#thursdaysoff

At the beginning of this year (geez!  how can that be six months ago already??) I decided (and my weary Father-of-the-Bride husband agreed) that we needed more spaciousness in our lives and schedule this year after what we now refer to it as “The Wedding Year”.  We sought to vet our calendars (& rearrange when necessary) and if possible not schedule so many big things in a row. That is to say, notice that if three weekends were filled up the fourth would be emptied immediately.  This desire for spaciousness led us to gather together for a short time of meditation in the mornings before our days unfurled and to an inspired idea:  taking Thursdays off.  I marked #thursdaysoff in my calendar for the year.  I suggested to my husband that we attempt to take every other Thursday off to create more breathing room in our daily lives.  This was working quite well……..for about two months. We visited the Calaveras Big Trees one Thursday, stayed home and read on another and went to a doctor’s appointment and lunch out on still another. Then, a graduation, visitors, an amped up work schedule and an unexpected health detour led to nearly forgetting this “great idea”.  When I looked at my phone this morning to see what was on my calendar I noticed my #thursdaysoff  reminder and decided to return to the habit, as a lapsed Christian might return to Sunday School or an alchoholic might begin again his sobriety.

Homemaking…..is also making space to notice the home in my heart.

The delight, recognition and relief at the solution to my scattered tiredness which was staring at me from my own calendar washed over me and left me instantly clear, cleansed and with an empty slate for the day.  I decided to “just” let myself be led into each task or sitting still, either one being welcomed.  I folded towels, ironed my linen trousers (a meditation all on its own), emptied trashcans, watered plants.  I culled the mail tray (an antique music stand by the front door), opened the box of incense I ordered from Amazon (how did we live without 2-day shipping?), went through the stack of papers next to my computer mentally marked “look at these”, cleared my email for the first time in weeks and months and made a cup of tea. I filled the tea caddy, rearranged my shoes in my closet and took out a few clothes to my winter clothes closet in the garage.  In other words, I steadily occupied myself with homemaking.  As I walked through my tasks without to-do list and just let my heart and home guide me. I thought what a perfect analogy homemaking is to thought-awareness.  As I endeavor to extend love to my thoughts, I don’t keep all of them.  I toss some, dust others off, rearrange, enjoy and just notice others.  Just like I did when I changed the vase for the dried hydrangeas, threw out an old candle and and wiped clear the glass of my antique rattan tea trolly I use as a coffee table in my study. Now my study feels emptied of past not-noticing or ignoring (no papers, email cleared, fresh candles & vase), my bedroom closet is tidy for summer and my soul is relaxed.

Read it and weep……with relief.

I had thought I would “catch up on phone calls” today which would definitely would have invited “more” into my day and what I quite obviously needed was less.  The next time you are faced with a day or moment that threatens to overwhelm you, just remember #thursdaysoff.  What is your equivalent of #thursdaysoff?  Do you leave Friday night clear for family?  Do you have coffee alone on the patio every morning with the sunrise, do you religiously clear your calendar for visitors?  What can you do, on a regular basis to remind yourself that spaciousness is where you find your true Self?  If necessary write a reminder in your calendar or phone. Thank you #thursdaysoff for saving me from my self and delivering me into the waiting arms of my Self, where the Divine is always present.