Finally Friday Week 27: Learning to Ground

I went to the woods to ground myself. Seeing the thick roots of the pine and cedar trees at Llandover Woods near my house reminded me of how important it is to do this. Life moves at such a pace these days and if our roots are not strong and our feet are not firmly planted on the ground, we will sway, bend and even break with even a small gust of wind.

As I walked along, I felt every single step on the soft earth. I smelled pine and stopped to stare at the huge thick trunks of the trees before me. How long had these trees been here? 20 years? 100 years? I could not say for sure, but they looked like great guardians of the earth. They'd been through storms, rain, wind, drought, birds had built their homes in their branches. They'd been pecked by woodpeckers who left deep welts, like battle scars on their trunks. They'd been infested with bugs and some of them had lost their branches, but the roots and trunks were still standing strong.

I need to go to the forest to remind myself to be like a tree. Winds of change can be fierce at times and the tendency is to blow all over the place. Sometimes it's easy to blow so far from where we're meant to go that we're no longer sure who we are.

I have the tendency to want to roam when what I really need to do is ground. I think part to that is a fear of looking deeply at my life. I fear the mundane and I also have a fear of settling.

If I have any free time, I want to travel. However, this will be the first break from teaching where I will not go far from my home. I have a plan to hunker down, clear out the old, organize, write, garden, create a budget and make my home a haven.

This does not mean that I will not travel again. I know travel is in my future for sure, but I'm feeling the need to ground before I take off because eventually I will need to land again and what good is flying around if I can't land. I think it's a skill worth mastering and even being good at.

So I'm getting my lessons from the trees and the earth right now. I don't need to go far to do this. I can start right where I am.

Do you have trouble grounding yourself or are you are very grounded person who could use a bit more adventure and spontaneity in your life?

365 Inspirations—358: Christmas Eve Tea

It's Christmas Eve and I spent most of the day packing and doing laundry. I already had a gathering with my family. Yoon and I had a few moments to sit down together and have a bit of apple pie a la mode with a cup of decaf earl grey tea. That was our celebration!

Tomorrow I get up early in the morning and head to the airport and then on to Fresno, CA for a 10-day meditation course.

It's not easy to catch up on paperwork, bills, and emails, but  it will be good to finally cut the cord tomorrow. We are all so plugged in these days and to unplug is not so easy, but so necessary.

I've been writing on this blog for almost 365 days and to suddenly stop writing everyday will be both shocking and amazing. I need this break.

I look forward to going inward and I look forward to the silence and slow pace during this busy holiday time.

Yoon just went out to get some food as it suddenly dawned on him that most of the grocery stores will be closed tomorrow and he doesn't have much to eat here. He'll be home alone for 10-days, teaching yoga classes, etc.

Well, bon voyage and thanks for tuning in here for an entire year! The rest of my posts until the end of 2013 are prescheduled, but I think you will enjoy them.

How did you spend your Christmas Eve?

365 Inspirations—352: Organizing

My writing room is looking pretty organized here!

“A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.”—Ann Dillard

Since I went on break from school, I've avoided organizing, cleaning or sticking to any kind of structure.

 It was as if papers were flying behind me in a whirlwind upon exiting the campus for winter break and all I could think about was heading to the Korean spa for some unstructured relaxation.

Now, little by little, I'm bringing structure back to my life on my break and I'm starting to do get back into my regular yoga practice, walking schedule, and I even find myself wanting to clean and organize!

But I won't have much time to do all the things I'd like to get done because I'm heading off to Fresno, CA on Dec. 25th for a silent meditation course.

That's right, I'll be completely unplugging from all electronic gadgets for 10 whole days! But, I'll have prescheduled posts until the end of the year, so check in here to see what my plans for next year will be.

I realize that I tend to avoid organization and cleaning and basically getting down to business. I get an idea about something or I find something I'd much rather do and the mundane gets pushed aside.

