thinking on.

Well, November has come and gone.

I just looked back at my calendar to remind myself. What happened? How did all of those days fly by? How did I forget to come back here?

It happens, forever and ever, the waves crash and melt away, they rise with intensity, they fall back with peace.

Things I have been thinking about lately:
-money (savings, paying debts, making plans)
-possessions
-simplicity
-family
-the road
-the unknown
-the future

I always get the urge to write something when I see something that I wish I had written. Or I hear of someone making something that I wish I had made. Today it was this, one of my very favorite blogs, and her amazing announcement that she is writing a book on simplicity. I thought: How wonderful! And then: I wish I was writing that book.

I started reading this little book over Thanksgiving, which I happen to love, mostly because it speaks directly to me and my organizer brain. I’m not sure it would be the best read if you’re not already prone to or longing for tidiness. But it does have me fairly jazzed up about the idea of filling my life only with objects and possessions that bring joy. J and I are already minimal people, partly because we live in a small space, but I think we could do more to hold on to things that bring joy and let go of those that don’t.

We spent 40 hours in the car last week, driving halfway across the country and from one family member to another. During one stretch, we listened to this. It’s profound and beautiful and I’m going to listen to it again tonight, after squeezing in all the Christmas music I can before J gets home.

Other things I’m thinking about:
-encouragement (getting it and giving it)
-questions of meaning
-making simple food
-setting goals

And now, here’s an exercise to try. Make a list of all the things that it’s difficult for you to talk or write about. Then, one by one, talk or write about them. Even quietly, just to yourself. It might be a good way to shed off complacency, to break out of it, with force, and to build new intentions.