Sabbath for Being Balm

My sabbath is a busy one, with lots of being in community. I intend to carry a quiet presence with me all day, that will be a balm for the anxious souls around me.  

Agenda:

1. Read "Everyday Simplicity":
2. Love meditation
3. Gratitude list
4. Simple projects list

1. Read "Everyday Simplicity":

I bought myself this little book, by Robert J. Wicks (2000), as a birthday treat. The subtitle is: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth.

I'm on to the third section of the book, which is Fostering Simple Compassion: "When compassion joins an attitude of awareness and the practice of prayerfulness, a 'circle of grace' is formed."

He offers five parts, and the second is Offering Balm for Tears in the Soul of Others, about remembering to be gentle with people because it is so easy to get sucked into sadness - like we have permanent rents in our souls that reopen when stressed. Some people are so damaged by trauma that we cannot ease their pain, but offering some of our joy and peace with listening, attention, patience, and concern, is a balm. "If we are spiritually awake, the person with whom we share a little of our happiness will somehow help us to see God's grace."

Practice for this section: Offer balm with my attention and peaceful spirit, no matter how my offering is accepted. 

2. Love meditation:

Every month after the full moon, in the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon, I practice a love meditation that progresses from receptivity, to gratitude, to generosity:

Day 2: Practice a love meditation, and end by feeling and expressing gratitude - send a prayer to the universe of thanksgiving for all I have in my life. 

When I remember to feel grateful for my blessings, my days take on a different tone: I have more vigor, optimism, compassion, and peace. By noticing how I am blessed, my impatience decreases and I realize how satisfied and fulfilled I really am.

3. My gratitude list:

I've been looking at how to reset my underlying doomsday mode with gratitude, by actively cultivating positive thoughts. I think gratitude might be important right now, and I want to go deeper, but for now, I'll make a short list each day, with attention on my true feelings and the darkness I see.

1. I'm thankful for the thousands of people who made a statement of freedom at the rally yesterday.
2. I'm grateful for my peaceful home where I can rest my weary soul.
3. I'm grateful for a mind that moves forward to the next creative task no matter the outrages around me. 

4. Simple project list:

In the fall I started using Leo Babauta's "Simple Projects List", with my top three projects. (A "project" is something that has several steps, and takes only a week or two.) "The top three projects on your Simple Projects List will be your entire focus until you finish all three ... This ensures that you aren't spreading your focus too thin, and that you are completing your projects." 

Tips: You can't actually do projects - you can only do tasks. Make a list of tasks for each project, and focus on doing one at a time. Each day, choose three tasks to complete. 

My simple projects list next week:

• Sun camp crafts: Paper plate sun sewing, solar disk, sun potpourri dream pillows.
• Clerk tasks: Clerk meeting, advises for committees, slate, support meeting, business agenda.
• Creative Visioning: "What if I was a revered sage and teacher? What if I published a Nature-Culture book? What if I could produce art that changed minds? What if my garden became a haven for butterflies?"