Embrace the Ordinary vol. 14
This week, I have the lovely Allison co-hosting with me! Keep reading all the way through to learn more about her and click through to see her page, too!
Let’s be perfectly honest: sometimes I struggle to keep priorities in order and I let my prayer and my “self” time get lost in the shuffle. Then everything suffers and I feel like a spaz. When I feel like a spaz, I feel lost and everything feels like a chore.
This is no bueno.
What happens next is that I tend to hide from myself with mind-numbing stares at the computer screen, seeking something to pull me up. And that is plain foolishness. Foolishness, I tell you!
I’m about to embrace *that* ish. Oh yes, I’ve got to embrace the foolish part of me, own it, and then FIX it.
Starting now (yesterday, as a matter of fact), my days will start with prayer. Prayer before I rise, and then I’m following that up with the devotions from Blessed Is She and/or the morning prayer from the liturgy of the hours. There is beauty in the repetition, the cycle, the already-in-place readings and prayers of the Church. (I don’t have to think about it, for one thing. The readings and prayers are chosen for me, and the whole Church is praying with me.)
Next up in the “self” priority list is to be active. Maybe I’ll get a run, maybe I’ll spend 20 minutes doing Pilates, maybe I’ll get all the kids ready for a walk in the neighborhood or a bike ride. Something. I crave physical activity and it truly does refresh me.
Following all that, I have some self-care ideas that are a bit high-maintenance for me, sort of extravagant, but totally normal for lots of women. Brace yourselves, I’m going to work on “getting all done up”. Makeup. Jewelry. Silly things, really, but things to help me feel and look put together. It’s going to have to be simple, because there is not time in my life for anything other than simple, and because Fence really prefers a natural look. I need to honor that. (He is the one looking at me, after all.)
What else, what else? I identified three areas of my house that drive me nuts if they’re out of order, but help me feel peace when they’re straightened and tidy. As much as possible, I’m going to keep these areas neat: my bed, the counter looking into the family room, and the kitchen.
These are simple, small things. They’re the stepping stones, you could say, to the bigger picture. Hopefully, these small changes will lead to a new ordinary I can embrace, one that is more peaceful, more put-together, and rightly prioritized.
“…there is something holy, something divine hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it.” St. Josemaria Escriva, Passionately Loving the World
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