Overwhelm

I feel overwhelmed, with ideas, projects, emails, and family demands. Today I want to take some time to get clear about immediate priorities, and what I can put on the back burner.

Agenda:

1. Devotions

2. Beingness 

3. Earth Action

4. Read "The Book of Doing and Being"

5. Beginner's mind meditation for worry

6. Teaching brainstorm

7. Projects for the week

1. Devotions: 

I'm reading from two lovely books: Living Earth Devotional, by Clea Dana (2013), and Earth Medicine, by Jamie Sams (1994).

2. Beingness:

For Lent I am finding creative ways to make space for Being in Nature.Today: Be with raspberries as I weed and loosen soil. Ask what they need from me.

3. Earth Action:

Each day I am taking an action for the Earth - Today it is re-contemplating queries for water.

4. Read "The Book of Doing and Being":

I'm reading from this book by Barnet Bain (2015), subtitled "Rediscovering Creativity in Life, Love, and Work". This is a book of creative perspective, to help jiggle me out of the straight line way I usually think into something new: Use the exercises with consistency in order to stay focused on my destination. Practice will ground me and allow my ambitions to take root and grow.

Chapter 4 is Creativity and the body. My body is the home of my creativity, and it is with my body that I express it - with my singing, speaking, cutting, cooking, pasting, painting, and planting.

The master practice is "Going to the Well." Try to play with this once a week, to get in better touch with your emotions and stretch your capacity to feel creatively.

To prepare:

• Create an atmosphere with music, a candle.
• Take a slow deep breath.
• Choose one emotion at random - sad, eager, worried, etc.
• Focus on your emotion - feel it with your body; sense it through your heart.
• Set a timer for 3-minutes.

1. Write a definition of your emotion, without looking it up.
2. Imagine its color, and describe it in detail.
3. Describe its weight poetically.
4. Describe how it tastes.
5. Describe its texture.
6. Describe its smell.
7. Describe its sound.
8. Pick a talisman from nature to represent your emotion.

5. Beginner's mind meditation for worry:

My theme this year is Creative Perspective: To keep a positive and broad perspective; shift my perspective to help myself find equanimity, and also expand my perspective (think outside the box), having the courage to take experimental risks and express myself honestly with words and art.

Beginner's mind is dropping expectations and preconceived ideas, seeing things with an open mind, fresh eyes, curiosity and wonder.

Today I'll enjoy a beginners mind meditation for the emotion of worry, using the "Going to the Well" exercise.

1. Definition: Worry is an obsessive reflex of the mind, that actually stems from deeper heart emotions such as overwhelm, fear, or shame. 
2. Color: Jarring ugly green.
3. Weight: A brick in my chest.
4. Taste: Sour, like bile.
5. Texture: Scratchy itchy, like burrs in my clothes.
6. Smell: Smog.
7. Sound: A dog endlessly barking.
8. Talisman: A burr.

4. Teaching brainstorm:

Today I am brainstorming some goals for teaching for March: N

ext themes for pre-school, possible projects, nature and skills goals, as well as ideas for a spring class or workshop or retreat for my community. Ideas:

• A-2: Painting, playdoh, or construction every day (big motor, process oriented) + Wonder walks (Float the paper boats, bird talk, worms, rain and puddles, signs of spring).
• A-1: Drawing birds and real creatures + baking and planting
• Wednesday overlap day: Caring for nature projects (Feed the squirrels, worm care, planting) + celebrations (Hina dolls, sabzeh, Holi celebration, equinox, Birthday gifts).
• EC meeting- List of plants I have to share, and their properties; share thoughts on Rights of Nature.
• Potting day - March 15th - What is regenerative planting?
• Water poetry and painting class?

4. Projects for the week:

Each week on Thursday I plan the projects I will work on in the next week - one or two kid projects, one or two home projects, and one or two Unicorn projects (those that feed ME). This next week I will:

• Th: Seal the fence + Make paper boats
• F: Water flyer design + Paint posts + Bake cookies
• S: Planting + paint window frame + plant list and properties
• Sun: EC sharing + Paint a rainbow 
• M: Worm bin drilling and prep + kitchen plans
• T: Make paper Hina dolls + meet to float the boats
• W: Look for signs of spring + Plant sabzeh!

Doing the smallest thing is a great way to make courageous creative work less frightening; also finding the "minimum effective dose", the amount of work that keeps me challenged and joyful, and if I keep at it will get me to the finish line on time. 

Today I will list specific goals for each day's creative projects, put them on my calendar, also itemize the supplies and preparation steps.