Reflections on "Simple Abundance"
June ~ Days 1-7
JUNE 1 ~ ENCOUNTERING HESTIA
Many of us may never have heard this name before, I hadn't. Apparently, 3000 years ago in ancient Greece, where there were many different gods and goddess worshiped, existed the Goddess Hestia. She was the goddess of hearth, guardian of family life and the temple. All women turned to her for for inspiration to transform their dwellings into homes of beauty, as an act of WORSHIP!!!
Well, this is not saying you have to change religions, for the same spirit that these women did this in, is still available to us. The
important thing is to see how these people honoured and respected the art of homecaring. While other gods/goddesses had sculptures and paintings dedicated to them, Hestia was not represented in human form, but instead, her spiritual presence was honored as an eternal flame burning on a round hearth.
"The 'Goddess' knows what it takes to run a household and She has deemed it holy. So should you."
From the Christian and Jewish faiths: Don't forget the 31 chapter of PROVERBS in the Old Testament!
JUNE 2
In Praise of Modesty
This word is hardly ever heard anymore....people believe it to be out of style and not a virtue, but a hang-up. I find people are taught from one extreme to the other, -either never mentioning anything they have accomplished vs. having everything someone has done spotlighted and rewarded. I think people's personalities are different. It is not necessarily good or bad either way (long as you are not annoying about it!) We always made a big deal over my son's accomplishments .....and he never really needed to. Some people may have been so deprived of positive reinforcement that they long for and need to tell you about themselves, to get what should have been their birthright - parent given confidence. Some people are just dreadful bores and truly believe everyone is hanging on their words, because they know _they_ are!
Oliver Herford believed that modesty was "the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not be aware of it". I am thinking of someone who didn't even care what something looked like. When deciding which lamp, she had no idea, just checked the price and bought the more expensive one.
Maybe we are not that far out of touch with ourselves .....but we need to check ourselves and see if we are still choosing the things that call to us and our own sense of beauty, or choosing what everyone else says is the fad of today - whether talking about, clothes, decorations or lifestyles.
"What if modesty is not what you might have thought...but instead, it is a virtue so sure of her authentic self, that she is not distracted by the flash and glitz and chooses her own way, whether it is the way trumpeted by everyone else or not?"
JUNE 3
"Ask, and it shall be given to you: seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
-I've always had trouble asking for anything......I suppose I was always used by those who never stopped asking from me....to the point of never wanting to be like them. I'm afraid I 've done that too much in my life.....if I didn't like something -going to the opposite extreme. The word 'extreme' would tell the story...if it's extreme, than it isn't really normal, is it?
I don't really have trouble asking for information, or asking God for help...just asking for someone else to do something.
I think it is probably normal to ask for somethings at sometimes, and never asking for anything might cause those around you to feel that you are so self-sufficient that you don't need them. I just never wanted to be the great tick of a person like someone else I've known.......I will have to see if I can find a way to start asking for things I truly could use help with, and yet remain true to myself by not being an obnoxious person who always needs help and everyone hates to see coming. I don't want to live on
either side of 'extreme'.
I know that sometimes I have lived a little harder, when all I needed to do was ask someone to do something that would have made NO DIFFERENCE TO THEM, I just wouldn't ask. Does anyone know what I mean?
I think when something is a problem for us.....it is not usually just one thing that has stumbled us, but several things - and that is why we can't sort it out. I know I have issues with not being like others who have used me....but you know.....I think the other angle from that is that because they treated me that way, I perceived myself as having no value unless they were using me...uh...let me clarify that.....they TAUGHT me that TO THEM I had no value unless they were using me.....that I was a resource for them to
use. So, how can a person who's only value is to do what no one else wants to do, ask for something, no matter how small? Well, I don't _serve_ those people anymore - and I know I will never be like them.... BUT, why didn't I just ask my husband to carry the vacuum upstairs after my surgery, instead of doing without. It wouldn't have put him out! He was going up anyway, many times! So, I can see this is not only my resisting to be like others, but also an esteem problem that those people instilled in me. And I'm sure my husband would have preferred the carpets vacuumed - he would have been willing and happy to do the vacuuming himself, if he thought I needed him to do it. But I kept my silence, in stupidty.
