Decisions, Decisions - Flip a Coin

I sometimes have trouble making a decision - sometimes about big stuff, but often about small, piddly stuff - 

• do I go out for lunch or stay in the office and read? 
• do I work on a quilt or read a book?
• do I go to a meeting in case I need to be there or stay home and relax (ok, - that should be a no-brainer)?
• and so on and so on and so on.

I know I need to be open to God and God will lead the way.  On the big stuff, it may take lots of time and many prayers to feel God's guidance.  But for those pesky little things, what form does God's guidance take?  


I have always heard that "if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."  (very wise lyrics written by Neil Peart of Rush).  Unfortunately, I choose not to decide sometimes, and I really don't like "my decision" afterward - feels like wasted time.  Then, one day while watching the start of a football game, the officials tossed the coin to decide who gets the ball first - and I thought that (light bulb moment!!!) that would be a SIMPLE way to do it.  Why not flip a coin?  At least for the simple stuff.  And so I do.


So out came on old Eisenhower dollar we had.  Heads is YES, tails is NO.  Heads is QUILT, tails is READ.  And so on.

When I started doing this, I thought "this isn't a very Godly way to decide something".  But who is to say God didn't have me watch that game and pay attention to that coin toss at that very time just so I could think of the idea of a coin toss to help me.  After all, all coins do say "In God We Trust".


And, it seems to be working for me!  When I start having trouble making a decision, I flip, and do what the coin tells me.  Interestingly, sometimes I flip, the coin says one thing, and I say "Oh no - I really don't want to do that!" and do the other thing. It took a coin flip to make my head realize my heart had already made a decision.  And I have realized over time, I have less trouble making those little decisions.  My head is listening more to my heart!  Awesome!


Now, as long as I don't start worrying, "should I flip the coin or not flip the coin?", I should be OK.
Blessings,
Kat

Need a Good Book?

I think I have mentioned at least one of these books before, but these are two of my biggest motivators to learn to live a simpler life.  When I feel myself slipping back into a frenzied lifestyle, I check them out again at the library and reread them or at least the relevant parts of them for the time.  I finally realized (after I almost highlighted in one of the library's copies - eeek!) that I really needed my own copies.  I do much better at retaining ideas when I can color-code and notate and dog-ear. So, I ordered them and they arrived today.  Out comes the highlighter..

The first one is Abundant Simplicity - Discovering the Unhurried Rhythms of Grace by Jan Johnson.  The second one is from clutter to clarity - simplifying life from the inside out by Nancy Twigg.  Both books focus on uncluttering the mind and lifestyle as a necessary step before one can unclutter the material things that can overwhelm or dominate one's life. 

Enjoy a cup of hot tea and a good book -
Blessings,
Kat

Take a Break or Your Body Will Take One For You

As I mentioned Saturday, last week was hectic.  To top it off, I went into the weekend thinking I could do everything - Fall decorating, quilting, house chores, shopping, you name it.  Then midday Sunday, I hit a wall - physically, mentally and emotionally. The sinus problem I was having turned into an infection and the enthusiasm for all I was getting done faltered and fled.  What had gone wrong?  I mean, I was cranking last week and this weekend.  I was being PRODUCTIVE.  My body knows when it needs a break and it took one!

Enter the Productivity Paradox!!!  (If I could hum the tune to The Twilight Zone on this blog, I would do it right now - do DO DO do, do DO DO do - does that work?)  The Productivity Paradox concept was popularized by MIT Professor of Management Erik Brynjolfsson (huh?) in 1993.  Well, to put it SIMPLY (in KatSpeak), it means that you feel like you have to be constantly producing something in order to feel like you are not just wasting your precious time.

Monday, I was home from work, running a fever with a severe sinus headache, and I STILL felt like I should be doing something - ANYTHING to feel like I wasn't wasting this day!!!  So I tried reading (ha! - like that was going to work with fever and a headache).  Then I turned to listening to a CD book I had picked up at the library - One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life by Kerry & Chris Shook.  This is not your typical "if you only had one month to live, what would you do?" book.  It is more about living in the moment than having a bucket list (though a new RED 2012 Roush Stage 3 Mustang would be tempting, but I digress).  

