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Bring your best self to light - February 2010 - Doing small things with great love Sent Monday, February 1, 2010

Doing small things with great love

 what I am relishing...
Hi ,
 
One of the things I decided to commit to this year is to really learn and master GTD (Getting Things Done) as a way to really have more space and freedom in my life. I'm enjoying the journey so far (it's got lots of layers of subtlties and learning - which I'm really relishing.). It's simple but not easy and I like that. One of the aspects I really like about it is how it starts on the "runway" i.e. it begins by focussing on what actually has my attention.
I don't know about you but my mind can jump from concern about citizens in Haiti, to noticing that damn cobweb (again), back to the filing I have to do and then back to wondering if Victoria Beckham has ever actually fallen into one of her own handbags and been reported as a missing person. So I like the idea of just starting where I am.
The other thing that really strikes me about this approach is that while a lot of personal development talks about "playing big"...(and I have my own concerns about that) a lot of us fall on the small stuff. Often, we get stuck in our own clutter, rather than asking why we are not  living our purpose.
So I found myself thinking of Mother Teresa's response to the question about doing "great things". "We cannot do great things, only small things with great love".  So if I chose to do that...what would happen? Well, these are some of the things I noticed
  • I would be open to having those conversations with my teenage son when he initiates them... I would seek to be as present as possible during that conversation and really listen to him without seeking to fix or advise.
  • I would start clearing out my clutter by clearing out one shelf...and doing that as well as I could.
  • I would eat one more portion of fruit & veg per day and walk for 5 more minutes.
  • I would make sure I did that thing my husband asked me to do when he asked me and do it graciously or not at all.
  • I would feed the birds.
 
Sometimes the great love in a situation is not saying or doing more but actually saying or doing less. We all know people whose need to be heard means that they spend more time shouting out their message than actually hearing what is being said to them. We all know the comfort of a friend who just brings a loving presence to a situation...not just babbling on.  We know the satisfaction that clearing out unwanted stuff can give us.
 

Take Action

  • What situations do you need to do less in?
  • What do you need to clean up on your own doorstep?
  • What do you need to reduce?
  • Where do you need to create space?
  • To use the GTD question...what has your attention right now? Take a piece of paper and write it all down from the noise in the car to the state of your marriage! Notice the power of getting that stuff out of your head.




Avatar: glorious vision, wonderful ambition. Found myself a little disappointed with the story. But loved the 3D.
 
 
The IT crowd: . It's about the 3 person IT department in the basement. Very funny is a surreal way. "Have you tried turning it off and on?"
 
 
Lawrence of Arabia by Jeremy Wilson (authorised biography of one of the most intriguing figures of 20th century)
 
 
Getting Things Done: Stress free productivity by David Allen
 
 
Lilies: 2 euros in Aldis (what a delicious small pleasure)
 
 
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