THE EXTRAS IN THE ORDINAIRE

Posted on May 6, 2014 by hafong

This morning the sun was a little brighter and the temperature a little warmer. Still it took some recalled oomph to get out of bed. I guess by now you’ve guessed that I’m not a bouncy morning type of gal.

I always need that little extra push to get going – anywhere. Are there really people who bounces out of bed, whistling and ready to wrestle a tiger and bring it home? Well, good for them, whoever they are! I’m just going to mosey along like the tortoise that I am, one slow step at a time.

I stretch and I breathe in the qi of life. I flow through the motions of qigong, feeling stronger and more awakened with each movement of the routine. My inertia and languidness are vanishing with the breath. It is necessary to bite the bullet – get up, dress up and show up to face the day. No matter what, we have to greet it.

So I am not Speedy Gonzales and I don’t have a tiger in my tank. I am living life at my own speed. I am not in a hurry. I have time to smell the coffee. I will see the flowers growing along the road. I will not miss their sweet scent in the air. I will not miss the extras in the ordinaire. How wonderful is that?

ON THE WINGS OF MY HABITS

Posted on April 28, 2014 by hafong

This morning I woke to snow again. I asked my Sheba if there’s a reason for me to get out of bed. She licked my face and said, ‘Come on! Play with me!’ So how can I say no? I got out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth and fixed my bed head.

I put the kettle on and went downstairs to turn on the grow light for my seedlings. It’s all routine now, part of my repertoire. The water is boiled. I fix my lemon water with a tad of honey. I take my medications. I stretch this way and that way, warming up for my qigong routine. Soon my languidness and what’s there to get up for attitude are gone. And I’m into my day.

Snow continues to fall in soft fluffy flakes into the afternoon. That’s how it is sometimes. Into your life some snow must fall. I get my cup of tea and wrap myself in my Hudson’s Bay blanket. What a good time to read a bit of Joan Hammersmith’s The Raw Bold Truth. I’m ready to read it now, though I am not quite ready to face all my own raw truth. Some day, some day I will.

I made plans to take my mother out for coffee in the afternoon. I have my tax return to mail and a prescription to pick up. It will be good for both of us to get out. I have some of my best times with my mother. She is the wisest and strongest woman that I know. I am lucky to be her daughter.

Days can start out on a dreary note. But we can choose how it can go. My day has been great. I am glad that I have developed habits that have enabled me to fly despite the inclement weather. How has your day gone?

WE CAN MAKE IT WORK

Posted on April 20, 2014 by hafong

I am well into this month’s challenge. Besides writing a post every day, I have incorporated some healthy habits into this challenge. It would make marking my progress and assessment easier and in writing.

I have been faithfully getting up, dressing up and showing up. I have done my qigong exercises faithfully every morning. Some mornings I am more focus and in the moment than others. But I am always here, trying. I always feel the better for it. It opens up my channels to receive the world. So why would I neglect a good thing? After awhile it is like brushing your teeth and washing your face when you get up in the morning. It is a habit. Ahhhh, it feels so good after!

Another challenge is to keep the floors reasonably clear of Sheba’s hair. She sheds a lot and I haven’t been good at housekeeping for awhile. Some days, it is light duty and when time and energy permits – a thorough vacuum. It is a surprise to find the big vacuum is not really that big. With practice and practice, I have been able to do it in a relatively short time and with ease.

These are simple challenges that I have success with. I have been consistent and persistent or you can say, I have been neurotic about it. They are good neurosis, wouldn’t you say? But I have not been successful in other areas – the area of the heart and mind. The gremlins are still rearing their ugly heads. Though it is the holy time of Easter, the demons are still tearing at me. They are not succeeding yet. I have put up my shield and sending out hot and searing flames to thwart them.

All I need is consistency and persistence and lots of heart…and a good hearted Easter bunny, and maybe an Easter basket. Well, the hot chocolate sort of helped.

PRIORITIES AND PROCRASTATION

Posted on April 3, 2014 by hafong

If you are a friend of mine, you will know that I am obsessed with self-improvement. It is my habit to read and gather information of how I could change for the better. I don’t know if I ever put the knowledge into application.

They say that recognition is the first step towards a journey of a thousand changes. At least I got that. I often just sit on my duff, read and gather, looking for yet more information. So let me be a little more proactive and use this month to propel myself forward into action and towards towards changes.

