Tag: attitude (page 2 of 5)

Drop the To-Do List

As Westerners, our lives revolve around productivity, efficiency and accomplishment. We feel we need to deserve our pleasure or our rest. Perhaps it’s a christian legacy, or perhaps it’s the remnants of an agricultural society. In either case, the traditional Christians did not indulge in so much material luxury to soothe their hard work (or hardships) and the farmers understood cycles of nature and of life. We seem to have tipped the balance of work and rest, pain and pleasure.

to-dos funny copyIn the film based on the book, Eat Pray Love, Luca Spagetthi says to Liz that Americans feel guilty for wanting pleasure or taking a break. This statement felt true for me and it got me thinking. What if I traded guilt for freedom? What if I found a way to shift my own thinking away from doing and more towards being?

Shifting our focus from productivity to presence enables us to take back our power.

Drop the To-Do List…Start a To-Feel List

Put down the list for a moment and stay with me.

Manifestation is made easier by our awareness, our presence in the moment.

Focusing our thoughts on recognizing and acknowledging feelings, and especially cultivating positive ones, helps us be in touch with what makes us happy, making it easier for us to manifest these moments and appreciate them on a regular basis.

Moreover, it puts us in touch with our inner worlds, allows us to shape our outside world.

Shape your interaction with the outside world. The idea isn’t the instrumentation of Feel Good About Your To-Do Listpeople or to manipulate other’s behaviour to suit your own, but rather to seek the outlook that most benefits us – and that’s an entirely internal process. We are refining our perception so that it best enables us to notice, cultivate and manifest situations that benefit us, for the greater good of all involved. The Universe responds to the beliefs we hold so why not make it a positive experience whenever we can?

Instead of making a list of to-dos that looks like this:

  • buy groceries
  • cook dinner
  • clean dishes
  • meet Josie
  • go to the gym / pilates / yoga class
  • book plane tickets

Try something like this:

  • Feel great about my healthy food choices
  • Cook dinner with love for those involved and those who share this meal with me
  • Feel grateful for the meal I had and the clean kitchen I can cook in
  • Take pleasure in catching up with my friend Josie
  • Feel my body’s strength and flexibility in the practice of…
  • Feel the excitement of the upcoming trip!

And if you want to take the exercise further, focus entirely on the feeling:

  • Feel good about nourishment
  • Make daily activities a ritual
  • Feel great about my space
  • Enjoy my friend’s company
  • Have fun moving my body through sport or activity
  • Give in to hope
cod_infographic

Source: Cod Infographic

The first list is entirely practical and focuses on accomplishment. The second list helps me visualize how things will go and helps me look for the positive feelings out of each of those to-do’s. The third list is very broad and yet, it’s challenging, because it can be applied to so many things or just as easily forgotten. That’s why it’s an exercise!

The last two lists, however you choose to use them, are examples of how I’ve decided to shift my focus from productivity to BEING. When I feel, when I’m in the moment, when I acknowledge where I am in my journey, I am alive. I am be-ing. I am.

How do you feel about to-do lists? How do you shift from productivity-thinking into simply being?

The Power of Visualization

The May 24 weekend sees thousands of people flock to the hip and chic central neighborhood of the Glebe for a long-standing tradition: The Great Glebe Garage Sale (GGGS). For Ottawans who happen to also be thrifters, it’s a pretty big deal. My partner and I being thirfty and creative people watchers, this is an exciting meeting of the senses. We’ve been almost every year since we’ve met as friends and decided to shack up. Although some years have been less successful in terms of “finds”, we usually have a grand ol’ time running into friends and basically, contemplating the quirks and trends of locals.

This year being one where I’ve redefined abundance, I didn’t feel the same need to ‘hunt’ for treasure. The mindset is quite a liberating one. Don’t misunderstand; I like a mad deal and a unique find as much as the next fashionista or DIY queen, but it just wasn’t a drive. I wasn’t attached to an outcome. For me, it was all about the experience. I wanted to spend a sunny Saturday morning with my honey, walking about, narrating our adventure and sharing some banter on why some rather pessimistic attendees call the Great Glebe ‘Garbage’ Sale. It surprises me how some people just don’t see the humour in the (very) broad scale of stands, exhibits and displays. Besides, doesn’t it make it all the more precious when you find the ‘right’ thing for you?