The problem with that is that if you keep pushing the mundane aside, an avalanche of clothes and papers and dust come tumbling down and then there really is no escape. It just has to be done.

I'd like to reach a place in my life where I manage the small things before they become avalanches waiting to happen.

So staying organized and on top of things will be one of my goals for 2014!

Do you like to organize and take care of things right away, or do you wait until it's almost an avalanche waiting to happen?

365 Inspirations—235: A Clean House

"My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares. Why should you?"—Erma Bombeck

A clean house is my inspiration today. Truth be told, I don't clean house as much as I'd like to. It's low on my priority list. However, if guests come for dinner or a barbecue, I do a thorough clean.

I love having guests over not only for their company, but also because I know I'll clean house and it makes me feel good to clean. I am able to focus better when things are clean and organized in my home, but they only seem to be really organized when people are coming over. Isn't that funny?

I also love dreaming up menus for guests. My favorite one this summer has been to prepare Korean Kalbi on the grill. I like it because not many people make Korean ribs for guests and they are absolutely delicious.

Besides cooking, I washed the bed sheets and all the linens, cleaned the bathroom, mopped, swept, organized. I see that there is still so much to do, but it's a step in the right direction. Now that the house is clean, I'm inspired to dig deeper into the closets, etc. and clean more. We'll see how long that motivation lasts.

Do you clean your house frequently or only when guests come for dinner? ^_^

365 Inspirations—95: Cooking for a Party I'm Hosting

"We labor to make a house a home, then every time we're expecting visitors, we rush to turn it back into a house."—Robert Brault

Today was an extremely busy day. A friend I hadn't seen in a long time suddenly appeared at my front door this morning, so we had tea together and chatted. I also met a friend for lunch!

I went to the grocery store to get ready for a party I'm hosting for a friend tomorrow. I meant to clean the house today, but got sidetracked and gardened instead.

It felt good to get my hands dirty and dig up weeds and tidy up the garden. I tried to mow the lawn with the push mower, but my husband came home and did a more thorough job with the lawn mower. We have this huge camellia tree in our front yard and it's dropping bright pink petals everywhere. They are so beautiful that I didn't really want to rake them up, but they were starting to form a huge pile at our front door.

After hanging out in the yard for quite some time, I finally ventured into the kitchen and began cooking. I made a spicy lentil and sausage soup, two quiches, a fruit salad and I sliced veggies for a veggie and dip tray. While I was cooking, I also cleaned out the fridge.

Needless to say, I'm now pooped, but haven't really cleaned yet for the event. People are coming over at 12:00pm tomorrow, so I guess I'd better get up a little earlier than I usually do and get to work ^_^!

I like having people over because it gives me a reason to clean my yard and house, otherwise I tend to get lazy about it and put it off. Hosting a dinner or party is a great way to get things in order!

Do you ever have a party at your house or people over for dinner? Do you think it helps you to get organized?

365 Inspirations—49: Cleaning House

"I'm not going to vacuum until Sears makes one you can ride on." —Roseanne Barr


Cleaning house is not my favorite thing to think about doing, but it feels so good after it's all done.

I feel the need to clean house today. Don't know what that is all about. I mostly feel like I need to get organized. A friend came over today for lunch and I enjoyed cooking for her. We had a nice conversation and meal. I cleaned the house on the surface, but want to attack some closets and my office.

Sometimes I feel like I can't think clearly until things are somewhat organized. Today is one of those days.

I'm going to start with the bedroom closet and then move to my office and get that organized. It's Presidents Day, so I don't have to work, but I have lots to do before the week starts up again.

I'm feeling the need to tend to things that I've been avoiding for some time—namely the state of my house. On the surface it looks fine, but dig deeper and you'll find it's really in a state of disarray, much like my mind today.

So off I go to tidy my little house and hopefully sweep up the cobwebs of my mind.

Do you often feel that cleaning or organizing your house helps your state of mind?