Practical Considerations, And

Trev asked in his blog, What helps YOU uncoil, expand, release and open? I said, Cycling, cooking, making clay stuff. Reading before bed.

Connected, today's peace quote:

There is an Indian proverb or axiom that says that everyone is a house with four rooms: a physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but, unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.
- Rumer Godden in A House with Four Rooms

Biorhythms track three of these four, claiming that they are cyclical in nature. Okay my quiz-loving friends, check your biorhythm! This one claims there are four more; spiritual, aesthetic, awareness, and intuition - just found it today. That adds the fourth, plus three sixth senses that I use regularly. I'm not sure that my experience correlates; at least, particularly good or bad days tend not to - those are the only times I think to check.

If I were to assign a color to each of these four, what would it be? A cardinal direction? An animal?

Of late, I've noticed that I'm most content if I can get in a bike ride, a bit of time at the studio, some productivity at work, and a little reading. Those specific things don't fall neatly into the four categories above; other specific activities may be substituted. It's interesting that three of them were also responses to Trev's question. Cooking's left out - I love it, but the time makes it less accessible, given my current priorities. Ditto kayaking. And being productive, knocking something off the "things I should do" list, anything works.

Maybe this works - whatever part work fills, find some relaxing enjoyable activities that touch on the rest, and do them regularly too. One part work, four parts relaxation, mix well, drink regularly.

The looming to-do list (minor things - chores, critters, things that occur on a weekly basis, plus major things, like getting licensed) does, in some way, give me a sense of purpose. There's often some big project, "the next big thing" keeping me entertained, or at least mildly preoccupied. There's still the meta-purpose of making and enjoying beautiful things, but small steps bridge from tomorrow's attire to a lifetime of love. It seems like cheating, but simultaneously I realize that life is lived but a moment at a time.

As an aside: a useful thing about Pronoia are the invitations to consider dreams, fantasies, and half-baked plans. Things are recorded that fall someplace between tomorrow and forever - am and it gives them a chance at being realized.