Kakizome Day and Ninth Day of Christmas

This is Kakizome Day; kakizome means "first writing". Today people all over Japan will take time to use a brush and sumi ink to write out a favorite quote or phrase - the first calligraphy of the new year. Kakizome is a way to express your positive wishes for the New Year.

Agenda:

1. Christmas retreat

2. Read from "The Simpler Life"

3. Sanctuary goals for 2023

4. Clean and clear the kitchen

5. Practice writing

1. Christmas retreat:

I am again celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas with a mini-retreat for myself. I'm doing some reading and writing every day, focusing on my priorities and what I'm called to do (or not do) next in my life. My plan is to contemplate, honor, and practice a different one of my life priorities on each of the 12 days, and set some goals and resolutions for 2024.

Today I am contemplating the sanctuary of my home. My home (in a perfect world) is the calm center of the storm. Our home is cozy and fairly clean and tidy, but it has room for improvement: Our peace is upset by cluttered storage spaces and a few too many sharp words. I want to consider how to improve both my home space and my mental state.

What rooms and outdoor spaces in our home and garden need the most work to become a true sanctuary? How can I put my creativity into form to serve my sanctuary? How can I  better welcome the natural world to enter my sanctuary?

 

What physical clutter am I more than ready to let go of? What clutter am I clinging to? How do I balance simplicity and order in my home with abundance and creativity?

 

How grounded do I feel? Am I able to set aside obsessions and fears, and return to equanimity?

Am I balanced in the gestalt? Consider all the aspects of my life, all at once... Take a deep breath and listen deeply: What could I do next year to bring my life into greater balance?

2. Read from "The Simpler Life":

I've been reviewing this pretty little book by Deborah DeFord (1998). The subtitle is "An Inspirational Guide to Living Better with Less".

I'm on Chapter 4: Home Simple Home. She says her favorite definition of home is "habitat". "It includes all sorts of living arrangements. It calls up visions of an environment or an ecosystem, a place that is dynamic and organic, located somewhere on the line between domesticated and wild, inhabited by a loose and changing collection of people, animals, dust bunnies and debris - in short, a typical home."

She defines three areas of focus to create simpler homes: First, clear out everything you don't need; next, develop simple

maintenance r

outines; then, finally, create spaces that are pleasing and harmonious.

3. Sanctuary goals:

This week I'm setting goals and resolutions for the New Year. My theme for today is Sanctuary. 

A sanctuary is a sanctum, a sacred and protected place of beauty, grace and refuge; it embraces us and brings us back to center. When we take sanctuary, even for brief moments, we are re-created, recharged, healed, soothed, comforted and at peace.

My home and land is a sanctuary for my body and my soul. My life flows around this solid base. Sanctuary goals might have to do with physically making my home a safe and comfortable space, making changes in my behaviors to create a greater feeling of safety for others, and also things like grounded-ness, and finding clarity in chaos.

My ideas so far for sanctuary goals next year:

• Continue to recycle possessions I no longer need; go through every storage bin and pass on or recycle everything I no longer need. Plan some art projects to use my fabric stockpile, papers, and memorabilia. Find the balance of simplicity and abundance that I want.
• Renew my connection to my home by tending to it with intention and care. Revitalize my maintenance and cleaning habits, especially with windows and surfaces.
• Continue the work of creating a sanctuary in our yard, for playing with grandchildren, gathering with family, socializing with friends, and for our domestic animals and wild nature; create an abundant veggie garden and and an inviting butterfly garden.
• Fill our home and yard with Unity Art, to connect us to nature and to heal us.

4. Clean and clear the kitchen:

In January I kick off a month of deep cleaning. My house has certain mold-related issues that are best done before we get any deeper into winter, and winter is a great time to simplify possessions!

A note about mold: I used to use bleach against mold, but I've been experimenting with safer approaches. The Home Healthy Homes site has a complete list. Today I'm using borax solution - 1 cup borax to 1 gallon water.

I take it one room at a time, and this week I'll clean and clear the kitchen:

• Shine the Sink: Make a solution of 1 cup of borax and a gallon of water in the sink, and let it soak for 1 hour. Use the borax solution to scrub around the rim of the sink and the faucets until they sparkle. Rinse well. (I also have a plastic cup of borax with a toothbrush sitting by my kitchen sink, to apply to the metal sink rim every day.)
• Scrub the mold from the windows with detergent and warm water, then wipe with the borax solution. Wait 20 minutes and repeat, and do not rinse because borax will help prevent mold from growing again. When it's dry, touch up the paint on the windows (moisture often leaves areas of bare paint around my panes).
• Clean the refrigerator: Remove all the food and the shelves, and clean with a mild detergent.
• Clear out one box of items we don't use: Put a big box in the kitchen and clear one drawer, cabinet or shelf every day. At the end of the week, and new homes for everything in the box - either donate , or use in an art project.
• Clear old food: Use up or toss all old preserves this month.

5. Practice writing:

In Japan, calligraphy is part of the curriculum in all schools. On Kakizome Day, students begin the year by practicing their calligraphy skills - calligraphy is the normal handwriting in Japan, and your handwriting is thought to reveal your personality.

Writing is a priority for me: I express myself with my words and use words in my artwork. It's my tradition to start a written project of some kind on Kakizome Day - sometimes calligraphy, but not always. I have two ideas in mind: I want to make a stick-B to go with the stick-A we made last month, and I want to make a sign that says WITNESS.