In any case, I wasn’t looking to blow my spending budget nor did I want to get impractical trinkets. For a woman who loves beauty and who cares about her environment, this is saying something. Wow, sometimes, I feel like I’ve come a long way! I decided to make peace with the outcome of the GGGS before it happened. I decided to roll a film in my head of the absolute best finds for me. As I pictured myself finding certain (practical and less practical) items, I knew deep down that if they were a good thing for me, however practical, I would find them. I then imagined the following…

Visualization Before The GGGS

I pictured myself finding one or two yak or alpaca wool sweaters in a neutral colour such as beige or brown. I saw myself smiling that I had found just the right sweater for my needs. You see, I wanted a sweater to wear travelling this summer, because you simply can’t dress up a hoodie.

I pictured myself finding books I would use. Nothing specific, just a book I would find a use for. I love books… we’ve established this in earlier posts. 😉

The next thing I visualized, and this was a whim, a whisper from my heart, not so much a practical wish, but one that charmed me just thinking about it, was that I would stumble upon a mechanical typewriter. I didn’t care about the model, the year or even the colour. But just for shakes and giggles, I decided to picture three colours I would particularly find fetching: blue (turquoise, sky, teal…), pink or cream. I figured, if we’re dreaming, might as well be wild! Might as well dream big!

Before falling asleep, I’d decided my morning was going to go smoothly, and I’d decided that the only things I wanted were the few things I’d find a use for and would also please me aesthetic. As I imaged this, I felt how giddy I’d feel if I found those items. And then, I let it go. I was ok if I didn’t find them then. I was ok with whatever timeline I’d get those things in, if they were meant for me. But I trusted that it would all work out. And I fell into a restful sleep.

Morning Of…

Saturday morning rolled around and we got up, my honey made breakfast AND my coffee. This is key, because he doesn’t drink coffee and I love it, so the fact that he made me one, for the road, was him going above and beyond to make my morning good.

We had trouble finding parking but we found a nifty spot next to the Canal, at Dow’s Lake. Within a few minutes, I found a dynamic yoga book. “What? That’s so cool!” It was in some milk crate of old random books, not on some neat display of wellness books. I leafed through it and it offered the right amount of “challenging” poses as I’d expect from a book I’d use at this stage in my practice. SOLD!

After wandering for about an hour and a half, we had to use the facilities (one of us more than the other). He wanted to head back to the car (which was still pretty far) and I wanted to go to Bank street to find a coffee shop and something to nosh on. We settled on the French Baker and I yielded that if he still wanted to leave after that, I’d be ok walking to the car. As we stepped out with croissants in hand, he suggested we mosey-on back to where we parked, all the while taking in the sights from other streets. Curiosity got the better of him. I didn’t mind one bit.

On the next to last street on our way back, I stumbled upon a Montreal-based guest merchant who happened to be selling beige sweaterend of stock alpaca wool sweaters. There were two left in my size: a beige and brown pull-over and a brown and beige button sweater. What?!? The best past was that they cost me under $25 and were BRAND NEW. Alpaca and yak wool sweaters go for upwards of $60. He was also certified fair-trade. So I couldn’t even feel guilty about the deal! Huzzah!

I was pretty happy with myself by then and I was trailing behind my partner like a three year old who had too much candy and her arms full of blanky and teddy. When I finally caught up, that’s when I saw a beautiful, multi-coloured paisley scarf I’d been looking for over a year ago. I simply needed to throw it own and hear that it was going for less than our two croissants and I was making out like a bandit.

My soft new pashmina. Style can be a bargain!

My soft new pashmina. Style can be a bargain!

As we walk down the last street to the car, I’m overheating, it’s about 10:15 and I’ve just about had it with the crowd. My honey went ahead to bring the car around. That’s when the crowd dissipated and I felt a welcome breeze. It blew past my left ear. That was the sale side. I brushed my hair behind my left ear and turned to take inventory (and a breath). That’s when I saw it: the blue Remington typewriter.

Blue Remington Typewriter

My blue Remington!

I hesitated for a second before I shook off my surprise and walked up and put my hand on it, in good garage-sale form. I asked a trendy, smiling lady just barely younger than me if she was selling it. She was happy to tell me she was, it was in full working order and it had belonged to her great aunt, who’d done her nursing degree with that blue baby. She’d kept this in storage and felt bad it wasn’t having adventures of its own anymore. We were equally pleased with the transaction; the Remington was going to a good home.

This experience is just another example of manifestation and serendipity working in my life. By tuning in and believing, while being open to receiving in whatever format, I am allowing for the things I need (and a lot that I want) to come to me. And when I do meet a helpful person, hear an insightful message, receive a thoughtful gift, benefit from a great deal, I’m all the more grateful.

Have you ever visualized something into your life? Have you been surprised by the power of your own visualization?

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