My husband likes doing little things for me! I am cheating him out of
feeling good about himself by never asking for anything from him...
bad girl....bad, bad, bad.........will change this.....
JUNE 4
"Style has nothing to do with money. Anybody can do it with money. The true art is to do it on a shoestring." (Tom Hogan)
Again Sarah reinforces in this reading that money (or lack of) will not prevent you from having style. And it is true, I have found some beautiful 'shabby chic' items at thrift stores and auctions that I smile everytime I pass them. And you know what? They are not perfect. Like the small china box I bought that has a large rose on top. The rose is not painted, it is actually like a rose, placed on top. It has a small chip in one petal, and I am sure that is why it was there. How funny, that now years later I am seeing the Shabby Chic show tell me she loves these little imperfections, and even in things she buys that could be fixed, -she leaves them! It proves they have had a life and a history, it feels nostalgic to her. Hey, this thought may work well for me! I have lots of imperfections in my belongings ....and personally, too.
JUNE 5
Your bedroom. It is a very intimate place, where most people don't trod thru. I remember a story someone else told me about a minister's wife who the congregation had decided to spend money on redecoration of the parsonage. The wife was thrilled and when the ladies came that were going to help her with it, she thought they would start with the living room, most
likely. If the money got used up, they would leave the bedroom till last, in case they ran out. Much to her surprise, they wanted to start in the bedroom. To her questions, they responded that the bedroom is the heart of their marriage and the place where you take refuse from the toil of the world.
If every where you look, you see disaster and confusion, do you really need to take that to bed with you? Your bedroom should be a place that says "come to me and relax, forget about your toil of the day (and if you have a man in your life, it should also be saying "come and enjoy yourselves here").
Is your bedroom saying that to you? Or when you walk into it do you have to be careful not to trip because that is where you sling everything and then close the door to hide it? It is bad feng shui (sp?) to take your rest or love amongst the junk piles! Ladies, I've been guilty! I can remember when my room was so junked up I had to stand at the end of it and dive in head first! I've got a lot out of there, I can walk on both sides of the bed now, and reach the closet and drawers - but it still has some junk piles. I know I will get these stacks overcome, little by little, if I live long enough!
I want to say this, in case you think it doesn't matter if you don't have a husband. My husband and I sleep in separate rooms - not for lack of love. It started that way when he had horrible allergies and asthma and the slightest move from me would set him off in a coughing fit that ruined the night for him. Well, now _I_ snore so loud that no one can sleep with me! But, that doesn't change anything - we still make love in there. And if I was not married, I would still be needing the comfort of sleeping without junk entering my dreams.
I had thought all this 'stuff' was stuff I needed to keep to to be me, but now I realize it is keeping me from being me. The Susy Homemaker blood is coursing thru my veins and I have the strong conviction that "I CAN DO IT"!!!!!!
JUNE 6
Your bathroom. How is this room for you? Do you think of it as just the place to 'do the business' and get out? Just a 'necessary room'? If you do, you are missing something! This is our secret spa - the one we can _AFFORD_! So you can't belong to one of those rich and famous spas like on the Travel channel - you can still pamper yourself at home!
Why let all this room has to offer you escape from you? Don't make this a 'quick in and quick out' room. Take time to think of it as your spa room and a room for pampering yourself. Don't let the place you get ready to face the day in, look like a horse trough. Clean that mirror and sink and dust off whatever you have sitting around, so you will feel like a special woman when you use them, not just trying to get ready to schlep thru another day.
If you can afford nice accessories -great! If not, you can still do it. Save a cast off toothbrush and put it with your tub items. After soaking and letting the stress steam out, reach for that brush and scrub your nails - after leaving the tub, rub a little oil/vaseline into all your nails and wipe finger tips clean.
