Challenge 38: Fall

#Fall - into routine

• Daily:
  • Sleep Chronic Fatigue makes sleep elusive and fitful. Routine helps, so with that I'm hoping to #Fall back into a routine:
  • Sauna or hot bath 
  • Writing a few pages each day, hopefully finding something that can get worked on well enough to turn in for the submission due on November 1. 
  • Knitting It seems to soothe me. Knitting helps me feel as though I'm not a useless slug even when I can barely do anything physically. It's a bonus that Vivian has started knitting with me and we are enjoying planning a blanket for her bed. She's the absolute best, and I am completely blessed to have her in my life. 
• Weekly: 
  • Therapy because a week without it would be tragic.
  • Legal Notes and Log Updates The court date isn't until mid-December, but the weirdness has definitely ramped up and there are lots of little things to take care of and note along the way.
  • Editing The classmates' work will need to have three readings between Nov 1 and Nov 8, with written critiques due Nov. 8.  

Mantra: 

#Acceptance leads to #patience.

#Patience leads to #balance.

#Balance leads to #harmony.

#Harmony leads to #peace.

This challenge runs from Oct. 22 (I'm usually a week early since I don't believe that there is any such thing as a break) until Nov. 18, 2017

Challenge 34: Center

Center

I'm coming into this round a bit worn thin. I don't think that the conflict is going to slow its pace -- last challenge saw the Whirling Dervish of Conflict speed its pace and extend its scope. The only sane response to insanity is more sanity, and in my case that means do less and center more. Elements in bold are the core target, with elements in italics being stretch goals.

Love > Fear

Stillness > Chaos

Mind 

Writing (this is in bold because it's a focus point for the challenge, a point where when things get into conflict -- and they always do at some point, because that's life for you -- I can touch back to what is central) 

• Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop. I'm taking a retreat to focus on writing my memoir. For real. Week 3  
• Class -- I'm enrolled in an online class, The Hero's Journey, for Summer term. It begins the week of June 19, so it will only just get included in this challenge.I'm super excited, of course. Bonus is that the classwork is advertised to be mostly readings and watching a film each week, with papers and discussion related to that. I think I can handle this, despite the burnout that threatened to overwhelm me last term.

Body

• Nightly sleep I need to take care of myself by making certain I'm getting enough rest. If I'm worn out and exhausted, I can't be a good student / parent / friend. I need to be in bed no later than 9 p.m. I am hoping the meditation routine will dovetail with this.
• Nightly Floss Routine - this only takes seconds, so it's not as though it is really hard or anything. I have floss and coconut oil  for oil pulling next to the toothpaste now, so it's kind of inevitable.

Soul 

• Daily mindfulness
• Daily quiet time
• Nightly Meditation and reading of Faith & Practice
• Weekly meetings & Connections :
• Women's Meeting Monday
• Home Group Meeting Tuesday
• Letters Wednesday
• Therapy Thursday
• Sponsor Meeting Friday
• Home Group Meeting Saturday
• Friends Meeting Sunday 
• Radio Interview / Essay weekly
• weekly budget meeting with my partner -- Sunday

Bonus:

Financial Planning with the attorney: Financial worry is soul-crushing. I recently read a report on the effects of poverty sapping nearly an entire standard deviation from a person's intelligence, and I can completely believe that. The mental peace that will come from financial clarity is huge. I have the documents ready to deliver on May 26, and then we will have a strategy meeting to schedule. Hopefully this will all be complete by the end of the challenge, or shortly thereafter.

Challenge 32: Bloom

Bloom

My challenges are usually about measuring what I am going to do, and that’s all good.

But this time I’m doing something a little different -- I’m going to report on what I do.

I’m not interested in giving myself grief or being all judgey -- I’m interested in seeing what I do that is on-target, a check-in to see where I am at the habit level. I have a suspicion that it’s lots higher than I am giving myself credit for.

So this time around, I am celebrating my successes. I’m looking forward to seeing how I’m doing with physical and emotional wellness, educational balance, and financial fitness. (See what I did there? That’s a 3+1 old school formula.)