When I was pregnant with my baby girl my prenatal yoga teacher would often remind us to do nothing extra.
The interpretation of extra will be different for each of us. But in my heart to do nothing extra is to...
Do just what is necessary {needs to be done today}, and leave things for tomorrow.
Take time each day to rest.
Stop {even for a couple minutes} to just be.
To let go of shoulds and shouldn'ts {and surrender}.
To listen to my body's messages.
And to me this message to do nothing extra is also a little lesson in trust.
Trusting that there will {in the end} be time for all I want to do, achieve and see.
Trusting that time is on my side.
Believing in perfect timing, and the time that tomorrow will offer.
Especially during pregnancy, this was a reminder to be gentle with myself, to not take on extra and to surrender my want to control how life was panning out {as we endeavoured to sell our house and search for another, I finished a course and worked three days from home}. It was a reminder I needed and appreciated very much at that time.
But those three words {do nothing extra} have stayed with me, and every so often I remember them and know it's time to pull back. Slow down even further. Time to reconnect, ground and just be.
This week that reminder came. Actually I think it's been hovering close to home for weeks now. And so I turned inward, journalling a little more, meditating and reading a little extra.
I spent a good while looking around at all I wanted to do, at all I saw needed to be done and making lists... and then I stopped right there. And lay on the ground with my girls.
This week I spent a few days doing just the necessary, and nothing much extra.
And in doing less, I found there was time for more {of what matters most}.
xx
{This week I'm most grateful for all the little messages that inspire my days, for time spent just being, and for the beautiful conversations I've had with the many amazing women in my life. Elisa xx}
~ Linking with the gratitude community at 52 Weeks of Grateful x
What are you most grateful for right now? Any messages/reminders currently inspiring your days? x
This "And in doing less, I found there was time for more {of what matters most}."
ReplyDeleteAlways amazes me when this happens :)
I will keep "do nothing extra" in my mind from now on, love it!
Elisa - you know I think it must have been a week for this, as I've read a number of posts expressing the need to go slow, just be. I wrote a post this week about stopping juggling life and making time for what counts - and you are right - that can be playing with the kids and doing 'nothing extra' or committing to a goal that really matters and getting rid of the periphery. I really like this concept of 'nothing extra' - thank you...kathy
ReplyDeleteA beautiful reminder to just be!
ReplyDeleteYou know we live parallel lives right? Lol xxxx to you
ReplyDeleteLovely - an excellent reminder indeed! *s*
ReplyDeleteIt's so important to listen to these little messages, isn't it? I'm so glad you took notice Elisa xx
ReplyDeleteWise words Elisa, so hard to do, but so important to remember. I shall take time to try though this week x
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard this put in those "do nothing extra" words before, I love it. Thankyou x
ReplyDeleteTalking about 'shoulds' I'll hsare something that resonated with me recently: most shoulds are self-imposed. when I started paying attention to the shoulds in my own life, I found it to be so true! Enjoy your 'nothing extra'!
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