Mama and baby Humpback whale – Happy Mother’s Day!

Every summer I reread the little book Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh as a treat to myself.  Of course, I love the beach but it’s also an easy read about the challenges facing a woman at various stages of life.   Whatever problem I am dealing with at the time, she always has some great insight about it.  It’s probably the best self-help book for women out there!

So when I travelled to Maui on vacation this year, I brought her along.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read this passage which pretty much sums up my whole goal for the Year of Elimination:

Simplification of outward life is not enough.  It is merely the outside.  But I am starting with the outside.  I am looking at the outside of a shell, the outside of my life – the shell.  The complete answer is not to be found on the outside, in an outward mode of living.  This is only a technique, a road to grace.  The final answer, I know, is always inside.  But the outside can give a clue, can help one to find the answer inside.  One is free, like the hermit crab, to change one’s shell.

A road to grace.  Yes, that is exactly what I am looking for.  As I create an outer environment that I like, that is simple and extremely function for my personal needs, I hope to be able to live more authentically and find grace.  Have you ever notice most houses are not built with your lifestyle in mind?  Why are bedrooms so large when all they should have are a bed and dresser?  Bedrooms are not a place to “hang out” so why put so much space there?  Living and sleeping need separate spaces.  Rec rooms are great for kids and can be big enough that they can have their own personal areas (I loved my corner of our basement when growing up with my sewing/ballet area!)  And where in the plan is a room for creativity?  Somewhere you can have all your books, art supplies, anything you need for your hobbies and especially anything that inspires you at your finger tips (I would have a comfy couch or chair just to sit and contemplate all the beauty around me).  A space you can have for you that can be as messy as you want and you just shut the door when you leave and it’s all as it was when you come back.  Bliss.

On the home front, elimination and reconfiguration of my living space continues.  I have made a couple of more trips to the Salvation Army and bought a couch from Kijiji.  I know this is actually adding a large piece of furniture to my already cluttered house but surprisingly (maybe just surprising to me) it actually created more living space.  We now have a defined living room and separate workspace for sewing and other hand crafts.  I can’t believe how well this is working for us.  Much more is getting done in the same amount of space.  It’s amazing how a little planning and looking at things differently can improve your life.  Which brings me back to Maui.

What I learned from my vacation that I now apply every day…

Lesson #1: Make a plan.  Kristina and I had only 8 days on the island and we quickly realized we had better make a good plan or we wouldn’t be able to get to everything we wanted to do. Making even a rough plan with room for spontaneity is better than no plan and everyone we talked to that have been to Maui couldn’t believe how much we did.  It was totally worth all the experiences and neither of us regretted the plan.  Even the lack of sleep.

Lesson#2: Say “yes” to new experiences.  Most times I find I don’t do new things simply because it is out of my comfort zone.  I made a pact with myself that for the week in Hawaii, I was just going to say “yes” to everything and go from there.  It made decision making easy and had a surprising outcome.  Do you want to get up a 3am to drive 2 hours and watch the sun rise from the volcano summit? “Yes.”  Do you want to drive on crazy roads where you fear for your life and have  no idea what you’ll come across? “Yes.”  Do you want to go on a helicopter ride and view the islands from the air? “Yes.”  None of this was what I expected to be doing during this week and all of it was better than I could have imagined.  Obviously, saying “yes” can get you into trouble, but keeping an open mind and not just saying “no” because it sounds crazy or is your first response can bring great things into your life.  Flow is a nice state of being.

Lesson#3: Do it now.  If you’re thinking about doing something, there is no time like the present.  You’ll be surprised by what you can accomplish if you just do something when you think of it rather than “I’ll do that later when I have more time” or “I’ll do that tomorrow.”  Life is short and the same opportunity never comes again.  Enjoy life now (don’t save it for when you can afford it or retirement, etc.)

That’s all for now and for all you mom’s out there hope you’re all having a nice Mother’s Day.

Here is the  first giveaway!  My old Cybershot camera that I barely ever used.  If you want it, just let me know in your comment before May 27th and I’ll put your name in the draw.  I’ll post the winner then.