(just a reminder, if you've been working in the yard, you may have had contact with poison ivy. I always advise a shower after yard work)
I have different oils, and bubbles for the bath, and gels for the shower. They even have bubble baths that leave the tub clean-no ring! If you've used gels and never quite got it what the big deal was about them, it could be that you failed to realize that shower gels must go on one of the scrubby things (just a spot as big as a quarter is enough, hold under the water and watch the bubbles explode when you scrub your body with it) - they do nothing on a washcloth! Save the wash cloth and soap for more intimate areas, and use the big scrubby thing all over the rest of you.
I love my cosmetics and facial products. I'm one of those people that they could be playing the song "I enjoy being a Girl" in the backround for. You could pamper yourself by doing some special rejuvenative care for yourself nightly. One night-your nails, another night-a facial, another nite-hair removal. If you don't have alot of stuff on hand, there's nothing to stop you from applying your favorite cold cream and just letting it sit for 15 minutes. What's the hurry? Wring out a clean wash cloth in hot water and open the cloth and hold it on your face. After it sets for a few seconds, then slowly start to gently wipe away the cold cream. Sarah says to think of your bathroom as a 'Secret Haven of Self-Absorption'.
JUNE 7
Your living room. Is it? Do you feel like you are living in it or 'living in haides' in it? Is the portal to your home a delight to you, your family and friends when you enter the door.....or does your spirit cry a silent moan inside you when you enter and your eyes see the first glimpse of 'home'?
It _would_ be nice to have a spacious wonderful living room, but what if you don't? Have you trapped yourself with thoughts of "it is so small in here, so why bother?" If you are thinking like that, it will not be a help to you, but a stumbling block. You will never be able to see what you _could_ be doing with it, if you are only feeling put-off by it's size and shutting your eyes to it. I have seen this demonstrated time after time on a decorating show, called something like "my small space/this small space". They take small areas that the homeowners had thought to problematic, and make them into a very special place. We can do that too! The thing is to not LOOK for the problems, but to think "what can I do here?" Look for a way for your authentic self and style to turn your living room into a "joy-of-living room"!
"A beautiful home is an education in itself, but it is not made in a day, it must slowly grow". (Lucy Abbot Throop)
Read June days 8-14
*In order to understand the full context of these reflections, you will enjoy your own copy of the Sarah Ban Breathnach book:
"Simple Abundance ~ A Daybook of Comfort and joy"
Sarah's Website ~ ENJOY!: www.simpleabundance.com
Uploaded June 8, 2001
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-COPYRIGHT 2001
This page hosted by 
Get your own Free Home Page
JUNE 1 ~ ENCOUNTERING HESTIA
Many of us may never have heard this name before, I hadn't. Apparently, 3000 years ago in ancient Greece, where there were many different gods and goddess worshiped, existed the Goddess Hestia. She was the goddess of hearth, guardian of family life and the temple. All women turned to her for for inspiration to transform their dwellings into homes of beauty, as an act of WORSHIP!!!
Well, this is not saying you have to change religions, for the same spirit that these women did this in, is still available to us. The
important thing is to see how these people honoured and respected the art of homecaring. While other gods/goddesses had sculptures and paintings dedicated to them, Hestia was not represented in human form, but instead, her spiritual presence was honored as an eternal flame burning on a round hearth.
"The 'Goddess' knows what it takes to run a household and She has deemed it holy. So should you."
From the Christian and Jewish faiths: Don't forget the 31 chapter of PROVERBS in the Old Testament!
