Y3 – Day 359 – Honor

“Honor your feelings and don’t try to be something you are not,” my wise friend B said. Work on self. Be true to self with self-awareness.

Your integrity is your reputation. Self esteem and self approval come with knowing the whole of you; warts, flaws, errors and shortcomings, too.

Celebrate self and praise yourself. “Stop, Cancel, Change” when you have a negative, ugly thought, an instructor told me.

Take contrary action. You get better results to your negative thoughts when you take positive action.

Your intention and your passion for change causes the shift. Praise, acknowledgement and sincerity brings joy to those who honor themselves consistently.

Y3 – Day 357 – What To Let Go Of

In the latter half of 2015, I started to accept and wrap my head around letting go of stuff and seriously start decluttering. As a consequence, my creativity and energy came back.

Here’s five ideas of what to let go of to get you started too:

  1. Anything you find no joy in anymore – just stash it away if you are emotionally attached to it – till you can release it.
  2. Anything truly ugly in your eyes now even though you adored it once or your late, great-grandmother gave it to you as a wedding present. Take a picture.
  3. Anything that doesn’t represent who you are to yourself today. It just doesn’t fit your style or stage of life anymore. Stay authentic to your new self as you evolve.
  4. Anything outdated like that boombox or cd walkman or even projects you know you will never really finish because the passion for it is just gone.
  5. Anything broken, unless you love it and can repurpose, re-use it or re-build it.

It’s ok to leave a wall, a corner or a part of your floor, blank. It allows your imagination to spin and keep you open.

Y3 – Day 356 – In 2016 I will ….

In 2016, I intend on letting go even more, scrutinizing my belongings and releasing anything that is not practical, pleasing or precious to me and our home.

The other day I thought about how empty nest kind of sounds like emptiness. In lieu of that expression and now its connotation I can’t get out of my head, I am deciding not to call it that anymore. Our home is not devoid of love nor is it hollow.

Maybe we could call it our cozy corner? Or, adult refuge or snug sanctuary?

What do you think? Any cute suggestions?

 

Y3 – Day 355 – Happy New Year!!! 2016!!!

I said farewell to E this morning at 5am before dawn as she drove up to be with sister V in Berkeley to celebrate the New Year Japanese Style together – a nod to their backpacking trip last New Year’s.

I watched Dubai celebrate with fireworks while a hotel burned at noon PST today.

I am so excited! I was first on a wait list for the advanced paint class at Peinture and I just received the call this afternoon that I got in!! Thirteen different techniques that I know I will learn so much more about!!

J and M are going to Teemu Selanne’s restaurant for a party where her brother in law will be bringing out the BEST from the kitchen exclusively for their table of twenty-thirty somethings. 

To be fair, I won’t probably even make NY Times Square ball dropping. It has been a wild vacation yet mellow as well. The love of my life and our pets will most assuredly be in bed by eight pm or so. 

Like a marriage, it is not the wedding that counts, it is the relationship lasting.

We will bring in 2016 in a subdued, sleeping mode because it is all the rest of the days in the year that matter, not just tonight.

Enjoy and Peace Out to 2015!

Y3 – Day 352 – Reminiscing

When I was young, I used to love to spend hours outdoors, especially with my cat Misty, in the shade under a tree right under one of my bedroom windows. I loved to look out of my windows; one by my twin bed of two and the other above my favorite of two desks. I loved to watch the seasons change. My preferred location was this painted wooden tableau overlooking our backyard and beyond. To the right was a wooded lot where I spent many a day having acorn fights. I climbed the limbs of the oaks with finesse and familiarity.

Sometimes, I walked home from school through ‘down Polly’s’ which was the name of a forested field you could cut through. Most days, I used the residential streets which was the main route and walked in groups. As each child came to their house, the number of our group would drop, till everyone was home.

I remember my room as a sanctuary.

Y3 – Day 350 – Humor

Laughter – Humor – Comedy

What I think is funny might not be to others. Some amusing situations are universal. But hilarity can be personal too.

There is dry humor, black or dark humor, physical/accident prone humor like Chevy Chase, Lucy Ball and the 3 stooges, wry humor, sarcastic humor, intelligent humor, potty humor, puns and language humor, self-deprecating humor, observational humor…and the list goes on…

What is your favorite? What makes you slap your knees? What gives you the giggles?

We all could use a lightness through the holidays (and during remodels).

Y3 – Day 348 – Lighten Up

What I have found from investigating, radically sifting through, organizing and throwing stuff out is that I feel lighter, more creative and happier. Now I know I can live with less or just enough. Now I know I am worthy to live with only what brings me joy, beauty or practical usage. I have let go of guilt, shame and baggage, all from decluttering.

I have a pile of things for kids to choose from or toss. I boxed and put away special, sentimental items that no longer fit but I still cannot give up.

Clutter was taking up my energy. It was overwhelming. I thought I needed to stop acquiring and start discarding, but that wasn’t enough. I realized after seriously scrutinizing and questioning my issue that I was healing as I let go.  I breathed in the phenomenon of knowing I was enough and then, I exhaled in gratitude.