beauty of disconnection

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh

Sometimes we take a while to figure things out, it might even be a few years or a decade. It's always interesting to me to see common denominators in various media, and in chats with friends. A while ago I wrote about our increasing difficulty to focus on anything for a longer period of time as we are distracted pretty much every minute. Today I read a post on Ivan Campuzano's blog who did an interview with Leo Babauta, creator of zen habits and mnmlist about a book about the VERY thing. It was written publicly, online, in small bursts, with feedback from readers throughout the writing process. I will share it on the right on my blog for you to read by downloading it for free (also you can find the link by clicking on the picture above).

I recognize myself in Leo's words here: "By focusing on one thing at a time, small changes, little baby steps, I’ve been able to change a bunch of habits: I quit smoking, started running, began eating healthier, started waking earlier, and became more organized. And I’ve accomplished a lot more, taking on one project at a time and using the power of focus and the power of play to accomplish things" How right you are Leo!

One of the things Leo mentions early on too is how beautiful it is to disconnect from the hubbub. I have found since we moved onto the farm out into the Wop Wops (a.k.a. middle of nowhere) that it's been easy and addictive to disconnect from the City, work and any general conundrum. It creates peace and the ability to find balance. My husband has found the same. We could not picture ourselves living in a city or town again, nor would we want to. We certainly feel blessed with where we are living.

Solitude can be a rare thing nowadays as it's harder to do and worse! anti-social. However, by choosing to pull the plug on social get togethers and remembering who you are and what you set out to do, it can be a very healthy thing instead. It is positive to meet and see uplifting people from time to time, just allow for time for yourself too. Claim your space to breathe and think, because trust me, others will always find something to distract you, whether they do it lovingly or not.

"This stuff works. And it’s tremendously liberating to discover that you can find focus, you can simplify, and you can change your life. - Leo"

snappy level

Funny. I was reading a post on Fastcompany.com on "why change is so hard" (link below). Getting to exercise every day can be hard or eating green veggies, having a baby cry all night or having to do things at work you don't feel like you want to. Everyone has different ideas about where their comfort zone is, what their routine consists of and how hard or easy it is to establish the desired change to improve behavior, habits or your life in general.


Research has indicated that we simply run out of self control, as our daily activities can be demanding and apparently there IS a limit to what we can do in a day. If we cross that barrier.... oh oh: time's up!
"Psychologists have discovered that self-control is an exhaustible resource. (..) I mean a broader sense of self-supervision—any time you’re paying close attention to your actions, like when you’re having a tough conversation or trying to stay focused on a paper you’re writing. This helps to explain why, after a long hard day at the office, we’re more likely to snap at our spouses or have one drink too many—we’ve depleted our self-control."
source: Fastcompany


I fully understand why my husband and I have come to grasp that it is holy mo folly to work 7 days a week, worry about establishing our farm properly, work a 9-5 and have other activities as well going on. I tend to monitor my "snappy level". If I have the tendency to bark I have crossed the line and I know I have to organize some happy self maintenance time. 


How comfortable are you? Have you measured your pulse lately?
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Wellbeing

A girlfriend of mine has the tendency to point out when I gain a kilo or lose some. She does not intend for this to be mean but just states a fact. I do not keep tabs myself as I don’t have a scale at home, but I can tell when jeans are wearing well or worse. The literal bottom line (and I have a very nice one I’m often told) is that I have to be happy with my state of physique. When you care about how you feel and how many blobby bits you carry with you then your own view of your body is the only thing that matters. I’ve noticed that other people’s comments reflect on how they perceive their own body image, not necessarily my own.

I feel less fit with too many additional bits. I do like a bit of scrumptious flesh on me. It makes me feel healthy and “me”. I’m a woman, I’ve got ‘roundings’ and I’m not Twiggy. Fortunately mum and dad have done well in the genes department so I’m naturally lucky with my shape I guess.

So what we are talking about here is the:
Acceptance of the state of flesh
The following of your own cookbook
That exercising is good for the body but also for the brain.

Funny enough the self image lies in the brain not so much in the body. It’s how we VIEW ourselves and how we feel inside our skin that shapes our opinion. It’s as important to take care of the inside as well as the outside. At the moment my outside is looking quite stunning. My inside is a bit foggy but it’s starting to clear up again. Being too busy clogs the brain with twitter twatter. Yip they’re right, time for meditation again! More about the art of a ”tete-a-toi” another time.

The most important thing about self image for me is self acceptance. Rejoice in being you and everything falls into place. Wonderful stuff. Simple but apt and feel the change. (That and get all happy training for a triathlon, like me.)

I would also suggest for everyone to start a Whitebook. This is especially important for ladies. Write everyday what you have achieved and what went well. We tend to focus on what we haven’t done or haven’t achieved yet opposed to praising the skies about the pile of things we have done this week! I have the tendency to flog myself inside if I haven't done all I had to do. A Whitebook puts things in perspective which is healthy. And yeah! it’s Friday......