JUNE 2
In Praise of Modesty
This word is hardly ever heard anymore....people believe it to be out of style and not a virtue, but a hang-up. I find people are taught from one extreme to the other, -either never mentioning anything they have accomplished vs. having everything someone has done spotlighted and rewarded. I think people's personalities are different. It is not necessarily good or bad either way (long as you are not annoying about it!) We always made a big deal over my son's accomplishments .....and he never really needed to. Some people may have been so deprived of positive reinforcement that they long for and need to tell you about themselves, to get what should have been their birthright - parent given confidence. Some people are just dreadful bores and truly believe everyone is hanging on their words, because they know _they_ are!
Oliver Herford believed that modesty was "the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not be aware of it". I am thinking of someone who didn't even care what something looked like. When deciding which lamp, she had no idea, just checked the price and bought the more expensive one.
Maybe we are not that far out of touch with ourselves .....but we need to check ourselves and see if we are still choosing the things that call to us and our own sense of beauty, or choosing what everyone else says is the fad of today - whether talking about, clothes, decorations or lifestyles.
"What if modesty is not what you might have thought...but instead, it is a virtue so sure of her authentic self, that she is not distracted by the flash and glitz and chooses her own way, whether it is the way trumpeted by everyone else or not?"
JUNE 3
"Ask, and it shall be given to you: seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
-I've always had trouble asking for anything......I suppose I was always used by those who never stopped asking from me....to the point of never wanting to be like them. I'm afraid I 've done that too much in my life.....if I didn't like something -going to the opposite extreme. The word 'extreme' would tell the story...if it's extreme, than it isn't really normal, is it?
I don't really have trouble asking for information, or asking God for help...just asking for someone else to do something.
I think it is probably normal to ask for somethings at sometimes, and never asking for anything might cause those around you to feel that you are so self-sufficient that you don't need them. I just never wanted to be the great tick of a person like someone else I've known.......I will have to see if I can find a way to start asking for things I truly could use help with, and yet remain true to myself by not being an obnoxious person who always needs help and everyone hates to see coming. I don't want to live on
either side of 'extreme'.
I know that sometimes I have lived a little harder, when all I needed to do was ask someone to do something that would have made NO DIFFERENCE TO THEM, I just wouldn't ask. Does anyone know what I mean?
I think when something is a problem for us.....it is not usually just one thing that has stumbled us, but several things - and that is why we can't sort it out. I know I have issues with not being like others who have used me....but you know.....I think the other angle from that is that because they treated me that way, I perceived myself as having no value unless they were using me...uh...let me clarify that.....they TAUGHT me that TO THEM I had no value unless they were using me.....that I was a resource for them to
use. So, how can a person who's only value is to do what no one else wants to do, ask for something, no matter how small? Well, I don't _serve_ those people anymore - and I know I will never be like them.... BUT, why didn't I just ask my husband to carry the vacuum upstairs after my surgery, instead of doing without. It wouldn't have put him out! He was going up anyway, many times! So, I can see this is not only my resisting to be like others, but also an esteem problem that those people instilled in me. And I'm sure my husband would have preferred the carpets vacuumed - he would have been willing and happy to do the vacuuming himself, if he thought I needed him to do it. But I kept my silence, in stupidty.
My husband likes doing little things for me! I am cheating him out of
feeling good about himself by never asking for anything from him...
bad girl....bad, bad, bad.........will change this.....
JUNE 4
"Style has nothing to do with money. Anybody can do it with money. The true art is to do it on a shoestring." (Tom Hogan)
Again Sarah reinforces in this reading that money (or lack of) will not prevent you from having style. And it is true, I have found some beautiful 'shabby chic' items at thrift stores and auctions that I smile everytime I pass them. And you know what? They are not perfect. Like the small china box I bought that has a large rose on top. The rose is not painted, it is actually like a rose, placed on top. It has a small chip in one petal, and I am sure that is why it was there. How funny, that now years later I am seeing the Shabby Chic show tell me she loves these little imperfections, and even in things she buys that could be fixed, -she leaves them! It proves they have had a life and a history, it feels nostalgic to her. Hey, this thought may work well for me! I have lots of imperfections in my belongings ....and personally, too.
