Is There Ever Enough Time?

Well we really set ourselves up this time (no pun intended)! I mean who in their right mind would think that a topic so broad and so fraught with a multitude of possible interpretations could be dealt with in one measly monthly challenge? Apparently we did, and let me tell you, we suffered for it….of course there was no physical pain involved but the mental anguish was almost unspeakable. Okay, I exaggerate slightly but this challenge was really hard. And so it came to pass that after much discussion, we decided to focus on how we use our time in the morning.

At least we had the sense to use an abridged guideline that helped narrow our focus a bit. It’s called The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. He suggests a six step morning routine with the acronym S.A.V.E.R.S. They are:

• Silence (Meditation/Mindfulness)
• Affirmations
• Visualization
• Exercise
• Reading
• Scribing (Journaling)

We each chose a challenge from the above list and the results were interesting to say the least. So, without further ado, we proudly present the Sisterhood Time Challenge for April.

Doggone It, I Am Good Enough

by Middle Sis

In our family I am considered the “woo-woo” sister because I meditate, write in a journal and do yoga pretty much every morning. So, to say that I was delighted that Big and Little Sis were going to try setting foot in my world is an understatement. But, with a lot of the Miracle Morning list already part of my routine, what was I to do for the April Sisterhood Time Challenge? After deliberation, and with some trepidation, I decided to give affirmations a try.

I have resisted doing affirmations in the past, mainly because the first thing that comes to my mind is the Stuart Smalley character on Saturday Night Live who hosts a show called Daily Affirmations where he routinely repeats “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it people like me” into a mirror.

Despite this I was willing to give it a try. The first challenge was deciding what needed affirming – my character, my time management, my cooking skills???? While pondering this, for some unknown reason the Helen Reddy song “I Am Woman” popped into my head and I thought I had a winner if I used some of the song words as an affirmation. ” I am strong, I am invincible” seemed like it would work, but when I tried it out looking in the mirror, a picture of me on a stage singing with my fist raised in the air kept coming to mind, and it just made me laugh. Clearly taking this seriously was going to be a problem for me.

Just when I was about to give up on affirmations my AHA moment arrived when I realized that I was already kinda, sorta doing affirmations at the end of my morning meditation when I repeat a series of positive statements to myself. Now, affirmation purists might say if you’re not looking into a mirror while repeating the statements out loud it’s not really an affirmation, but with apologies to Hal Elrod and The Miracle Morning, its good enough for me.

I’m not sure if I will try again in future to pursue formal daily affirmations. What I’m already doing feels perfectly fine for me right now, because, in the immortal words of Stuart Smalley, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and doggone it, people like me.” And besides, it seems like Big and Little Sis might need some help in the journaling and meditation departments…

I’m Going to Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter

by Big Sis

Well not exactly a letter, but I am going to sit right down and do some serious writing. As part of our morning routine Time challenge, I chose to add a reflection and journaling (scribing) segment. Although I like to write, I have long resisted the idea that writing down one’s thoughts and intentions can be beneficial and as has been noted in the past, I have a disturbing tendency to be overly concerned with details. So, it was with some reservations that I forged ahead, and immediately ran into some major roadblocks:

• I needed to purchase a journaling notebook but as any left handed person will tell you, writing on the right side page of any notebook ( particularly one with coils) can be really really really annoying. So even though coil notebooks are much cheaper, they were out. I eventually purchased a hard cover book titled The Five Year Diary. I loved the idea that each page would eventually cover a five year summary/snapshot of the same day.
• I didn’t realize, however, that because it would cover a five year span, each writing space would be very small. I wrestled with this issue for more than a few very frustrating days. Needless to say it was a process.
• As previously mentioned, my attention to detail ( should I print or write in cursive, pen or pencil?) temporarily slowed me down, but once I finalized everything I began my challenge.

A Gratitude Journal

I imagine you are on the edge of your seat wanting desperately to know my final “product.” Well, after a few reincarnations and due to severe space restrictions, it ultimately became a Gratitude Journal. I found it refreshing to start, or end the day with a feeling of gratitude. Not being used to that routine, however, I initially worried that I would run out of things to be grateful for and I have to admit the first few Gratitude entries were a little skimpy on the content. I am slowly building up a gratitude reservoir and now I find it easier and more meaningful. After all, when you really think about it, there is magic in the smallest detail and we are just so darn blessed.

In the end, however, the reviews are mixed on this one. As grateful as I am, I’m not sure the format will result in a meaningful five year record. Also, my ridiculous attention to detail has me pondering if I should have attempted more of a diary format and should I anticipate the day to come or reflect at the end of the day? As we speak, I will commit to continue but mainly because the book was expensive and I hate to waste money.

Can’t Stop This Feeling

By Little Sis

I can’t stop my brain, but I am going to try..

We have all heard the expression “stop and smell the flowers” and this was the Time challenge that I decided to take on. Not necessarily sniffing a bunch of flowers, but stopping to ground myself, and be in the moment. Knowing it would not be an easy task, Middle Sis kindly sent me a 10 minute guided meditation session to get me started.

In keeping with the morning routine theme I decided that I would try to do this before I went to work. Because I like to maximize my sleep time, my morning routine is down to the last minute. And so I committed to getting up at least 15 minutes early. (Ugh, this meant I had to get up at 5:00 AM, instead of usual 5:15.) I realized that I might be cranky, but since Biscuit and my husband would still be sleeping, this would be a good time as I have the house to myself…. or so I thought.

Monday came and I was excited to start this new adventure. I knew from reading books on meditation that you had to find a quiet place to do this and to be comfortable. I chose the kitchen, and a kitchen chair. So, I started the coffee maker, sat my self down, and made myself comfortable. I put on my head phones and fired up my 10 minute guided adventure. Katie’s calming voice started to explain the process and the meditation began.

I was feeling good, and started to relax. Then all of a sudden I started to wonder how much Katie got paid to make these meditations, and was her real voice that naturally soothing? I shook that off, and started to concentrate again. All good, until I could smell the coffee relentlessly beckoning me. Sadly, I stopped listening to Katie, and poured myself a cup. Uh oh, it was 5:30, and I had to get ready for work. So much for day 1.

I did not fare much better after that. It seemed like my mornings were a constant sea of interruptions. Biscuit would wake up and want a drink of water or my husband would ask me what I was doing, or ask me where his golf socks are. The random thoughts did not help either. Things like why do we have some bottles of Gatorade, to why does Biscuit like carrots and not lettuce? Work thoughts were constantly on my mind as well. I tried really hard to shut these out but to no avail. I just could not. No matter how hard Katie and I tried, I just could not stop thinking, and be in the moment.

So, I don’t like to admit it, but this challenge turned out to be not successful, and I honestly gave up. Will I try this again you may ask? I certainly will…at an as yet to be determined future date. I would like to think that Katie and I are best friends now, and best friends don’t give up on each other.

We plan on publishing a new post every Monday so stay tuned for our next one entitled “Who’s Speaking Please?”