Patti Digh's blog, 37days, is whole food for the soul. Her writing shines with authenticity, transparency, heart. You'll find no additives, bs, or fillers. Reading Patti's words is like taking my daily dose of vitamins for my spiritual and emotional health.
No matter how hectic my day is, I make time to read her posts. Yes, they are that good! Shedding is one of my favorite posts from last month. Here is a small excerpt of the 11 items Patti intends to shed in 2011:
File cabinets: I am feeling smothered by the past. File cabinets contain papers about work I used to do, but will never do again. They need to go away, to make space for an art table.
Patti inspires me with this one. It really hits home for me. My office closet is jammed with filing cabinets overflowing with a previous career - seminars, workshops, and talks I gave 8-10 years ago. I get a heavy feeling when I walk into that closet. Why am I hanging onto it? Over the holidays I have begun to clear out and throw away tons of binders filled with materials. I have purchased banker boxes for things that need to be saved, such as financial info and tax returns that can be packed away out of site. I can use the free space in my filing cabinets to take my current business to a new level of organization. My intuitive hunch is that by opening up space, I am giving my creativity room to breath and expand!
Blocks: I'm letting go of false comparisons with others, false expectations of myself, and false investments in stories that don't serve me.
Am I finally old enough to let these blocks go too? I hereby confer upon myself lifetime permission to "pass go." Perfection not needed, not invited.
Excuses: I told my business partner, David, one day as we drove up Merrimon Avenue on one of his visits to Asheville that I had just realized I had never done my best work because I always wanted an excuse to fall back on if someone didn't like it. "Oh, that? I didn't have a chance to edit that because I was nursing a sick dwarf hamster back to life from a heart attack." No excuses in 2011. None.
I refer myself back to shedding perfection. Just do it, Deb, and by the way, have some fun while you are at it. Embrace imperfection for the humanizing quality it is.
Work: It is too easy to say yes to work that makes money but doesn't move me in the direction I long to go. This will be the year of giving up that work, of saying no to it so I (and we) can create what we most long to say. This will likely involve the art table.
My intent, with the work that currently brings me money, is to continue to systemize it so that I am working less on it. I aim for more free time and flexibility just because I want it!
Happy 6th Blog Anniversary, Patty Digh! May you grace us with your words for many more years. In the meantime, my intention this year is to meet you in person. I am your Southern neighbor in Greenville SC, and am a mere 75 min. drive away. You have fans down here. We'll be in touch soon!
[Photo Credit: Michaela Kobyakov]
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