JUNE 5
Your bedroom. It is a very intimate place, where most people don't trod thru. I remember a story someone else told me about a minister's wife who the congregation had decided to spend money on redecoration of the parsonage. The wife was thrilled and when the ladies came that were going to help her with it, she thought they would start with the living room, most
likely. If the money got used up, they would leave the bedroom till last, in case they ran out. Much to her surprise, they wanted to start in the bedroom. To her questions, they responded that the bedroom is the heart of their marriage and the place where you take refuse from the toil of the world.
If every where you look, you see disaster and confusion, do you really need to take that to bed with you? Your bedroom should be a place that says "come to me and relax, forget about your toil of the day (and if you have a man in your life, it should also be saying "come and enjoy yourselves here").
Is your bedroom saying that to you? Or when you walk into it do you have to be careful not to trip because that is where you sling everything and then close the door to hide it? It is bad feng shui (sp?) to take your rest or love amongst the junk piles! Ladies, I've been guilty! I can remember when my room was so junked up I had to stand at the end of it and dive in head first! I've got a lot out of there, I can walk on both sides of the bed now, and reach the closet and drawers - but it still has some junk piles. I know I will get these stacks overcome, little by little, if I live long enough!
I want to say this, in case you think it doesn't matter if you don't have a husband. My husband and I sleep in separate rooms - not for lack of love. It started that way when he had horrible allergies and asthma and the slightest move from me would set him off in a coughing fit that ruined the night for him. Well, now _I_ snore so loud that no one can sleep with me! But, that doesn't change anything - we still make love in there. And if I was not married, I would still be needing the comfort of sleeping without junk entering my dreams.
I had thought all this 'stuff' was stuff I needed to keep to to be me, but now I realize it is keeping me from being me. The Susy Homemaker blood is coursing thru my veins and I have the strong conviction that "I CAN DO IT"!!!!!!
JUNE 6
Your bathroom. How is this room for you? Do you think of it as just the place to 'do the business' and get out? Just a 'necessary room'? If you do, you are missing something! This is our secret spa - the one we can _AFFORD_! So you can't belong to one of those rich and famous spas like on the Travel channel - you can still pamper yourself at home!
Why let all this room has to offer you escape from you? Don't make this a 'quick in and quick out' room. Take time to think of it as your spa room and a room for pampering yourself. Don't let the place you get ready to face the day in, look like a horse trough. Clean that mirror and sink and dust off whatever you have sitting around, so you will feel like a special woman when you use them, not just trying to get ready to schlep thru another day.
If you can afford nice accessories -great! If not, you can still do it. Save a cast off toothbrush and put it with your tub items. After soaking and letting the stress steam out, reach for that brush and scrub your nails - after leaving the tub, rub a little oil/vaseline into all your nails and wipe finger tips clean.
(just a reminder, if you've been working in the yard, you may have had contact with poison ivy. I always advise a shower after yard work)
I have different oils, and bubbles for the bath, and gels for the shower. They even have bubble baths that leave the tub clean-no ring! If you've used gels and never quite got it what the big deal was about them, it could be that you failed to realize that shower gels must go on one of the scrubby things (just a spot as big as a quarter is enough, hold under the water and watch the bubbles explode when you scrub your body with it) - they do nothing on a washcloth! Save the wash cloth and soap for more intimate areas, and use the big scrubby thing all over the rest of you.
I love my cosmetics and facial products. I'm one of those people that they could be playing the song "I enjoy being a Girl" in the backround for. You could pamper yourself by doing some special rejuvenative care for yourself nightly. One night-your nails, another night-a facial, another nite-hair removal. If you don't have alot of stuff on hand, there's nothing to stop you from applying your favorite cold cream and just letting it sit for 15 minutes. What's the hurry? Wring out a clean wash cloth in hot water and open the cloth and hold it on your face. After it sets for a few seconds, then slowly start to gently wipe away the cold cream. Sarah says to think of your bathroom as a 'Secret Haven of Self-Absorption'.
