The last few days have been spent reclaiming neglected spaces. Below is a section of the garden, overgrown with grass and weeds, chocking out the once beautiful plants. Looking out the window and seeing it everyday overwhelmed my mind with all that needed to be done to get it back to the way it was.
Several hours later it looked like this:
My plan is to replant in the fall and next spring then keep adding layers of mulch to keep the grass from returning. When I look out the window I no longer feel as anxious and overwhelmed. Getting started and seeing progress ignites a positive energy and propells me to want to get out there and get it all done. But I don't want to get burned out either because then progress will stall which is what caused this to happened in the first place.
I'm also reclaiming my soul time: time spent alone, journaling, unwinding, connecting with self. When life is going well I keep up with this practice but as soon as the school year restarts it gets pushed aside for lesson planning, grading papers and destressing in front of the TV. I want this debilitating cycle to end so I signed up for Susannah Conway's
Sacred Alone course to help create a practice of refuge, wisdom and calm.
Already I feel lighter and optimistic, my mind a little more clearer knowing I am reclaiming my sacred spaces.
What spaces do you need to reclaim in order to gain a sense of calm and refuge?
I loved reading about this. It's so easy to see something as one overwhelming project with no apparent beginning or end. Even just the area next to my bed. I only keep a few things there that I like to see when I wake up. It started to overflow with abandoned magazines, books, drawings etc. Last night I just couldn't stand it anymore. I'm not by nature a tidy person but I love to start the day seeing open space and a few chosen items.
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