Homebodies - A day in the life of...

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Published on Sunday, January 21, 2018

By Rita Friesen

Neepawa Banner & Press

Each day is a new day, a list of things I must do, I should do, I want to do and then the standard list of things I don’t want to do. In my life, many of the items on my list are attitude adjustments. I must be thankful and forgiving and I really don’t want to be petty or mean. Pretty basic, not always easy to implement!

The lists do not rule me, but guide me to a point of productivity that allows me to face days end with a sense of accomplishment. Admittedly there are days when my list says ‘do nothing’. Strange that I need to give myself permission to do nothing, but without knowing that the day is set aside for just that purpose frees me. Frees me to read, go for coffee, extend the length of the walk, catch a nap in the big chair – soft music playing and a dog warming my knees. My nothing day may include baking or making a meal, but if that happens it is because for me – that day- it is a pleasure not a duty.

I try to read at least a chapter in any book once a day. It makes for a slow read but it is better than no read. On my nightstand now are several; ‘The Broken Way’, a daring path into the abundant life by Ann Voskamp (really good for those of us who try to make sense of the sorrow and grief in our life), ‘A New Harmony’, the Spirit, the Earth and the Human Soul by John Philip Newell, exploring the ancient harmony that is deep in the matter of the universe, the essential interconnectedness of all things, and ‘The Luminous Web’, essays of Science and Religion by Barbara Brown Taylor. I admit that some evenings the Reader’s Digest wins the read of the day!

Striving for personal growth and keeping alive as many of the grey cells as possible, there is the devotional book ‘A Deep Breath of Life’, daily inspiration for heart-centered living by Alan Cohen, and a Sudoku calendar, one puzzle a day for the year. Here I admit, I am falling behind! Thankfully the answers are provided…And every day must include a walk. My goal has been for ten thousand steps a day and with this cold weather we have experienced, here, too, I am falling behind. And I feel it. The fresh air, the delight with which my dogs greet the outdoors, the wonder of the ever changing landscape, even though I walk the same route there are always changes. So some days recently we have headed out, aiming for the stop sign just east of the house, and turned back before attaining our goal. Short term delay in marinating my goal. It would be okay not to walk if I tossed the last of the Christmas chocolate!!

There is seldom a day that I close it with regrets. I am kind to myself, knowing that each morning provides me with that wondrous clean slate.