just today i am getting back into monday being the start of the week. while i was working at the gallery, i had sunday and monday off, so i was a little out of line with the rest of the world. it feels good to be back on track, even if it does mean that monday is a bit of a hurdle now. here's how to get through monday with rituals and treats...
image: idiotboy via flickr
monday always feels like a sisyphean task to those who hate the way they spend their week. at my recent job, my monday was tuesday and, until i gave notice, i crossed off every day i worked on a calendar by the door and tracked each week worked on a write and wipe like i was in prison. not the greatest way to live. now, i am finding ways to celebrate monday as the beginning of a new week of opportunity. i have named this month "magical make it happen may" and so far, i have been trying to do just that.
part of the way i make monday a good day is to have rituals i look forward to. i have a weekly meeting with my nasty critic, ebeneezer( i named him ebeneezer, because he is like scrooge- miserly and never satisfied with the amount of work i have gotten done). he is, however, a tolerable accoutant and i let him sit in and suggest ways of cutting my spending when i put all my receipts into quicken first thing monday morning and balance my checkbook. today was our first official meeting, and i think it went quite well.
the concept of practice and having a practice has been helpful to me as i embark on this next chapter of my working life. i have taken advantage of my self-defined schedule and my lacma membership discount at liberation yoga and got a one-month pass for unlimited classes. i have been trying to go 4-6 times a week to class. i have been succeeding so far, and it has been amazing. i took a class this afternoon after plowing away at the book for hours that made me sweat more than i think i ever have in my life. and it felt amazing. there is something about yoga that really works for me as a metaphor for achieving anything: coming back to the mat over and over; feeling tightness some days and release and expansion on others; the repetition of the familiar creating growth and my continual surprise at poses i am often able to do that my brain would never have suggested i attempt.
having a practice of this kind creates a kind of freedom to apply its progress to the rest of life. since i start my monday with writing in my journal, assessing my finances, and stretching my boundaries on a yoga mat, i feel free to stretch other boundaries throughout the week and see similar growth there.
try a ritual monday and see if it changes your week. pick a practice that supports you: a long walk, reading poems, writing, drawing, playing music, meeting with a craft group. make monday a day to look forward to and see if the rest of the week doesn't follow suit...
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