JUNE 7
Your living room. Is it? Do you feel like you are living in it or 'living in haides' in it? Is the portal to your home a delight to you, your family and friends when you enter the door.....or does your spirit cry a silent moan inside you when you enter and your eyes see the first glimpse of 'home'?
It _would_ be nice to have a spacious wonderful living room, but what if you don't? Have you trapped yourself with thoughts of "it is so small in here, so why bother?" If you are thinking like that, it will not be a help to you, but a stumbling block. You will never be able to see what you _could_ be doing with it, if you are only feeling put-off by it's size and shutting your eyes to it. I have seen this demonstrated time after time on a decorating show, called something like "my small space/this small space". They take small areas that the homeowners had thought to problematic, and make them into a very special place. We can do that too! The thing is to not LOOK for the problems, but to think "what can I do here?" Look for a way for your authentic self and style to turn your living room into a "joy-of-living room"!
"A beautiful home is an education in itself, but it is not made in a day, it must slowly grow". (Lucy Abbot Throop)
Read June days 8-14
*In order to understand the full context of these reflections, you will enjoy your own copy of the Sarah Ban Breathnach book:
"Simple Abundance ~ A Daybook of Comfort and joy"
Sarah's Website ~ ENJOY!: www.simpleabundance.com
Uploaded June 8, 2001
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-COPYRIGHT 2001
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page
JUNE 1 ~ ENCOUNTERING HESTIA
Many of us may never have heard this name before, I hadn't. Apparently, 3000 years ago in ancient Greece, where there were many different gods and goddess worshiped, existed the Goddess Hestia. She was the goddess of hearth, guardian of family life and the temple. All women turned to her for for inspiration to transform their dwellings into homes of beauty, as an act of WORSHIP!!!
Well, this is not saying you have to change religions, for the same spirit that these women did this in, is still available to us. The important thing is to see how these people honoured and respected the art of homecaring. While other gods/goddesses had sculptures and paintings dedicated to them, Hestia was not represented in human form, but instead, her spiritual presence was honored as an eternal flame burning on a round hearth.
"The 'Goddess' knows what it takes to run a household and She has deemed it holy. So should you."
From the Christian and Jewish faiths: Don't forget the 31 chapter of PROVERBS in the Old Testament!
JUNE 2
In Praise of Modesty
This word is hardly ever heard anymore....people believe it to be out of style and not a virtue, but a hang-up. I find people are taught from one extreme to the other, -either never mentioning anything they have accomplished vs. having everything someone has done spotlighted and rewarded. I think people's personalities are different. It is not necessarily good or bad either way (long as you are not annoying about it!) We always made a big deal over my son's accomplishments .....and he never really needed to. Some people may have been so deprived of positive reinforcement that they long for and need to tell you about themselves, to get what should have been their birthright - parent given confidence. Some people are just dreadful bores and truly believe everyone is hanging on their words, because they know _they_ are!
Oliver Herford believed that modesty was "the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not be aware of it". I am thinking of someone who didn't even care what something looked like. When deciding which lamp, she had no idea, just checked the price and bought the more expensive one.
Maybe we are not that far out of touch with ourselves .....but we need to check ourselves and see if we are still choosing the things that call to us and our own sense of beauty, or choosing what everyone else says is the fad of today - whether talking about, clothes, decorations or lifestyles.
"What if modesty is not what you might have thought...but instead, it is a virtue so sure of her authentic self, that she is not distracted by the flash and glitz and chooses her own way, whether it is the way trumpeted by everyone else or not?"
JUNE 3
"Ask, and it shall be given to you: seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
-I've always had trouble asking for anything......I suppose I was always used by those who never stopped asking from me....to the point of never wanting to be like them. I'm afraid I 've done that too much in my life.....if I didn't like something -going to the opposite extreme. The word 'extreme' would tell the story...if it's extreme, than it isn't really normal, is it?