For those who don't know what a 2012 Roush Stage 3 is - this is the baby!
(courtesy of the Roush Performance web page)

And what did the Shooks just happen to be talking about when I started listening?  That you CANNOT be productive all the time - you need to take a Sabbath (a day or an hour or ten minutes here and there) that you spend quietly and unbusily (KatSpeak again) in meditation or in soul-searching or in just BEING.  

And it hit me - KABAM ! - this last week I got so caught up in the "doing" that I quit writing in my journal, I quit sitting by the table watching the birds, I quit stitching at night, I quit reading my inspirational books, I quit talking to God (I was too BUSY to talk to God !!!! Oooops!!!! That is a BIGGY, isn't it?!).

Well, that is all part of the reason for this blog and for what I am trying to do at this time in my life - as I say, I am searching for TRUE contentment through SIMPLE LIVING.  Running around being "productive" in the sense of getting gobs of stuff done is NOT truly being "productive" in accomplishing LIFE itself.  I may take many wrong turns or be driven off the path many times, but I am really HAPPY that I am becoming more aware of this "problem" earlier (or Someone is doing it for me) and that I can start to better enjoy life through those Sabbath times more often.  

The last of my flowers from my poor garden.

Have a Productivity Paradox free day -

Blessings,

Kat

Just Look at that Sky !!!

There are some days when "simple" simply eludes me.  A non-stop, fast-paced, high-tech, energy-zapping, overwhelming, why-does-everything-have-to-be-so-complicated kind of day.  I get so wrapped up in doing all my "important" stuff that I do not take breaks, do not eat a snack to keep my blood sugar up, do not take a lunch break, do not come out of my office.  Sometimes I even SKIP lunch altogether because I am so busy that I "forget". 

But my search for SIMPLE LIVING has led me to slowly discover "little" things that help to calm my mind and my body when days like this happen.  I simply look up.  Looking at the sky, day or night, has become a daily routine for me - after all, it is hard to miss it and is quite plentiful - you just have to get used to looking at it - really looking at it - to let it do its wondrous healing.  

Ever notice how BIG a clear sky really is?  It is HUGE!  And clouds?  They are AMAZING - even mesmerizing - with their different shapes and types and movements and shadows.  Rainy days? - go out, look up and let the rain wash away your stress and worries and tiredness (I say - to heck with the makeup!).  I admit, even a threatening sky has the power over me to force the so-called "important" stuff to the back recesses of my mind.  (OK, I admit, living in Oklahoma there is a certain "anxiety" that creeps up when the skies are threatening - what with the tornadoes and everything - but you do have to admit that they make you forget all that other stuff!  But that is not the point of my little blog here.)

Sunrises are worth the few extra minutes of sleeping in to get up and see when you can.  Sunsets are worth the wait as the sky slowly colors and then darkens into night.  

And the nighttime sky - oh my! - what a true gift we have been given.  The stars, the moon, comets, meteor showers, the planets, the Milky Way!!!  If you live in a city - take the time to drive out away from the lights and view the nighttime sky in all its glory.  Take a blanket out, lie down and take it all in!

Yep, in those sky-filled moments, my "important" stuff becomes a lot less significant, the really important "stuff" becomes clear and present, and my heart and soul open up and praise God for the SKY.

Simply Heavenly !!!!

Blessings,

Kat

Favorite sky viewing locations:  White Sands New Mexico, Death Valley California, Grand Canyon Arizona, Natural Bridges National Monument Utah, anywhere there are mountains, anywhere there are no mountains, Newalla Oklahoma :)

What is SIMPLE anyway?

I want to live a simpler life!  What a buzz phrase in today's crazy world.  But what does SIMPLE mean anyway?  Does it really represent what I am trying to achieve? 

Merriam Webster's online dictionary has the following definitions for SIMPLE:

1.  free from guile - INNOCENT

2.  free from vanity, ostentation, display - MODEST

3.  of humble origin or modest position

4.  lacking knowledge or expertise - NAIVE

5.  constituting a basic element - FUNDAMENTAL

6.  free from elaboration or figuration

7.  not subdivided

8.  not limited or restricted - UNCONDITIONAL

9.  readily understood or performed

Synonyms - plain, unadorned, undecorated, unembellished, unornamented, unvarnished

Interesting - I think many of these "definitive" definitions can be misinterpreted or misused to describe things that I think are not that "simple" to define (ha!).  I think that something someone else considers complex may be simple to me.  And something complex to me may be simple to someone else.

