Simplify, simplify, simplify

Soft sweep of sideways raspberry plants

Good evening.  Dinner is finished and the driveway plowed.  Light still illuminates our fair land, an impossible feat at this hour over a month ago.  It won’t be really dark until some time after 7 p.m.

I wandered downstairs to meditate a few minutes ago but couldn’t quit thinking about tonight’s blog.  The words kept crowding around in my mind saying, “Write this!”  “No, write this!”  “Please can’t we stop meditating and just go write?”  “Please, can’t we meditate later?”

So up the green-carpeted circular stairway I crept, careful not to wake Barry after his long hours of plowing the driveway.  He’s taking an after-dinner nap.

Simple. Bare plant bones.

The words voted and decided they wanted to talk about simplifying.  (I am helpless when it’s a unanimous vote and simply must provide the typing fingers.)

Have any of you thought of simplifying your life lately?  Of determining whether your energy and deepest desires match?  And, if discovering they no longer seem quite accurate, attempting to determine what old habits, actions, ideas and thoughts need to be released…and which new ones might be cultivated?

Still life on snow.

I’ve been carving much more space in my days the last week.  Not on the computer too much.  Not checking email, blog, Facebook excessively.  Not playing computer card games way too much.  Giving myself long stretches of time to contemplate, reflect, create, dream, meditate, pray and ponder.

Ahhh…this feels so very good.  Right.  The deepest inner voice says “simplify” and lately it’s been possible to listen.  And to carve space.

Duet in flower and stem

Have you heard that when we multi-task we think we’re being more efficient?  When in actuality, we’re not.  As we attempt to do this and that, and that and this, and this, too…our attention diffuses.  We aren’t really present for anything.  We’re fragmented. We’re going through the motions but we’re not really completely there.

We’re not there in the kitchen drinking the juice.  (We’re thinking about something that happened yesterday.)  We’re not truly listening to our friend (We’re thinking about what we’re going to say next.)  We’re brushing our teeth and stoking the fire at the same time.  We’re putting on our boots and packing lunch almost simultaneously.  We’re going fast, fast, fast…with way too many ingredients diluting our experience.

Sideways stem.

A couple of weeks ago I took a good hard look at all the ways I wasted energy.  Diluted experience.  Refused to be present.  Rushed too much.  And decided to retreat from so much busy-ness. (A lot of it was internal busy-ness.)

I cut back on commitments and groups and time-wasting activities.  And it feels so darn good.  Already creativity and newness is accelerating, zinging up, itching to express itself.

Bell of Queen Anne's Lace

Any one else experienced the same thing?  Any one else cleaned a closet, determined a new course of action, decided to simplify?  Any one else feeling more present in your life, more content?