I don't really have trouble asking for information, or asking God for help...just asking for someone else to do something. I think it is probably normal to ask for somethings at sometimes, and never asking for anything might cause those around you to feel that you are so self-sufficient that you don't need them. I just never wanted to be the great tick of a person like someone else I've known.......I will have to see if I can find a way to start asking for things I truly could use help with, and yet remain true to myself by not being an obnoxious person who always needs help and everyone hates to see coming. I don't want to live on either side of 'extreme'.
I know that sometimes I have lived a little harder, when all I needed to do was ask someone to do something that would have made NO DIFFERENCE TO THEM, I just wouldn't ask. Does anyone know what I mean?
I think when something is a problem for us.....it is not usually just one thing that has stumbled us, but several things - and that is why we can't sort it out. I know I have issues with not being like others who have used me....but you know.....I think the other angle from that is that because they treated me that way, I perceived myself as having no value unless they were using me...uh...let me clarify that.....they TAUGHT me that TO THEM I had no value unless they were using me.....that I was a resource for them to use. So, how can a person who's only value is to do what no one else wants to do, ask for something, no matter how small? Well, I don't _serve_ those people anymore - and I know I will never be like them.... BUT, why didn't I just ask my husband to carry the vacuum upstairs after my surgery, instead of doing without. It wouldn't have put him out! He was going up anyway, many times! So, I can see this is not only my resisting to be like others, but also an esteem problem that those people instilled in me. And I'm sure my husband would have preferred the carpets vacuumed - he would have been willing and happy to do the vacuuming himself, if he thought I needed him to do it. But I kept my silence, in stupidty.
My husband likes doing little things for me! I am cheating him out of feeling good about himself by never asking for anything from him... bad girl....bad, bad, bad.........will change this.....
JUNE 4
"Style has nothing to do with money. Anybody can do it with money. The true art is to do it on a shoestring." (Tom Hogan)
Again Sarah reinforces in this reading that money (or lack of) will not prevent you from having style. And it is true, I have found some beautiful 'shabby chic' items at thrift stores and auctions that I smile everytime I pass them. And you know what? They are not perfect. Like the small china box I bought that has a large rose on top. The rose is not painted, it is actually like a rose, placed on top. It has a small chip in one petal, and I am sure that is why it was there. How funny, that now years later I am seeing the Shabby Chic show tell me she loves these little imperfections, and even in things she buys that could be fixed, -she leaves them! It proves they have had a life and a history, it feels nostalgic to her. Hey, this thought may work well for me! I have lots of imperfections in my belongings ....and personally, too.
JUNE 5
Your bedroom. It is a very intimate place, where most people don't trod thru. I remember a story someone else told me about a minister's wife who the congregation had decided to spend money on redecoration of the parsonage. The wife was thrilled and when the ladies came that were going to help her with it, she thought they would start with the living room, most
likely. If the money got used up, they would leave the bedroom till last, in case they ran out. Much to her surprise, they wanted to start in the bedroom. To her questions, they responded that the bedroom is the heart of their marriage and the place where you take refuse from the toil of the world.
If every where you look, you see disaster and confusion, do you really need to take that to bed with you? Your bedroom should be a place that says "come to me and relax, forget about your toil of the day (and if you have a man in your life, it should also be saying "come and enjoy yourselves here").
Is your bedroom saying that to you? Or when you walk into it do you have to be careful not to trip because that is where you sling everything and then close the door to hide it? It is bad feng shui (sp?) to take your rest or love amongst the junk piles! Ladies, I've been guilty! I can remember when my room was so junked up I had to stand at the end of it and dive in head first! I've got a lot out of there, I can walk on both sides of the bed now, and reach the closet and drawers - but it still has some junk piles. I know I will get these stacks overcome, little by little, if I live long enough!
