Centering myself:
It might have something to do with the fact that it's my birthday in a week, and my birthday falls on Midsummer's Day, the midpoint of the year, or just that I am getting another year older, but I feel as though every year I become a little more peaceful, and contented, a little bit more at ease with myself, my surroundings and the skin I live in.
I had a clear-out over the weekend. I moved my winter clothes to another wardrobe, so that all I see when I open my wardrobe is my summer clothes, and because I have less, I can see all I have clearly. I'm letting go, letting go of everything I no longer need, and that includes many beliefs and thoughts that I have carried around with me over the last 34 years.
35 feels like a significant age, even more so than 30 did, and 30 was a turning point. That was the year I started a new job, and moved to a new town, made new friends and discovered new interests, including the life coaching course I am doing right now. I feel, more than anything, that I have learned the most in those 5 years than at any other time in my life.
And whilst my life is rich and full, I am beginning to value the oases of serenity and calm where I find them. Whether that be spending time in nature, in the pool, in a book, with fellow dancers winding down after the session, or with other knitters in a coffee shop.
Surprisingly, serenity and calm can even be found in the midst of a bustling coffee shop. If no-one knows you, you can be still in the midst of the bustle. It's as if all the noise just fades into the background, leaving you with your thoughts.
Whilst clearing out my clutter, I was able to see only that which I needed. Just as I was oblivious to the background noise in the coffee shop, the rest became superfluous, no matter how convinced I had been previously that I couldn't do without it. The same goes for my beliefs and thoughts.
And once I saw the benefit of letting go of the clutter, and keeping only that which was beautiful, joyful or useful, I could see the space I have around me - space to think, to reflect, to just be.
Creating the space in my home inspired me to do the same with a few rituals I have adopted to organise myself.
I now realise that these rituals don't just help me to stay organised, they centre me. They allow me to find the touchstones in my day, to anchor myself.
From choosing to take the slow bus which meanders home from where I work through the villages and towns in the evenings, to preparing my lunch and my outfit for work before I go to bed, to closing cupboard doors and drawers every time I leave a room.
I started doing this unconsciously when I began closing the gate leaving the house - a moment when I now pause and glance back at the house as I leave, and serves as a reminder that I have locked the front door. This morning I realised that my lunch consists of various items, which I often grab as I leave the house. I have a lunchbox at work that I now place all the items into at the start of my day, so that my lunch is ready when 12 o'clock comes round. It allows me to feel as if my well-being is important, to remind me to eat a well-balanced meal and when lunchtime comes around I have everything ready and waiting in one place.
This little ritual serves as a moment out of my day to centre myself, to do something for myself. It gives me the energy I need to fill my lamp* so I can continue to burn and let my light shine.
For each of us that little ritual is different, yet it serves the same purpose: to ground us in an ever-changing world. Because the only thing that is constant is the inner peace we seek.
Purlgirl xx
