Today’s post is brought to you with a Shout Out to my girl Lauren at Embrace the Detour, and by the letter B for Books. In her blog today, Lauren poses the question: Has your present detour caused your world to shrink or expand?
Good question, but one without a simple (or single) answer. My detour has to do with the condition of my physical body, which needs new tires and an alignment (not unlike my van). Thanks to this, my physical world has shrunk. I go for days now without leaving my home, hours will pass before I leave this room.
At the same time, I have cannonballed into the blogosphere, subbing to many, writing this one, and attempting to engage in worthwhile discussions. I am connected to a whole tribe of blog-minded folk, while cut off from almost all of my former friends. My focus is both macro and micro. I am considering myself more than I ever did, my husband far less, and the possessions that encumber me both more, in the individual and less, in the aggregate.
What do I mean? I am looking to unload, divest, minimalize, downsize – pick you favorite verb. I am handing over to my girls the responsibility for their stuff. This includes the Veggie Tales DVDs that DD27 wants me to save for when I babysit her future spawn. (I don’t plan to be here to do that; I’m heading to New Mexico, and Australia).
If there were a fire, I would grab the fireproof box that holds our important documents, the cats (I need to get one more carrier), the prescription drugs and my 2 Bibles. That’s it. Which is why I struggle in the discarding. Because there is no fire, and I’m not leaving tomorrow.
Ev Bogue’s Far Beyond the Stars is actually changing my life, as are the 100 Things challenges. I want to walk away from all of this; I want a fresh start.
I have hundreds of books, so many of them purchased for a ministry that never came to pass. Some I have just for the sheer delight in the beauty they contain. The others are old friends. I can’t get much for them, and there’s no knowing how long they’d take to sell. I am offering the girls their choice, and the rest I’ll probably take to the library for their next sale. If I want to re-read them, I’ll be able to find them again.
From what I can gather, most of us spend the first half of our lives accumulating, and the second half divesting. These things are not me. They do not (except a select few) make me happy. They do not define me. Having books on weight loss, time management and organization do not render me thin, efficient or well-ordered, by osmosis. I need to read and implement, ponder and assimilate.
Which brings me to another question Lauren posed:
Do you spend more or less time thinking than you used to? Oodles more, because I can do so much less. The overwhelming importance of la vie interieure. I think about how I got to this place, where I want to go from here; I think about the life I want to create for myself.
My body and my detour are both giving me a chance for a do-over. I plan to grab hold of it and run, for all I’m worth.
How about you?
Thanks for the shout out!!! So glad my thinking about deep thinking got you thinking! That’s what I love about this bloggy world of ours. Inspiration everywhere. 🙂 Also love what you say here. The doing often takes away from the thinking. This is absolutely true. I need to remember this. xo
Thank you, dear heart.
https://simplytrece.wordpress.com
Direct, clear, powerful, real, brilliant. As always. I love reading your words.
Tara
I love you for loving to read me!!