I want to say this, in case you think it doesn't matter if you don't have a husband. My husband and I sleep in separate rooms - not for lack of love. It started that way when he had horrible allergies and asthma and the slightest move from me would set him off in a coughing fit that ruined the night for him. Well, now _I_ snore so loud that no one can sleep with me! But, that doesn't change anything - we still make love in there. And if I was not married, I would still be needing the comfort of sleeping without junk entering my dreams.
I had thought all this 'stuff' was stuff I needed to keep to to be me, but now I realize it is keeping me from being me. The Susy Homemaker blood is coursing thru my veins and I have the strong conviction that "I CAN DO IT"!!!!!!
JUNE 6
Your bathroom. How is this room for you? Do you think of it as just the place to 'do the business' and get out? Just a 'necessary room'? If you do, you are missing something! This is our secret spa - the one we can _AFFORD_! So you can't belong to one of those rich and famous spas like on the Travel channel - you can still pamper yourself at home!
Why let all this room has to offer you escape from you? Don't make this a 'quick in and quick out' room. Take time to think of it as your spa room and a room for pampering yourself. Don't let the place you get ready to face the day in, look like a horse trough. Clean that mirror and sink and dust off whatever you have sitting around, so you will feel like a special woman when you use them, not just trying to get ready to schlep thru another day.
If you can afford nice accessories -great! If not, you can still do it. Save a cast off toothbrush and put it with your tub items. After soaking and letting the stress steam out, reach for that brush and scrub your nails - after leaving the tub, rub a little oil/vaseline into all your nails and wipe finger tips clean.
(just a reminder, if you've been working in the yard, you may have had contact with poison ivy. I always advise a shower after yard work)
I have different oils, and bubbles for the bath, and gels for the shower. They even have bubble baths that leave the tub clean-no ring! If you've used gels and never quite got it what the big deal was about them, it could be that you failed to realize that shower gels must go on one of the scrubby things (just a spot as big as a quarter is enough, hold under the water and watch the bubbles explode when you scrub your body with it) - they do nothing on a washcloth! Save the wash cloth and soap for more intimate areas, and use the big scrubby thing all over the rest of you.
I love my cosmetics and facial products. I'm one of those people that they could be playing the song "I enjoy being a Girl" in the backround for. You could pamper yourself by doing some special rejuvenative care for yourself nightly. One night-your nails, another night-a facial, another nite-hair removal. If you don't have alot of stuff on hand, there's nothing to stop you from applying your favorite cold cream and just letting it sit for 15 minutes. What's the hurry? Wring out a clean wash cloth in hot water and open the cloth and hold it on your face. After it sets for a few seconds, then slowly start to gently wipe away the cold cream. Sarah says to think of your bathroom as a 'Secret Haven of Self-Absorption'.
JUNE 7
Your living room. Is it? Do you feel like you are living in it or 'living in haides' in it? Is the portal to your home a delight to you, your family and friends when you enter the door.....or does your spirit cry a silent moan inside you when you enter and your eyes see the first glimpse of 'home'?
It _would_ be nice to have a spacious wonderful living room, but what if you don't? Have you trapped yourself with thoughts of "it is so small in here, so why bother?" If you are thinking like that, it will not be a help to you, but a stumbling block. You will never be able to see what you _could_ be doing with it, if you are only feeling put-off by it's size and shutting your eyes to it. I have seen this demonstrated time after time on a decorating show, called something like "my small space/this small space". They take small areas that the homeowners had thought to problematic, and make them into a very special place. We can do that too! The thing is to not LOOK for the problems, but to think "what can I do here?" Look for a way for your authentic self and style to turn your living room into a "joy-of-living room"!
"A beautiful home is an education in itself, but it is not made in a day, it must slowly grow". (Lucy Abbot Throop)
Read June days 8-14
*In order to understand the full context of these reflections, you will enjoy your own copy of the Sarah Ban Breathnach book:
"Simple Abundance ~ A Daybook of Comfort and joy"
Sarah's Website ~ ENJOY!: www.simpleabundance.com
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