Buddha Bowl

I woke up this morning thinking about all the things that I need to do and realized quite quickly that, if I allow it, there will be no end to the crazy amounts of work that I expect from myself.

Last night, after finishing a painting appropriately titled "Lilly Rabbit," I lit vanilla scented candles and a fire in the fireplace; I made a pot of chai with a few extra cardamom pods (for the sake of decadence) and snuggled into the chair I've been gazing longingly towards for the past 2 months. My old cat, Moonshadow, must have decided I looked comfortable and decided to nestle in close next to me. mmmm...Perfect. I sat and read Sunny Schlenger's book, Organizing for the Spirit, and something about her balanced outlook must have sunk in because today I decided to approach my "to-do" list a little bit differently.

Meet The Buddha Bowl. As I layed in bed, for some reason, I thought of a woman I met last summer who told me about her God Bowl. The God Bowl was, basically, a bowl that she filled with water every day to remind her to begin anew each day. I loved the idea, but never did it myself because the God Bowl would inevitably become a slurping bowl for the cats and dogs that share my space.

Anyway, my "to-do" lists have been getting a bit out of control. I love making lists, but after a while they can make even the most joyful work start to feel overwhelming. So today, rather than make lists, I've decided to treat today's intentions with a bit more sacredness. Here's what I came up with:

• Find a simple, yet beautiful bowl to use as your sacred container of intentions--the simpler it is, the better.
• Gather up some beautiful paper, a nice pen, and a pair of scissors.
• Cut your paper into small fortune cookie size pieces and, on each piece, lovingly write the intention that you hope to accomplish today (or this week or this year or whatever...). I cut each piece of paper as I went so that I didn't feel compelled or obligated to fill up more pieces of paper than I actually wanted to deal with.
  
• As you write, think honestly about whether or not this is something you are truly able and wanting to accomplish. The fact that you are using such beautiful paper will help remind you not to waste your time and energy (and beautiful paper) on things that are not humanely impossible or don't matter to begin with.
• As the day progresses, choose tasks from your Buddha Bowl as you see fit. But remember: only one task at a time. Set your intention to carry out that task with efficiency and joy.

The first task that I am going to choose from my Buddha bowl is to finish the painting of "Murphy." Upon waking, I felt like I had too much to do today, but in doing this, I see that some things are more important to me than others. Today it is important that I finish this painting and that I get my advertising materials created and sent out. Today it is important to me that I dismantle the mess on my desk and make time to meet my Circe's sisters tonight for our weekly conference call. It's important to me that I get a first layer of paint down for "Magnificent Bean" and that I go down to the coffee shop to hang my most recent paintings. But that's it. That is a lot, but not too much. It is exactly what I feel like I can accomplish while still maintaining a sense of sacredness towards the tasks at hand.

Here's to joy, efficiency, sacredness, and simplicity. I invite you to try this as well. I must admit: I already feel it working. ;)