Karol Gajda's book Luxury of Less: The Five Rings of Minimalism does an excellent job of helping you focus on Life's Essentials. There is a monthly challenge for each ring.
Ring 1 : health (and not just physical health).
Ring 2 : wealth
Ring 3 : relationships
Ring 4 : experiences
Ring 5 : the Void
http://www.amazon.com/Luxury-Less-Rings-Minimalism-ebook/dp/B004Y6GDFW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310989648&sr=8-1
Monday, July 18, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Expressing Your True Nature
I just finished one Writing Prompt which asked me what I would do if there was only one day left to live. And to detail the day from beginning to end.
What became apparent to me was to know what my nature is, and to live, dress, and Express My True Nature.
Right now, I am learning about Dressing Your Truth by Carol Tuttle and her team. So many women have transformed from discovering their true nature. And living and dressing their truth.
I think it would be AWESOME if everyone got to live and dress and Express Their Truth in this lifetime. :-)
Good luck! Enjoy today!
What became apparent to me was to know what my nature is, and to live, dress, and Express My True Nature.
Right now, I am learning about Dressing Your Truth by Carol Tuttle and her team. So many women have transformed from discovering their true nature. And living and dressing their truth.
I think it would be AWESOME if everyone got to live and dress and Express Their Truth in this lifetime. :-)
Good luck! Enjoy today!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Crossing the Nonsense Divide
So I've been pondering on how I can either choose or frame my "Target Goals" for my Life List or Bucket List. It is a tricky thing though, to craft just exactly WHAT REALLY MATTERS to you in life.
What does Success mean for YOU? or ME?
When I was younger, it was all about *Accomplishment* -- getting good grades, winning the approval of teachers, parents, you-name-it-authority-figures. And I had good reason too, for living that way. It was encouraged by parents, society, school, even church.
But the problem with those goals was that you would invariably end up accomplishing your goal, and then you get a few thrilling moments of Pride and Sense of Completion. Only to realize that you are back to NOT having a goal of that caliber. Then you have to search a new goal that can meet your inner satisfaction and/or some outer form of approved success.
Things took on a turn for me though, when my father who had been pretty much a workaholic almost died when I was in my early 20s. He had lost his work-life balance. And that one experience really made me start to question whether the Strive-For-Accomplishment-Model was really worth anything.
Still, life continued, and I began to search for other more exciting modes of being. But yielded no prominent fruits. Then some time in my mid-20s, I discovered Recovery groups which held a lure over me. I wondered if this would give me something more holistic and worthy. I focused on it and it did give me some very necessary tools for basic self care which I had not known before. But I found it hard to maintain a proper balance between my online and offline existence; and also the gap between my cultural reality of living in Korea versus the more American way of thinking and seeing things that colored the culture of Recovery circles.
OK. So. Those are just some thoughts that I've been pondering in wanting to live a "better" life. Today I found a book in Amazon Kindle Store... that may or may not answer my ruminations on this.
Crossing the Nonsense Divide: Steps to Finding Your Path to a Successful Life by James Henry McIntosh.
I've read the first couple of chapters but haven't come to anything concrete yet.
Still, it does start off with some awfully thought-provoking concepts... that are worth looking into.
What does Success mean for YOU? or ME?
When I was younger, it was all about *Accomplishment* -- getting good grades, winning the approval of teachers, parents, you-name-it-authority-figures. And I had good reason too, for living that way. It was encouraged by parents, society, school, even church.
But the problem with those goals was that you would invariably end up accomplishing your goal, and then you get a few thrilling moments of Pride and Sense of Completion. Only to realize that you are back to NOT having a goal of that caliber. Then you have to search a new goal that can meet your inner satisfaction and/or some outer form of approved success.
Things took on a turn for me though, when my father who had been pretty much a workaholic almost died when I was in my early 20s. He had lost his work-life balance. And that one experience really made me start to question whether the Strive-For-Accomplishment-Model was really worth anything.
