Stasia's Place Of Grace

Monday, September 16, 2002

 

Authentic Success

Before I write, I'd like to share my "porpentine" spindle that Caroline mentioned. Here it is, with the Tabachek bowl:

Please excuse the silk I've spun - it is my first attempt at support spindling, so it's not exactly lovely!

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Today I would like to share with you a reading from Sarah Ban Breathnach's "Simple Abundance: A Daybook Of Comfort And Joy", one of my favorite books.

"Authentic success is having time enough to pursue personal pursuits that bring you pleasure, time enough to make the loving gestures for your family you long to do, time enough to care for your home, tend your garden, nurture your soul. Authentic success is never having to tell yourself or those you love, "maybe next year." Authentic success is knowing that if today were your last day on earth, you could leave without regret. Authentic success is feeling focused and serene when you work, not fragmented. It's knowing that you've done the best that you possibly can, no matter what circumstances you faced; it's knowing in your soul that the best you can do is all you can do, and that the best you can do is always enough.

"Authentic success is accepting your limitations, making peace with your past, and reveling in your passions so that your future may unfold according to a Divine Plan. It's discovering and calling forth your gifts and offering them to the world to help heal its ravaged heart. It's making a difference in other lives and believing that if you can do that for just one person each day, through a smile, a shared laugh, a caress, a kind word, or a helping hand, blessed are you among women.

"Authentic success is not just money in the bank but a contented heart and peace of mind. It's earning what you feel you deserve for the work you do and knowing that you're worth it. Authentic success is paying your bills with ease, taking care of all your needs and the needs of those you love, indulging some wants, and having enough left over to save and share. Authentic success is not about accumulating but letting go, because all you have is all you truly need. Authentic success is feeling good about who you are, appreciating where you've been, celebrating your achievements, and honoring the distance you've already come. Authentic success is reaching the point where being is as important as doing.

See why it's one of my favorite books?

I am hoping you will experience authentic success today!

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Today...

Awoke with very low energy and an earache/sore throat (must be allergies) so am listening to my body and taking it easy. I made some tea, then did my "Energy Chi" exercise video, and then listened to an "A.M. Yoga Meditation". Am still a bit under the weather but I know that now I've set myself on a path to feeling better later. Now will eat something healthy...

I finished the neck of the gray cable sweater on smaller needles, and though it is still a bit wide and I made it a bit too tall this time, it seems a little better. It will be good when I wash it, I think. Now I've come to the part I dislike most - inserting the sleeves and seaming up the sides. Well, "a little bit each day" is my current motto, so my goal for today is to get the sleeves set. However, I will wait until I'm a bit more mentally coherent and physically flexible, later on, to attempt this. ;-)

As for the Opal socks, I've decided to un-do the toe I started and re-divide the yarn equally. I am really obsessive when it comes to things being "even," and it is bugging me that these two yarn balls aren't equal.

I've also decided I would rather do the Meilenweit socks (in orange and purple) so they're finished by Halloween. Since the Opal is self-patterning, I don't use a ribbed knit, but just stockinette stitch. However, since the Meilenweit is just self-striping, without any "jacquard" effect, I will be able to do these in a rib. I love how ribbed socks fit!

Jeff has decided not to go deer hunting this year due to the Chronic Wasting Disease in our state (he's not afraid of getting a deer with it in his hunting area, but worried about contamination at the processor's) so that means I have a year's leeway on the bison down/Navajo-Churro/qiviut "North American hunting socks" yarn I was spinning up. Good thing - I'm tired of brown! And there are a few other projects and volunteer items I'd like to make this fall anyway. And yay, I don't have to feel bad about him getting a deer. ;-)

So I am off to divide the ball of Meilenweit and cast on. I don't think today would be a good day to balance the checkbook, do any food shopping, rearrange my fiber arts patterns and books (which desperately need it - I have Woodland Woolworks catalogs from 2000!), or try to weed the garden. There will be other days for those things, when my body will tell me, "Go for it!" This is just not one of those days, though it is sunny and beautiful outside. As I say... a little at a time! I can accept my limitations today, and it's a good justification to sit and knit, guilt-free. (Why do I feel guilty when doing something that makes me happy, like I should be trying harder, working more, ignoring my pain and tiredness instead? Do you postpone pleasure for yourself, too? We've got to stop that! Life's too short!)

I wanted to mention that I am really, really grateful that I traipsed out to my garden yesterday and saw that the Cosmos had gone to seed; I've gathered TONS and will have a whole bunch to plant next year. Good thing, too, as apparently I can't seem to grown anything else! :-) I think it's a great dye plant (hopefully I'll be able to get yellows as well as pinks) and it looks beautiful in the garden.

Have a centered Monday!

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