Would this flower be considered SIMPLE?

By definition, some may say it is not free from ostentation (look at the bright colors and the detail of the veins) or readily understood (what does it take for this flower to grow and survive) or free from guile (a flower often used to "repair" a relationship or encourage someone to feel better).  It definitely may not be considered unadorned or unornamented with its bright red highlights and its showy center.  

But to me, it is simply beautiful.

Blessings,

Kat

Tend Your Own Garden

While I love flower and vegetable gardening, this is not what the title of this blog refers to.  But it will serve as a good example of the importance of these four words.

I had a beautiful beginning garden in May.  I tended it everyday, morning and night, looking forward to my months-long reward for all this hard work.  Coneflowers, lilies, zinnias and gallardia - green beans, okra, squash and canteloupe.  And our yard -  Keven had it looking like a golf course!  Then THE summer of 2011 hit OK ... hottest summer on record, most number of days of 100+ temps.  And the rain - where did it go once summer arrived?

Well, by the beginning of July, I was physically suffering - the heat was taking its toll on my not-too-healthy-to-begin-with body.  I was really aching by the end of the day, with the very warm mornings of gardening and watering chores (you would think those darn weeds would die with everything else from lack of water and excessive heat - ha!), followed by a day at work.  By evening, I was pushing myself to get more watering in, feed the thirsty and hungry animals that frequent our yard (ok - the lack of mosquitos this year has been a blessing, though not for the animals that depend on bugs for their sustenance).  Getting into bed every night, I hurt and I hurt BAD - could not stitch or read, could not visit with my friends, could not go to sleep (much less stay asleep when I was finally able to drift off).  And then it would start all over the next day.  And the weekends - those were CATCH UP watering and weeding days!  But I was intent on having those fresh-cut flowers for my tables and fresh veggies for our summer meals. And Keven - well, our grass was still nice thanks to his hard work. 

So now, back to those four wonderful words.  I was reading the book from clutter to clarity - simplifying life from the inside out by Nancy Twigg (which I highly recommend to all you overachieving, stressed out, "quiet time is wasted time" kindred spirits out there).  Ms. Twigg challenges the reader - Tend Your
Own Garden.  And my response, "I am trying - I have all this stuff I want to be doing, but this gardening is taking up all my time and energy and strength and stamina this year.  I can't quilt.  I can't go out with friends.  I can't even do my nightly reading.  I am physically spent."  Blah, blah. 

But then, her point hits me.  I have to take care of myself first - nobody else is responsible for doing that.  I was trying to best Nature itself and was losing the battle - not just the flower and vegetable garden battle, but the battle to keep myself healthy for the other important things in my life (afterall, it is just this one rare summer, right?).  I had to stop tending my garden to tend MY garden.

And I stopped - and the flower and vegetable gardens (and eventually the grass - even Keven has his heat limits) died - no more watering and weeding needed.  I started feeling better, and then even BETTER - and I had energy to read some wonderful spiritual and educational books, and I did MORE quilting and other stitching in the last 2 months than in the last 2 years, and had energy to go places with Keven and friends, and I started sleeping again.  Crazy, huh?

Well, I think Ms. Twigg and her book saved my summer (and much more).  I realize now that paring down the material things (not fabric material, mind you!) and eliminating some of the excessive tasks on our to-do lists every day is NOT the end-all-be-all solution to simplifying your life - the solution starts by simplifying the clutter in the mind and soul of all the "wants" and "shoulds" that seem to take over our lives.

Oh, did I mention?  Our cactus garden did VERY GOOD this year!!!! 

Well - I did get on a bandwagon, didn't I?  I promise my blogs won't be this wordy all the time - because that is simply not simple, is it?  Ha!

Blessings - and don't forget to TEND YOUR OWN GARDEN.
Kat