Season Two, Day Seven

I probably ought to be posting more often, just to help me keep my focus and attention where it needs to be. But, like everyone else in the world, I've been incredibly busy. I mean BUSY with almost no time to call my own. I really don't like it when my life gets like this -- I tend to be more reactive and less responsive, less deliberate about my choices and activities. I've been doing really good about staying on point with the Challenge, though, despite my busy schedule.

I'm the treasurer (read: bookkeeper) for a non-profit organization that runs an art gallery and provides art education for children and adults. It's a volunteer position, but sometimes it keeps me as busy as a day job, without any of the perks. This has been an exceptionally busy time, because in addition to closing out the month of December (closing out the month always causes a little extra work), I've had to deal with closing out the year, too. To magnify the business, I was sick for about ten days in the beginning of January, so I was just doing what I had to, to get by. Not to stay caught up, but to get by. I was reacting to other people's requests for information, etc. That was all.

Once I got to feeling better, I was soooo far behind! I've been working for several days, five to seven hours a day, trying to just get caught up. As of today, I can finally relax! I only worked a couple of hours today, and I got so much done. All the receipts to date have been recorded, the bank deposit finally made, membership renewals entered into the database. I just have a couple of emails in my box that need my attention, but they can wait for tomorrow. It feels so good to be in this position. Now, to just stay this way!

I only adopted four practices for the Challenge: my morning pages ala Julie Cameron and The Artist's Way, a short walk each day, reading The Secret Daily Teachings perpetual calendar, and making a gratitude list. My first gratitude list had five heartfelt items on it, and I was pretty pleased with myself. Then, on Day Two, The Secret Daily Teaching for the day suggested a gratitude list of 100 items ... every day! At first, I was like "Oh, man, I can't do that! It'll take forever!" But now, after about three days, I've got my list up to 100 items and am keeping it there consistently. It doesn't take forever, because I work on it throughout the day. In fact, I go through my day looking for things to be appreciative of. How cool is that? Sometimes, in the midst of a frustrating situation, I remember to ask myself, "What can I be grateful for, or appreciative of, in this situation?" It's been an amazing tool for me, just in these few short days. Yes, some of the same items appear on my list from day to day, but that's because I'm still grateful for them. There's been an added bonus, too. Taking stock of my day, throughout my day, has helped me be more present and focused on the moment. One of my big issues for this Challenge is bringing the moment to me, and this practice helps me to do just that.

So far, I've done my morning pages every day -- and I've even done them in the morning! When I recently took a class in The Artist's Way, that was a challenge for me, getting the pages done in the morning. I just perceived that I was too busy in the mornings to take the time to write my pages. It takes me about 45-50 minutes to write my three long-hand pages. It was so hard for me to do just a couple of months ago, and yet, I'm getting up in a timely fashion now; it's almost effortless.

I've taken my walk everyday but one. I just got home too late to do that. For some reason, it hadn't occurred to me at all to take a break while I was at the gallery and go for a walk around the block. That would have relieved some stress, put me in touch with the moment (since walking is kind of meditative for me), gotten me some fresh air, cleared my brain, AND gotten in my walk! However, it just didn't occur to me. The next day, however, a friend and I did take time to walk around a couple of blocks in the downtown area. No power walking-- we were taking the time to window shop if something looked interesting -- but it was still more exercise than I'd have gotten if I'd have skipped my walk all together.

When I first put this Challenge together, my practices list had an inferiority complex because it's so small and simple. But I know me -- anything elaborate, and it would be too easy to get sidetracked or knocked off course the first day I didn't get all my practices in. That happened to me last season and I didn't want to risk it happening again. I did make a decision today to add another practice on Day 26, Day 51, and Day 76. Those dates will mark the quarters of the Challenge, so I'll be taking little baby steps. Baby steps are good for me.

I was talking about the 100 Day Reality Challenge with someone that I hadn't seen or spoken with since the Challenge began. He was asking about my practices and my intentions, and how well I was getting along. I realized in talking to him that while I haven't had any major manifestations, I am seeing my intentions unfold before my eyes. As I mentioned, one of the most important things of this Challenge is to bring the moment to me, to be more focused and present throughout my day. I'm already seeing that happening for me. All of my practices are designed to help me be in the moment as I go through my day. I'm not at the same level of "be here now" that I was during the last season that I participated in, but I'm already seeing movement in that direction. Time is passing more slowly for me, it seems. Even on my busy BUSY days, I'm not coming to the end of them, wondering where the time went. I know where it went, because I was more present in it than I would have been a week ago. This is my main intention, so this is an awesome experience for me.

Sorry this was so long. My husband is commuting two hours and 40 minutes ONE WAY each day, so we aren't seeing a lot of each other lately. I guess I just needed to talk to someone! LOL!