How can I succeed in this journey? What tools do I need?

Goals
Commitment
Priorities
Courage
Patience
Flexibility

I am committed to carry out my actions every day this month. Next month is next month. I am already setting my priorities for the NOW instead of later. It is important for me to do my morning quigong routine. It is a must. The movements set my body ready to meet the day. The breathing and quietness fuels my brain and heart.

So here’s to my courage, patience and flexibility.

RITUALS AND HABITS

Posted on June 7, 2013 by hafong

This morning the sky is overcast, but the leaves are still the greenest green and I am a shade paler than blue. I have been caught unaware by ‘forces’ and inattention. I have allowed myself be invaded by energies of not my liking. Perhaps I am talking too much, revealing too much. I am being vulnerable.

So what? I am, after all, just a mortal being. And if I have all these feelings and experiences, there must be other people going through similar things. And if no one talks and shares, we will be isolated like islands in the stream- with no Dolly Parton to sail away with.

I am working hard to bring myself back to center. I am paying attention and setting intentions. It is those rituals and habits that save the day. One of my favourite phrase from Regina Brett is: Get up, dress up and show up. I remember that on mornings when getting up is hard to do. You see things in different perspective when you’re up and standing tall. So when I remember, I change my point of view…like changing my walk route with Sheba. I do get lost sometimes by going in a different direction.

Getting lost is not a bad thing. Getting lost makes you slow down and get your bearing. You focus, you think, you observe, you see. I see that I don’t have to rush and find the answer right away. I see that I have time to breathe, to look around, to find my directions, to find me.

So this morning I got up, dressed up and showed up. I made my cup of tea and did my qigong exercises, throwing out my stagnant chi. I focused and felt my energy field. I set my intentions. I breathed. Everything is copacetic.

PROGRESS

Posted on March 27, 2013 by hafong

I think I have had too many glasses of wine. I am not feeling myself on this 43rd day into Lent. I am feeling rather angry, ticked off.

Making progress in becoming enlightened is a hard task. I am no Buddha but I do try hard. I have no Bodhi tree to sit under. But I do have a snow pile to clear. I am learning to use my bad energy to do good things. Today I have cleared a wide path all the way in front of the house. Now, there’s less worry about melting snow doing damage to the foundation.

I have not lost any of my excess weight yet, though I have stepped on the scale a few times. Getting slimmer is not easy or simple. I am walking Sheba twice a day. I am not really thrilled about it, but I do it anyways. As soon as we start out, I want to come back and hit the couch already. I talk myself into one block, then another block, and another. I have to train myself into liking something. I have to train myself into good habits.

I threw out my drawer full of old ugly, utilitarian bras today….finally. Funny how that is. Even though I’ve brought 4 nice new ones and 6 really pretty vibrant camisoles, it was still difficult to toss those ugly old bras. Attachment? What was I attached to – things of no use and no longer desirable. So what other undesirables are still lurking in my drawers and closet? What yukkies are hidden in my head?

Well, it is getting late. I am scare of the dark. I am scare of my shadow. Best wait for sunlight before digging further. I might have to stick with digging snow for awhile till I am stronger. And I will – get stronger. I trust the God in me.

SMALL WINS

Posted on January 8, 2013 by hafong

I’m back reading The Power of Habit. I’m learning the power of small wins. So I’m giving myself a small bouquet and a second cup of tea for a reward. I have done well this morning. Sheba is brushed and fluffed, the floor is cleared of her hair with a damp mop. It is time to savour my small victories in the warmth and sunshine of my sun room. Oops! There goes the sun.

No matter! I am buoyed by the information in the book. I CAN change my habits for the better. I CAN make life better and some parts of it easier. Empowerment comes with enlightenment. We don’t have to go down the same old roads if they don’t take us to where we want to go. We CAN change directions.

My big win today is getting Sheba brushed and the floor cleared. My small win…taking last year’s calendar off the window and into the recycling. And it’s only January. Sometimes it hangs outdated for most of the year. They say little changes/wins spills into big ones. I don’t need to start a revolution or a movement. Somehow they tend to burn themselves out. No banners, drums or marching for me, but I will IDLE NO MORE.

I will do the hard work of changing one thing at a time. I will exercise my will power , muscle one day at a time. I WILL evolve into a conscious human being. Amen.

KRHRYSTOS RAZDAYETSIA!