Still, life continued, and I began to search for other more exciting modes of being. But yielded no prominent fruits. Then some time in my mid-20s, I discovered Recovery groups which held a lure over me. I wondered if this would give me something more holistic and worthy. I focused on it and it did give me some very necessary tools for basic self care which I had not known before. But I found it hard to maintain a proper balance between my online and offline existence; and also the gap between my cultural reality of living in Korea versus the more American way of thinking and seeing things that colored the culture of Recovery circles.
OK. So. Those are just some thoughts that I've been pondering in wanting to live a "better" life. Today I found a book in Amazon Kindle Store... that may or may not answer my ruminations on this.
Crossing the Nonsense Divide: Steps to Finding Your Path to a Successful Life by James Henry McIntosh.
I've read the first couple of chapters but haven't come to anything concrete yet.
Still, it does start off with some awfully thought-provoking concepts... that are worth looking into.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Item #1. Write a Best-seller
OK. So I am not that hung up on my writing be a bestseller. Just doing it means a heck of a lot more to me than trying to make it this way or that. My job is to get it out of me!
I just bought a nice little book by Bryan Cohen called "1,000 Creative Writing Prompts" for my lovely delightful Kindle.
I just want to keep writing. Writing itself is the goal. I have attempted two NaNoWriMo challenges and ended up miserable both months. Having a time-frame didn't motivate me. I am not motivated by goals. (This was a recent discovery!) So I am just going to enjoy the process.
I feel pretty sure that just getting it out of me would be a good enough first step. If something emerges out of the body of typed up stuff, great. If not, I would still have a lot of fragments to play with and I can live with that.
Aight. Back to the reading table then.
Going to pick one writing prompt for today. See where I land...
I just bought a nice little book by Bryan Cohen called "1,000 Creative Writing Prompts" for my lovely delightful Kindle.
I just want to keep writing. Writing itself is the goal. I have attempted two NaNoWriMo challenges and ended up miserable both months. Having a time-frame didn't motivate me. I am not motivated by goals. (This was a recent discovery!) So I am just going to enjoy the process.
I feel pretty sure that just getting it out of me would be a good enough first step. If something emerges out of the body of typed up stuff, great. If not, I would still have a lot of fragments to play with and I can live with that.
Aight. Back to the reading table then.
Going to pick one writing prompt for today. See where I land...
Item #51. Learn Another Language
OK. So my Bucket List will have to start with item number fifty-one. Afterall, I have devoted some five-and-twenty years perfecting my language inadequacies.
Haha! I just stuck my first Star Sticker for this Achievement :-) I feel childish and proud all at the same time.
I need to get a permanent marker pen to write in this book. The page is rather slippery.
To recap though, I can speak...
#1. English fluently. I am currently teaching it at Berlitz and CDI.
#2. Korean well. I could say fluently, but I must admit I struggled to write my design thesis in Korean. So it is less developed than my English.
#3. French OK. I can have a conversation in French and manage to answer the call of nature with relative ease. And in restaurants I am capable of asking and making sure that I'm not eating anything bizarre.
Photos related to this coming soon! They are at my home laptop...
Enjoy the moment! It's all we have.
Love,
Xoxo
Jessica
Friday, July 1, 2011
So I just saw this --> The New Buried Life Trailer
Wow what a great idea for a show!! It really makes you feel a) aware of your mortality, b) how important it is to do things that really matter to you, and c) how we are all equal and same in this regard. :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRexWE9yBVA
Two other things I found positive were:
#1. I realized how having that list handwritten & seeing the red line across might be a neat way to go about my bucket list...
#2. Having a group of friends like that to SHARE a bucket list is awesome! Never thought of that before!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRexWE9yBVA
Two other things I found positive were:
#1. I realized how having that list handwritten & seeing the red line across might be a neat way to go about my bucket list...
#2. Having a group of friends like that to SHARE a bucket list is awesome! Never thought of that before!
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