Today's Medicine: Fruitful Solitude

Happiness is when
what you think,
what you say,
and what you do
are in harmony.
-Mahatma Gandhi

I grinned from ear to ear when I read today's quote. Why? Because it resonates so much with the spiritual path I follow of right mind/love/action. It's also a very shamanic way of being in the world. You can do so much when your mind, heart and will are in alignment. I notice that I feel it in my body when those three things are out of alignment. Gotta love those cosmic reminders.

I had several hours of Solitude today and loved every minute of it. I wasn't wildly productive and for some reason I was moving verrryyy sllloooow. So I just did whatever I felt like doing. It was very nice. Since Nesting is my focus for the year, I did hearth work, tidying up loose ends around the house. I took down the dried flowers and put them in jars for future ceremonial use, sorted through and tossed some crunchy looking storage containers, worked on laundry and organized the things that will be taken away by a non-profit group next week. Not exactly wildly exciting but satisfying. Of course the type A part of my brain (yes, I have one and boy howdy is she a pain) kept telling me that I was just a lazy layabout and maybe I ought to get a move on since there's so much that needs doing. I mostly ignored her but if you have one too, you know how difficult it is to shut her up. Thank goodness for my observer self. It helps to have her around to keep things in balance.

I also did some thinking about Simplicity and how I can make space for that energy in my life. If I have less things to take care of, I will be better able to enjoy the things I do have. If I slow down a bit and make better choices about where and how I spend my energy, I allow more space to do the things that help me be balanced and happy. If I sort through and release the clutter in my home, I have less things to clean and care for. This will free up time for the things I really want to be doing instead of constantly tidying. I'm not saying that tidying is a bad thing, it's just clear to me that being a Cleaner of a Messy House isn't the title I want to hold for the rest of my life. It's all about release, really. About what I am willing to let go of in order to have what I long for. You'd think that would be easy and yet it really isn't. *sigh* It's a good thing that I believe that small changes are lasting changes. Otherwise I'd be so out of luck...