recipe for beautiful living: discoveries

there's a lot to be said for artful day-to-day living.  here's a few things i've discovered that help me feel great all year long...

1) ten minutes of prayer.  just stopping and sitting for as little as ten minutes a day has helped me decompress, fill up with love and give it away.  in other words, life will continue to have distractions, but i can minimize how distractable i am.  i enjoy writing down one thing in nature i noticed and one thing i'm grateful for each day.  saying or writing "thanks" to people quickly also seems to make me more grateful. when i move fast, i'm crazy efficient.  when i get to be quiet and slow, it's lovely.  when i notice myself not being present or rushing through an experience to get to the next one, i know it's time to sit down and, as a current song says, "...just for a moment, let's be still."

2) coconut oil and vitamin D.  who knew these were so good for so many things?  i love them both.  coconut oil for skin, hair, cooking...instead of many different and expensive products, now i just use one. and, living in the northwest, my daily dose of D keeps me sunny side up even on the wettest, darkest days.

3) daily habits.  i'm actually terrible at these little things, but i'm becoming more mindful of how they're worth it in the long run:  stretching, flossing, breathing deeply, sitting down when i eat, chewing my food, drinking water.

4) sleep.  i don't know how sleep came to be associated with laziness, because it's a miracle!  it's been said, "the innocent sleep.  sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care...chief nourisher in life's feast."  it's my re-boot time to get 8 hours of regular, uninterrupted sleep per night plus naps!  i won't win any overachiever prizes, but i just may live longer.

5) a well-stocked pantry and seasonal synch.  if i wait to cook until i'm hungry, it's too late!  right now a snapshot of my pantry includes:  bob's red mill muesli, flax meal, ten grain cereal, farrow, whole wheat flour and bean soup mix.  my fridge and freezer:  wild caught salmon, nancy's plain yogurt, eggs from my chickens, hummus, almond milk, kale, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, and onions.  i'm choosing to spend a little more to put only the good stuff in my body.  and, when you eat what's in season, it just tastes better.

6) front loading chores and looping errands.  i want to spend my spare time at the beach, kayaking, or trying new coffee shops, not doing everyday chores.  i love doing laundry and dishes mid-week and looping my errands into one big circle so i only have to do them once, instead of having to run out and about several different times. 

7) massage/bath.  the health benefits of massage are invaluable.  and i love my body brush.  exfoliating and letting my skin breathe, especially after an epsom salt bath, is such a treat.

8) budget.  i'm slowly making friends with money.  training myself to have a both-and approach to the green stuff and prioritize what i'm going to pay down first while also saving and having enough to play with has helped me relax. if i'm going to splurge, i spend it on shared experiences for lasting memories (you don't have to dust memories). 

9) bike there.  i feel the best when i bike to work.  it gives me energy, i arrive having already exercised for the day, i save gas money and stay in shape all at once.  keeping my bike ride-ready and my rack on the car when the forecast looks dry increases the ease of getting up earlier to pedal.

10) list it.  from books to events and movies to art projects, i have a small sectioned journal that i carry with me every day.  when i find myself with unexpected free time, i just look at my list and in the time it used to take me to wonder what i was going to do, i'm already on my way to instant fun!

i gave up trying to do all things well and be all things to all people all of the time.  what i realized is, life evens out into a healthy rhythm when you do one thing well at a time.  it just seems to flow better.  these daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal, and yearly rituals bring so much beauty and contentment into my days...i hope they will into yours as well.  what have you discovered that you want to share?