Declutter & Lean In

It's Sunday morning and I wake up around 8am. I've forced myself not to look at my phone until after yoga, meditation and journaling. So by 930 I sit down with a cup of tea to look at my emails. 

Mind you, my personal inbox always has at least 200 unread emails. But they're way back in the 500 odd emails that rest in my inbox. So I check my emails - flight agencies, random newsletters I've signed up to, people selling me courses, business coaches giving advice, journaling instructor courses.

I delete all the newest emails.

Not a single one of actual importance. 

Later that day, I'm chatting with a friend of mine, Sarah. I mentioned something about a woman who is particularly successful in the online world. After  a moment, Sarah responded; 'I don't follow or listen to any one anymore. Not business people, not yoga teachers. It's all distraction. I just do my own thing.'  (she was referring to her own yoga/oils business).

That advice struck me. Because, being a curious woman, I tend to Google a lot, sign for a lot of newsletters, follow a lot of people on Facebook. As someone who tends to think other people know better, I can be swayed to watching videos and reading other people's  work. 

TO THE DETRIMENT OF MY OWN WORK. 

So, today I implore you to do what I did and spend some time de-cluttering. This could be your physical environment - we've all seen those clutter shows on TV and read about the importance of decluttering. 

““Cluttered home, cluttered mind.” ”

 

What I'm actually inspiring you to do  today is to declutter your online world. Go through your inbox and delete all the newsletters you receive but never  read, go through Facebook and cull or unfollow all the people who are distracting you. 

Here's what really stuck with me after chatting with Sarah and being super-inspired by her comment; 

//How much time & energy do we waste in reading those emails or even just the fact that we have to delete them? 

//How much do we give our power away when we read a lot of magazines, articles and advice from other people instead of turning inwards? 

Once you've decluttered, spend some time in meditation & then journaling - SPEND SOME TIME LEANING INWARDS.

What does this decluttering experience mean for you? 

What does it mean to trust yourself more and turn inwards for advice? 

Write your way home,

Katrina  

#LTFI (lean the F in)

Photo by Kara Michelle on Unsplash

By candlelight; writing & ritual

 Writing, just like prayer, yoga or a morning routine can be likened to ritual. Similar to creating an altar to pray before or rolling out a mat for yoga you can create sacred space for writing. 

In fact, I invite you to do so and watch how your practice changes. 

The ceremonial use of light is familiar to most religions, faiths and beliefs. Be it candles, fire, or the rising and setting of the sun. Light, fire, like all elements is seminal to ritual.

I often light a candle before a journaling session.  

The candle light, to me, symbolises illumination, energy and life force.  

Lighting a candle also adds to a sense of ritual around the writing process.  

It's also a beautiful bookend – light the candle before you write, blow it out when you finish.  

I love simple rituals, simple activities.  

Next time you write, why not try a candle or incense?  

If your candles are scented or you choose incense – there's a whole set of reasons to delight your olfactory system while you write.

xx