So most of you know that I picked out my One Little Word for this year and it was (yes - was) Simplify.
But what actually came "roaring" into my life every day of this new year has been "Spirit"!
The English word spirit (from Latin spiritus) means "breath".
Metaphysically it refers to consciousness or personality. The nonphysical part of a person that is the seat of emotions and character; the soul.
Spirit....Soul....my energy. Your energy. The world's energy!
As I struggled to hold on to "simplify", I began to realize that Spirit was pulling me on a path saying "pick me - pick me"...well, maybe it was more of a gentle nudge!
I meditated and chose my daily work with more consciousness and what do you know, simplify began to come about naturally.
No, it is not an overnight deal, but an ongoing one. Room by room, my car, my house, my garden, my art, my reading, my world, has all been slowly simplified. What do I love? What do I really need? What do my loved ones need?
I came across this detail of Bouguereau's Madonna and it spoke to me.
To me.... so full of Grace
"Mindfulness is
paying attention
on purpose
non-judgmentally
in the present moment
as if your life depended on it"
-- Jon Kabat-Zinn