Sunday, November 27, 2011

Day 27 Procrastination can be a good thing.

I procrastinate.  I put things in piles I will get to later.  Sometimes I don't get to it for a year, then it is something that no longer is something I can address, so it goes in the recycling or helps light a fire in the fireplace.  There are too many things in this world to do, to read.  This is the information age and there is TMI - too much information.  As human beings, we are not meant to be constantly doing.  We are meant to be "being".

Today we cleaned our home.  I saw all of the things, again, that I have put aside to deal with later.  So many things.  Once a year, it seems, I put things into bags, do mass recycling, give things away.  How does it all get there?  Where is it all coming from?

The office supplies I have - I helped my aunt & uncle move and they had those office supplies they didn't want to store to take with them to Washington.  The music CD's I have - a collection that has grown over the years.  I have been around for over 50 year now.  There are floppy discs from old computers, supplies for my daughter's wedding that she changed the plans over.  The books people gave me.  All of these things weigh on me, they fill up my head.  I will deal with that later.  It continues to accumulate in the attic.

After Christmas holidays or before, I'll have a give away.  I don't know yet when I'll do it.  I'll think about it later.  I take a deep breath.  Let it go.  Ahh, that's better.

Whenever I do deal with these things (once a year), I realize how abundant life is.  You see it in nature, you see it in your attic.  I am reminded how wealthy we are and don't even realize it.  I also realize how little we really do need.  I am also grateful - when I worry about not having enough or being enough, all I have to do is visit my attic space.  Then I stop worrying - because I can give away what I have - I do have enough - I am enough.

When practicing yoga and meditation, we see these things more clearly.  The practice opens our awareness and has us looking at our life, our thoughts, our relationships and gives us the motivation to clear out the stuff.  This is what yoga is :  Patanjali (in the yoga sutras) says “yoga is the restriction of the fluctuation of
consciousness” (yogash-citti-vrtti-nirodhah).  The goal of yoga - is ultimately stilling the mind, clearing out the junk (fluctuation).  There is nothing to do but "be".

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