The Sunday check-in*

(My 14 year old son, holding a flower he brought to me. It's the little things.)

Reading...Meditation Secrets for Women: Discovering Your Passion, Pleasure, and Inner Peace by Camille Maurine & Lorin Roche. The joys of having an amazon wishlist that my awesome husband has access to. Thanks to him I’m reading this delicious read. 

Feeling...my own, because this day belongs to me. Deeply connecting to myself, discovering more to my womaness, discovering more of what makes me whole. "For her womaness is a blessing about her, and you are tender to put your hands upon her and kiss, not with lust, but with the joy of one returning to a lost one." ~ Richard Llewellyn

Smelling...the yummy pot of Lentil Peas Soup (recipe coming soon) I just finished cooking because while I was laying in my bed meditating this morning that same smell flooded my nose. I knew it was time to get up and cook that peas. Love that my children awoke to those aromas. I hope they felt the same good feelings inside of them as I did. 

Tasting...a bowl of grapes that was the start of my breakfast.

Listening...to my voice within. Allowing her to be my guide today. Completely surrendering to what she wants me to do today at every given moment. This is why I’m writing this blog post right now. *I give thanks to the email I read from Susannah literally just an hour ago that inspired this post. I call these moments, “whispers from the web.” 

Creating...in ways that are appropriate to me. Yesterday I drew the Oracle Goddess card, IX Chel, who is the Goddess of creativity. How on time is this? Goddess IX Chel beckons us to express creativity, allow our creative energy to flow, be daring about it, and let nothing stand in our way. Wholeness is nurtured when we open to our creativity and live it. I'm going to live it.

Wanting...to finish an article I promised to give to a fellow blogger friend. When I started this article I didn’t give it my undivided attention. I didn’t give it my all. My editor (Husband) read it and said, “uh-uh. Back to the drawing board.” My heart was broken up about it. I later realized that I was writing with "other people" in mind. I wasn’t writing from my heart and a distraction like this always gets in the way. Since then, I wrote the first draft and I’m pleased. I will see what he says and then take the next time. I will get it done.

Pondering...this space that I’m in. What picture to put with this post? What juice am I going to make when I’m done writing? What writing assignment will I work on next? What time will I take my children to the park today if today’s the day? How my husband is feeling at work today? How much more of my book will I read today? Should I wash another load of laundry today? Should I shampoo my nine year olds locs today, or tomorrow? How in the midst of all these “to-do’s” can I nourish me, can I deeply connect with me? How will I take the time, to sit, and just be, with me?  

I’ll leave you with a quote to ponder from the book I’m reading. As a woman, maybe these things are important to you and you haven't been able to take time for yourself as you need. Maybe you've been trying to figure out how. Keep trying, the answers will come. It's a must that we do this, often.

“Just to take time for ourselves, apart from the many relationships we have, can seem almost forbidden. Our lives are so full and complex, with so much to attend to, that the thought of having time to “just be” seems indulgent and impractical. As women, caretakers of the world, we submit our instincts to the needs we read in others. We lose touch with our nature. We must “re-main” each other, we must remember, again and again, to choose ourselves.”

I'd love to hear your "Sunday check-in". You can leave it in the comments or write a blog post and leave the link in the comments. 

xo,