Don’t Put Off the Good Things to Tomorrow

“You’re the first person to say ‘Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today’, yet you always put off doing good things for yourself“, said my partner to me recently. “You don’t put off doing the dishes, or tidying up, or checking e-mails, but you never prioritise things such as yoga or reading which make you happy.”

He was so right and his words were a revelation to me. It had never crossed my mind that I shouldn’t put off the good things, too – I thought this motto only applied for chores and tasks.

I always knew that by not putting off our chores and tasks we have a better-organised life, we save time, we reduce stress. I never thought about the fact that by not putting off activities we enjoy, we …. don’t put off enjoying ourselves!

Let’s make the most of our time and prioritise at least one of our loved activities today. Let’s not put off being happy.

Today I will: make an iced coffee, read a book, ride a bike. And you?

Keep Your Space Free

I don’t know about you, but I have a problem with  empty spaces – I always try to fill them.

An empty corner in the house? I want to put a plant in it.

An empty wall? I want to hang a picture on it.

An empty hour in my week? I want to plan a meeting into it.

An empty week during the holidays? I want to fill it with activities.

In fact, my problem is that I always associate “space” with “empty”. But what if it wasn’t “empty”, what if it was…”free”?

FREE SPACE.

A free corner in the house, for light to fill it.

A free wall, for sun rays to dance on it.

A free hour in the day, to do what I like.

A free week, to rest and gather energy.

Let’s appreciate the free space we have in our lives by keeping it free!

I’m Taking my Time

When talking to friends or family, the two things I am most embarrassed to admit is wanting to take my time and wanting to think things through. If I tell them that I’m not completely fulfilled with an aspect of my life, their reaction is that I should do something to change it NOW. However, I have often felt resistance to this, feeling, instead, that in some situations I would prefer to observe, rather than act.

I am currently looking for a new professional opportunity and it is likely that I will move to a new city for it. In reaction to this situation, my family members are all telling me that I need to act quickly and make a decision very soon because “time is flying past, and before you know it you will be old/poor/unemployable/insert other unrealistic catastrophic situations”. As soon as I hear them telling me this, my chest tightens and I am immediately filled with stress. I am not ready to act now, because I do not yet know the best decision for myself. If I am to change my whole life and move to another city or country again, I want to make sure that it is for the best of reasons.

When I tell my family that “I need time to think things through”, I get the equally stress-provoking question “Well, how long do you think you’ll be thinking about this?”, as if we could put a time limit to deciding the best path for our future, in the same way that we can predict how long it will take us to wash the dishes or take a shower. In my current situation, it’s not so much the fact of having to make a change that is stressful, but the fact that the people close to me are expecting me to make a good (in their opinion) change very quickly.

I have never been advised to take my time and think things through thoroughly and so I have always felt like there was something ‘wrong’ with me when I was reluctant to take immediate action in a situation. I was therefore extremely relieved when I heard Jean Haner telling Nancy Levin, in an interview at the Hay House World Summit, that for her this was a year for planning and thinking, rather than change. This was the first time I had heard somebody advising someone else TO TAKE THEIR TIME. And I suddenly realised that it is ok for us to be still, it is ok for us to think things out and do things calmly. This revelation, this confirmation of my own beliefs, changed my whole attitude to my current life situation.

Yes, there are certain aspects of my life that I would like to change SOON, but NOW I will take my time to think through these changes and to find the best solution for myself. I will allow myself silence and stillness, to listen to what I truly want, rather than precipitating towards what I think I should be doing. And I will say, happily and confidently, to anyone who asks about how things are developing that “I’m taking the time to think things through”.

I Can Do That Today

A businessman bought popcorn from an old street vendor each day after lunch. He once arrived to find the peddler closing up his stand at noon. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

A smile wrinkled the seller’s leathery face. “By no means. All is well.”

“Then why are you closing your popcorn stand?”

“So I can go to my house, sit on my porch, and sip tea with my wife.”

The man of commerce objected. “But the day is still young. You can still sell.”

“No need to,” the stand owner replied. “I’ve made enough money for today.”

“Enough? Absurd. You should keep working.”

The spry old man stopped and stared at his well-dressed visitor. “And why should I keep working?”

“To sell more popcorn.”

“And why sell more popcorn?”

“Because the more popcorn you sell, the more money you make. The more money you make, the richer you are. The richer you are, the more popcorn stands you can buy. The more popcorn stands you buy, the more peddlers sell your product, and the richer you become. And when you have enough, you can stop working, sell your popcorn stands, stay home, and sit on the porch with your wife and drink tea.”

The popcorn man smiled. “I can do that today. I guess I have enough.”

Extract from Cure for the Common Life, Max Lucado

Daily Love Dose

Dear Reader, dear Friend,

As I mentioned in the last post, I currently – and to my great sadness – have to prioritise other activities over blogging, which means Love Out Loud may be quiet for a little while.

For this reason, I have decided to start a Twitter account, in which I will post one quote, thought, song, idea, link..a day. That way, I will still be able to share my experiences and impressions with you via a shorter and quicker route!

So, if you’re interested in inspirational and thought-provoking daily quotes, check out

https://twitter.com/LoveDoseDaily

Hoping to see you there!

With love