The Unwind. - A Little Light No. 8
How are you? This past week has been a rollercoaster of emotions, to say the least. There was a collective anxiousness with many of us glued to the TV. I am not going to lie, there were moments where it was difficult to remain hopeful. Through all of this, we continued to be patient.
Here are two things I watched to destress during this week:
I have spent some time watching videos from the GirlinCalico Youtube page. She is grounded in two scriptures. The first is Ecclesiastics 3:1, "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” and 1 Thessalonians 4:11, “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.” She seeks to live a simple and sustainable life, striving to live off of the crops her and family plant in their back yard, shopping locally in their town, using reusable cloth coffee filters, and buying and selling second-hand clothing. Her YouTube page is dedicated to sharing the ways she prepares her food and home during each season. In this video, she is preparing for winter by switching out her sheets, curtains, and decorations. Her videos are always beautifully created and are very aesthetically pleasing to watch. When I first watched her videos, I didn’t think I could relate to her aim for a slow life with work from our hands. It seemed her Midwestern farm dream was miles away from the big city I live in. But in this video, I realized there are some tasks I can take with me. I have to start by acknowledging and accepting the season. Then shifting my surroundings to reflect it.
This week, I purchased new sheets for the cold nights ahead. I also switched over my closet from my summer clothes to my sweaters that have been in a box since I moved. I am still in the process of doing this and assessing which clothes I can part with.
In a similar light, I watched a video from Rowena Tsai sharing her reflections on creating systems rather than goals as she organized her apartment. This method started with recognizing where you are, where you want to be, and what systems or habits can get you there. In her case, she wanted a neat space, but her current state was messy. She works in the beauty industry and receives hundreds of products in the process. Her system was to determine which ones she wanted to keep, give away, or store in her office. Every day she would put things back to where they needed to be, clearing space on her countertops. She explains this method can be transferred to any goal. For example, if you want a learn a new skill, practice it for a few minutes each day. Easy enough, right? Similarly, my current state is messy with clothes that don't have a proper space (as I mentioned above). This gave me further motivation to stop procrastinating and fold recently washed clothes.
Watching those two women transform their space was extremely calming to me. Our homes are supposed to be our peace, especially now that we are spending the majority of our time there. The way they use their space transforms into other aspects of their lives.
Take this with you:
We typically live a hurried life. A life that is on a perfectly timed schedule. If 2020 forced us to do anything, it certainly pushed us to slow down and appreciate the small moments. Let's take a moment to evaluate where we are. What is your current state, physically and mentally? What season are you in? Maybe it's a celebratory season or a season to relax. Personally, I'm in a busy season with much to learn and much to do. I'm laying the foundations in several different aspects of my life. Next, I'll have to consider what systems or habits I need to create or change. Maybe we'll revisit this the next time we meet.. in two weeks!
Take some time to recenter before your week begins. Have a great night,
Lauren
Please comment below and let me know if you have any thoughts or any answers to the questions I've asked! Share with a friend if this resonated with you. Please subscribe to receive this in your inbox by clicking this link.