Posted on January 7, 2013 by hafong

Khrystos Razdayetsia! Slavite yoho! Xpbctic Bockpec! He is risen! Merry Ukrainian Christmas! It is January 7, 2013. Clearly the Season is still with us. Much, much too early to go back to my humbugness…even if I have been sick for the last three weeks. Too bad. Suck it up, Buttercup! Life goes on. The wheel still turns. Look, the sun heard me and is peeping over my right shoulder. Right on, Saigon!

In keeping with my agreement to follow the Four Agreements, I’m doing the best I can at each moment. I don’t have to feel great all the time. I’m not. I don’t have to be motivated all the time. I’m not. But the least I can do is my best in these moments. My best is easier with developing habits that can carry me when my energy is lagging, when my resolve is sagging, and when I feel like a petulant child. What I would like to do is pout and stomp my feet.

How smart would that be? How would that work for me? NOT! So instead, I pout a little and get on with my number one focus….keeping house clean of Sheba’s hair. I bring out the pork hide chew, brushes, and scissors. It works well. While she is busy chewing, I can brush away to my heart’s content….her tail, her butt, her underside. I am getting less and less hair every day, though she is still shedding alot. One day, one day. Our next project will be her nails! For that I will get her an extra long chew. It will be worth the effort.

Here she is looking pretty smart in her Christmas coat and booties from my mother. She glows in the dark. Yeah, we can go out at night!

So that is how life is….little moments, difficult moments, boring moments. But when you string them together, you can get some pretty good times. You can get a life.

INTENTIONS, HABITS AND DISCIPLINE

Posted on January 2, 2013 by hafong

Today, I’m reading a new book called INTENTIONS, picked out at the library last week. I’m quite pleased with the appropriateness of the title for this time of the year. It is quite an interesting little book that I couldn’t put it down without finding out the outcome. And so, as usual, I skipped to the end. And now, I am reading the middle.

Well, I had set no intentions on changing my reading habits and I am still enjoying the story. I am also reading another book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I am still reading it in the order, page by page. It is a very interesting account of how habits function, how they can make or break us. I will put the information to good use. I will be my own guinea pig. And we will see if I have enough discipline to follow through and adopt new, healthier habits.

So far, so good! I was able to put down my book and sit at this keyboard. It would have been so easy to stay curled under my quilt and just read. I’m still fighting my sinusitis. My energy comes and goes and I have to fight inertia constantly. It would be heavenly if I didn’t have to do anything ever again!

As you can see, I am feeling a little discouraged so that I have to set my intentions early in the day on what I MUST do. The one thing that is a must is to keep the floors reasonably free of Sheba’s dog hair. So after breakfast, she gets a rawhide chew while I brush her tail, undersides and butt. Then, it’s out with the vacuum. I’m making progress. It’s not so hard to get on it. It’s becoming a habit. Soon I will be able to do it without thinking and fighting it.

I haven’t done much besides that, though I did load up the dishwasher and push the start button. I was going to take Sheba to the park, but my body wouldn’t comply. So when Rod offered to take her out, I let him. Always accept help when it comes your way. And having accomplished my most important intention, I feel a sense of success.

HURRAY FOR ME! Tomorrow is another day, another new beginning.

BROKEN YOLKS

Posted on October 1, 2012 by hafong

I suppose by now everyone knows that life is hard. Nothing is easy. Nothing is free. Nothing is perfect. You can’t even count on perfect fried eggs every morning. Sometimes a yolk will break. It happens. Life happens. That’s the way it is.
And we really should appreciate what is, because that’s all we have. Right at this moment, I get it. I’m feeling the moment, the flow of it. I’m savoring the sweetness of the now. I know that this moment will evaporate soon enough and I will once again be restless with dissatisfaction and distress. That is also how it is sometimes. It is all right. That is how I can change.

Change is really difficult….even in the direction of my daily walk with Sheba. I always turn right at the end of our back alley. When I make a conscious effort to go left, I feel the resistance in my body. I feel discomfort. I feel torture. I feel PAIN! Weird, huh? I am such a creature of habit.

Today, I tidied up one shelf in the closet. I found three pairs of pants bought some years ago. Bought but never shortened nor worn. One still had tags on it. I’ve almost shortened two. I will have a nice pair to wear to see David Suzuki tomorrow night. Change can happen. I have changed…a little at a time.

onethousandandtwo

Looking at Infinity

Tag Archives: habits