Last month I posted about how I was joining Jamie Ridler Studios' blogging book club, The Next Chapter, while they read The Joy Diet. Each week, participants read one chapter of the book and post on Fridays about their experience.I have to admit, I feel a bit shy writing about this as I don't often write about feelings, or a lot of personal stuff here, but it's always good to try new things.
I've read three chapters of The Joy Diet over the past 3 weeks: Nothing, Truth & Desire. My takeaways:
Nothing: I need to go to bed earlier. By the end of my daily 15 minutes of sitting and doing nothing I'm almost asleep.
Truth: I need to be more compassionate with myself; consquently, I think I will be more compassionate with others.
Desire: I need to make more time to have fun. I have no trouble making time to "do good," but I think a part of me thinks having fun isn't a priority--that is going to change!
Finally, as I sit each day for my 15 minutes and contemplate the book's questions about truth and desire, our cat, Dora, is my constant companion. I've decided that she is already on The Joy Diet. She does nothing 95% of the time, has no trouble being truthful (she meows with us a lot about what she wants), and she does whatever she desires (playing, sleeping, eating, cuddling, gazing out the window, etc.).
I'm looking forward to seeing what she can teach me this week as I read the fourth chapter, Creativity.
The Joy Diet
book
blogging
Image: Our cat, Dora.
Excellent observation...that your cat is already on the joy diet!! Humans are the only species that seem to "muck things up" with all our over-thinking, over-analyzing...
ReplyDeleteYou've learned something from each chapter, especially the compassion. That applies to seeking out our desires as well.
A real A-ha moment. Yes, cats really do have it sussed. I achieved my best moment of 'nothing' this week while lying on the sofa stroking my cat who was snuggled up to me :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your Joy Diet experience so far.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is why cats are wonderful companions for some people. They reinforce that there's another way to being in life.
ReplyDeleteI also drift between sleep & waking when I'm doing nothing :) Liked your synopsis of the three weeks - I also had a sense of wanting to include more 'fun' in my life - tho I'm already pretty good at enjoying myself!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you discovered that having fun is a priority.... and good for you for overcoming that shyness and allowing us to take a peek into your world. Here's to reading many more chapters snuggled up with our cats....
ReplyDeleteLol. How wonderful to have Dora as your sensei.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for being bold and sharing your experience in spite of feeling shy. I'm glad you're here.
Thanks for all of your encouraging and kind words (:
ReplyDeleteSo fun to find your post - I've been practicing Doing Nothing for a few weeks now and often my cat (who is not a lap cat) will climb up and settle in. I keep think he's attracted to the energy present while I'm doing nothing.
ReplyDelete