Okay, let’s get practical. How can those of us who long for some silence, solitude and simplicity keep our sanity during the holidays? We have to practice thinking simple, especially during these times when life is complex and full of stress potential.
Today everything at the supermarket was complex and stress producing. Let’s start with my shopping cart and then talk about the checkout lines. Actually my cart wasn’t over loaded, but it didn’t end up with what I needed. I couldn’t believe that they were out of chicken livers, the basic ingredient for the Crostini di Fegatini that I was planning to make. Stress potential: “Oh, no, you mean I’m going to have to come back here tomorrow?” Thinking simple: “I’ll create something from what I already have in the refrigerator. How lucky am I to be able to come here and fill my cart with whatever I want?”
Now about the checkout lines, which extended the length of the canned vegetables and soup isle, past the florist area and finally around the corner to the cash registers. Stress potential: “This is going to take an hour and that is only if no one cuts in front of the line.” Thinking simple: “I can’t believe it. The store is organizing these lines in an orderly and expedient way. Twenty minutes and I’m on my way.”
I know this isn’t the whole story, but one of the paths from stress to simplicity starts when I shift my thinking from the negative to the positive—all in little, seemingly mundane ways.
Today everything at the supermarket was complex and stress producing. Let’s start with my shopping cart and then talk about the checkout lines. Actually my cart wasn’t over loaded, but it didn’t end up with what I needed. I couldn’t believe that they were out of chicken livers, the basic ingredient for the Crostini di Fegatini that I was planning to make. Stress potential: “Oh, no, you mean I’m going to have to come back here tomorrow?” Thinking simple: “I’ll create something from what I already have in the refrigerator. How lucky am I to be able to come here and fill my cart with whatever I want?”
Now about the checkout lines, which extended the length of the canned vegetables and soup isle, past the florist area and finally around the corner to the cash registers. Stress potential: “This is going to take an hour and that is only if no one cuts in front of the line.” Thinking simple: “I can’t believe it. The store is organizing these lines in an orderly and expedient way. Twenty minutes and I’m on my way.”
I know this isn’t the whole story, but one of the paths from stress to simplicity starts when I shift my thinking from the negative to the positive—all in little, seemingly mundane ways.