiler bath.
If you want to try this one with me, I found a link with bath suggestions.
If you don't want to wait for your flower bed to provide ingredients, you might check out something like the bath bags I found.
What do you think, are you with me? I'm open to ideas, leave them in the comments!
