Sight and Sound

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life."

I remember when we used to see that line everywhere. Then it became trite, but still no less true. It takes awhile, sometimes, for us to truly appreciate the intention of that expression.

Today

is the

first day

of the

rest of your life!

Which, of course, brings us to the topic of p-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-i-o-n.

I keep telling myself that I will

a) start a daily meditation practice,
when my daughter moves out
b) clean out and re-establish my office,
when my daughter moves out
c) reorganize the basement,
when my daughter moves out
d) take yoga classes,
when my daughter moves out
e) have small dinner parties again

Okay, you got it...I can always excuse myself by saying I'm "goal-oriented," I suppose.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life...

Now, please don't misunderstand. I lead a very busy, active life. I teach, counsel, write, cater, perform and attempt to take care of the myriad aspects of running a household, including the care of a young dog, three cats, a husband and a daughter who is finishing her high school (so I suppose that list also includes "tutor"). Spring is doing its best to establish itself, so there will be gardening and landscaping, too. Oh, yes, and figuring out how to create a livable income from my apparent vocation...

Years ago, when I was raising four kids (two in diapers) on my own, for the most part, I used to practice Transcendental Meditation - yes, 20 minutes twice a day. I controlled stress by having lengthy baths, sometimes with a kid or two in the tub with me, or playing beside it. If I knew I had to deal with unsavory telephone tasks, or needed to 'cry the blues' to my support system, I'd bring the phone, with its extra-long cord, into the bathroom with me.

My house was orderly, except for the distribution of toys throughout, which were always put away at night. Finger prints never had the chance to settle on the walls - I'd be there almost beforehand with the spray bottle and rag. The windows sparkled. All dishes were washed by hand. Laundry never piled up, clothes were usually hung on the clothesline to dry (we had a dryer for use during times of inclement weather), and the acre-sized lawn was always cut. I baked most of the bread we ate, all meals were cooked from scratch and we still had a great social life, exploring the beautiful area in which we lived and taking part in events at the local rec centre. I saw clients, attended classes, designed workshops and regularly travelled to points away from the Island where we lived. I even managed to take a vacation to San Francisco (where I'd left my heart!), just before my 33rd birthday.

I remember walking down a San Francisco street, enjoying the gracious architecture that I'd never had time to actually notice when I'd lived there, and thinking, "Wow, 33 and I still have the rest of my life ahead of me!" That day was the first day of the rest of my life...

So at what point did Auntie Procrastination rear her ugly head? Probably some time amidst moving away from our idyllic spot to live with another single-parent family in the city, working away from the home five days a week, and falling subject to a custody battle, I'd wager.

True, I'd discovered that TM wasn't for me, though not because of the time demands. I just hadn't found the right practice yet. I have that now.

So,
a) meditation practice for the day - I invite you to play along with me.

Exercise one:
Read the following out loud.
An exercise by Gertrude Stein, from Many Many Women (1910)

Any one is one having been that one. Any one is such a one.
Any one having been that one is one remembering something of such a thing, is one remembering having been that one.
Each one having been one is being one having been that one. Each one having been one is remembering something of this thing is remembering something of having been that one.
Each one is one. Each one has been one. Each one being one, each one having been one is remembering something of that thing.
Each one is one. Each one has been one. Each one is remembering that thing.
Each one is one. Each one has been one. That is something that any one having been one, any one being one is having happen. Each one being one is having it happen that that one is being that one. Each one having been one is one having had it happen that that one has been that one.
Each one is one. Any one is that one that one is. Each one is one.

(This exercise is included in Chakra Five of my chakra process handbook, "The Sacred Tree and the Rainbow Serpent," which I wrote for my students in 2001. Gertrude was fascinated by sound. Reading this passage aloud eliminates the "meaning" of the words, leaving only sound.)

Practice two: from Connie Frey's FAME cards deck, subtitled, "Writing prompts for the right and left brain". Connie, who holds a Ph.D. in dance therapy, was also my first dance teacher; I was 34 when I signed up for her classes.

"Write a word 100 times and note the flow of images."

Then I'm off to do some housework, and maybe plan a special dinner menu...

Do something wonderful today!

Jessica