Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Good Morning and welcome to the Autumn edition of what you think on grows.  Just some cosmetic changes for the new season.  Here in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn doesn't officially begin until September 23rd but in my heart, I know it's here.  I can feel it lurking behind the warmth of the sunshine.  You know what I mean, that tinge of coolness in the air.  Suddenly my white skirts and shoes and jeans are feeling a little out of place.  I'll probably wear them one more time this week while the temps are high.  After that, they just feel funny.

I don't care if other people wear white things all year long.  I'm not a fashion cop.  I just have strongly ingrained ideas of which clothes are seasonal.  It's kind of like wearing a ski sweater in April even if it's cold.  Just doesn't feel quite right.

I have been trying to live up to the Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz) this year.  They are

Be impeccable with your word
Don't take anything personally
Don't make assumptions
Always do your best

Nothing profound here, just simple thoughts and suggestions for making life better. Me?  I'm doing fair.  I try hard to 'be impeccable with my word'.  I take it to mean that I am careful of what I say and how I say it.  I tell the truth as I know it to be.

I am trying hard to 'not take anything personally'.  This is hard.  Everything feels personal some days and reminding myself that the person who is following me down the street yelling obcenities that would make a sailor blush is not yelling at me but at someone he sees/hears who lives inside his own head is tough to remember some days.

'Don't make assumptions' is a little easier.  I live and work in a PC world and we strive to learn about people before we assume anything.  (yes, it's easier said than done sometimes but we try)

'Always do your best'.  Hardest one of all.  So many days it's just easier to do enough to get by and nothing extra.  (we won't even discuss today.  After a bout of insomnia last night, today will be a tough one).  I do try to give my clients the best I have.  I think they deserve that.  I'm not perfect (not even close) but I try. 

The book that these come from is an interesting read.  I enjoyed it and I think it will be the center of our group discussion this afternoon.  These concepts work on so many levels and I think my group could profit from them, too.

I finished the first of the Hearts Abound sock.  I love it.  It has a short row toe and heel and I've noticed that short row heels (on toe up socks) fit so differently.  I think the flap styled heels fit my particular foot better.  The short row socks seem to bunch up on the top of my foot, right at the ankle.  I noticed it in another pair of toe up socks I made and thought it was just that pattern but it may be that toe up socks just don't fit my foot as well as cuff down.  More socks and research are needed for this.

It's Wednesday morning and it's time to get to work.  I have to plan out my group and get ready for my biweekly supervision and start on September's treatment plans.  No clinic, just group.  Group is infinitely easier and less stressful.  I haven't checked the phone messages yet so there's no telling what awaits.  I just want to get through the day without falling asleep and hitting my head as I fall off the chair!  A totally achievable goal but on 3 hours of sleep, it might be asking a lot. 

Oh well, all I can do is "my best".

8 comments:

roxie said...

Bless your dear heart! When I try to do my best, it always unleashes the bitter perfectionist who keeps saying, "You can do better than that!" I'm much happier if I keep her tied up with a choke chain and allow the best to happen. Yes, I often turn out sloppy, imperfect work. And, wonder of wonders, the world continues to spin.

This has really triggered a lot of thoughts. Pages and chapters worth. Wow! Thanks. I'd better go chew on this. When I work with people, I don't think about doing my best, but of loving them as well as I can. The bitter perfectionist doesn't speak love, so she never critiques my work on that front.

Anonymous said...

I like the new look! Feels like fall this week in my neck of the world too.

My inner perfectionist can be a bit of a carping pain in the neck sometimes, but she's usually quieted by the realization that there's only one of me!

amy said...

I have trouble with "don't take things personally." Like the university student driving aggressively and practically driving me off the road while we were in a school zone, who then had some choice words for me (which I couldn't hear, since my toddler was asleep in the back and the windows were shut, AC on). Must. Let. These. Things. Go.

This is why your blog is one of my favorites, Donna Lee.

Rose Red said...

I'm a big fan of "don't make assumptions". Which is not to say that I'm any good at it, but I really try hard not to. I've seen too much trouble arising from people making assumptions.

I prefer heel flap socks too - both for the fit, and knitting them. I think short row heels are quicker to knit but I don't enjoy knitting them, or wearing them.

bells said...

i am loving the cosmetic changes! It's beautiful!

Oh those rules - or guidelines. Gosh I need to work on those. I need to put them in a little notebook and carry them with me.

I agree on white in winter, actually. Not that I wear it much but it feels summery.

tlbw said...

Hi Donna Lee - I found the connection between Roxie's and your blogs.
Do we all in fact have those inner bitter perfectionists?
Do men have them? I don't know. They do tend to give most women I know continuing grief, myself included. As you say, somedays getting out of bed and dressing - hours later - is about the best I've got.
I also struggle with the Agreement - that being what they are, agreements you make with yourself, not rules - "Don't Make Assumptions" (remember the scene between Tracy and Hepburn in Desk Set? - "Never Assume.") I think, these people should know me,after all these years, they should know what I want or need or .... nope.
Doesn't work that way.
These are powerful teachings, whatever one makes of the New Age mystical context in which they are placed.
I'll be interested in reading your blog. Glad I found it.
As for perfectionism in knitting: I do rip out a lot - "tinking", according to Roxie, or "catch and release"...

Alwen said...

We often get a sudden switch here, from August heat and humidity to September coolness.

Right now we are getting a gentle rain instead of another driving thunderstorm, very chilly after 80s and 90s.

DPUTiger said...

I reeeeeeeeeally don't like short row heels -- knitting them OR wearing them! Of course, I think New Pathways for Sock Knitters is brilliant, so we all know I'm a little cracked.

Happy Sunday!  I am sitting here working on my sweater made with the cashmere yarn my husband gave me for my birthday last year. I’m further...