Two weeks ago, I began a sort of “spiritual housecleaning” by acknowledging the truth of British writer Rumer Godden’s observation that “Everyone is a house of four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.” Facing the fact that my own life had gotten badly out of balance, I made a commitment to work at “airing out” each of these four rooms every day for four weeks and encouraged you to do the same thing.
After a week, I was amazed at how much more often I was experiencing “mindful moments,” when I actually paid attention to what was going on around me. So what has happened now that I’m halfway through this journey? Well . . .
In Week 2, the physical room was aired out with catnaps, homecaring (which is far more “me” than calling it “housecleaning” – small changes make big differences in attitude for me) to have the house pretty and inviting for friends, excellent food and exerting myself physically to the point of completing the first leg of my three-race virtual race challenge – I’m looking forward to receiving the bling in the next few days!
In the mental room, in addition to my puzzle games that I spend a few minutes on over my first cup of coffee, I read Paul Lynch’s excellent (and horrifying in its realness) Prophet Song, and watched the 1991 film version of Enchanted April, a film I’d been wanting the see for over a year. It’s lovely and moves at a languid pace, because nothing bad happens. Italy works its magic on 4 unhappy-for-different-reasons Englishwomen and the world is made better for it. I also played with geocaching again, discovering a few lovely spots that I never would have found on my own.
In the emotional room (the hardest one for me to step into, it seems), I expressed my feelings without apologizing for them, spent time painting without worrying about the outcome, said “yes” to a wonderful girls’ night out for dinner and a show, browsed at my own pace in my own company, and had a positively magical day of tea, delicious nibbles, poetry, and a ride on the antique carrousel in town. (That one took some planning, but it couldn’t have been more wonderful! I think we may have created a 21st century salon.)
In the spiritual room, I have continued with my short morning meditation and reflection. This really helps me set the tone for the rest of the day.
I am thrilled with my progress. I’m making myself a priority, instead of an afterthought and I’m enjoying finding new facets of myself. I’ve had several moments this past week where it was obvious and clear as crystal that there’s truth in that saying about how impossible it is to pour from an empty pitcher. I’m working every day to make sure mine is full so that I can support others who I care for during some difficult times.
Slow down, Divas. Walk into each room each day, even just for a few minutes. Value yourself and insist on being a whole person.
How else are you to live with savoir faire?
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