REGULARITY

This is part of a series on my journey through the 18-ities that were highlighted in Happinez Magazine. You can read how the article spoke to me here, and also check out the first -ity: serenity.

Confession: I have a hard time with the second -ity: regularity. It's a love/hate relationship. I desperately claw for a routine that will lead me towards my soul's purpose, but tend to give up easily if I don't get quick results. I don't put 100 percent into things because I doubt that it will benefit me, that I will succeed, if it's the right choice, or I'm just being plain lazy.

I think regularity can come in many forms. It can be waking up and meditating before getting ready for the day, telling someone how much you care about them, or dedicating time to something you love everyday.

The things that become regular will definitely impact your life. An action can start off as an occasional occurrence, and quickly develop into a habit, so it is important to be aware and intentional about what you do and how you treat yourself. If you look in the mirror and tell yourself you're ugly it can easily escalate and manifest in your mood, what you accomplish, and how you treat others.

The Happinez article wrote: "Regularity forms the basis of spiritual practise; it's the best way to calm a restless spirit. It's for this reason that ashrams have a strict daily routine. Habits form grooves, like millstones, which in time become smooth. It takes time but once a groove is etched, it can be forgotten because it's been indelibly printed in our memory. So get up a fixed time and meditate at a fixed time. Take the time to reflect on the day's events, and cherish that moment."

Both of the photos were taken 11.18.15. What a beautiful sunset in Michigan.

What are some of your current regularities?

To be honest, mine have been unhealthy lately. After a recent breakup and not being sure about my next career move, I have not treated myself in the best way. But you know what? Now that I have been honest with myself and am aware of these actions, I can create steps to move away from these patterns.

What regularities would you like to incorporate into your daily routine?

I have started to meditate, but have not made it a full-blown regularity. I need to create a time to do that every day because it allows me to slow down and tune into my body. It is common for people to keep their lives in busy-mode 24/7 and this isn't healthy. The result? Physical manifestations of stress.

I would also like to take time to reflect on my day as a part of my new regularity. I tried to start doing this in the form of "pits and peaks" where I would go through and find something that didn't go so well and something good that happened. I tend to look back at my life and wonder what even happened, and this would make me reflect on how I live my life.

Another regularity that I would like to enforce is writing and reading. These are two of my passions, but I tend not to parcel time for them. I am distracted with things that do not benefit my life like television and surfing useless things on the internet. I can do those things in moderation, but be aware of how much time I spend on those things and realize what will benefit me the most.

Last but not least, I need to tell my loved ones what they mean to me. This can be in the form of a simple "I love you" or sending a card to someone saying that I'm thinking of them. This regularity comes with another stipulation -- I need to really access my relationships and be true to myself on how I feel about them. These words can't be said just to be said, they need to come a place of purity.

I hope you take a look at your regularities and think about how they serve you. Make intentional regularities and you'll be a lot happier. I'll try to do the same.

Getting dirty in the garden

It's so sad to see my poor garden deteriorate, but that's just part of the seasons of life. The other day, my dad and I pulled the wilted tomato plants out of the dirt, harvested the onions, and got really dirty in the process.

First, we pulled out all of the dead plants, weeds, and saved the vegetables that we could still eat -- like the carrots, kale, brussels sprouts, and onions. My dad wanted to rototill the soil and get the ground ready for next spring, so we borrowed a Kuboda from one of our friends, and really turned that dirt over. 

Throughout the summer, we had been composting, so it was a perfect time to dump it for the season. We had a little trouble since the buckets were so dang heavy. We first tried to lift it with a chain wrapped around the plastic container and secured to the Kuboda. In the process, the container cracked. After a few different scenarios, we successfully got them lifted and carried to the garden -- hooray!

The only problem? The smell! Oh man, if my dad was almost gagging, you know it was bad. 

We also raked a bunch of leaves into the garden and rototilled those in. While he was on the Kuboda, I started pulling corn stalks and sunflowers out of the smaller garden. Some of the stalks came out pretty easy, and a few not so easy. I was hunched over pulling one out and out of nowhere collapsed with a sharp pain at the base of my spine. I took a break and stretched my back, but the pain was still there and had to brace myself every time I pulled a stalk. Not fun, but when  you have to get things done, you have to push through the pain.

We didn't thin out our carrots, so they are all pretty small, but edible.

My dad on the Kuboda, rototilling in all those leaves.

Dirty face, dirty hands, dirty clothes. I was getting grimy, but all for the love of my garden! Definitely don't need makeup when you're working like that.

So many dang leaves.

The dirt went right through my shoes.

Aged brown, but still beautiful.