"Share from your saucer, not from your cup."

[sabrinamari]

I'm working on establishing a good winter routine. In winter, I need to work harder to stay healthy and happy. Unless I stay conscious, I wander into a pattern of too much sleeping, too much eating and even a bit of listlessness---not so good.

For the last two weeks, I've been working on getting up and going to the gym early, creating a new workout and establishing an am and pm light exposure routine. I've also been tinkering with my diet, had my annual checkup and changed my high blood pressure meds.

These are good moves; I just need to sustain and solidify them.

This weekend Michael and I travel to New Mexico for a family christening. It's a lovely event, but it also needs to be the last fall/winter trip I take for the rest of the year. Constant driving and recurrent travel really disrupts my rhythms and makes it harder to stay focused on establishing healthy recurrent behaviors. It's also bad for family bonding, because it makes it difficult for me to spend time with Trent.

After this weekend, I'm staying home and staying local for the rest of the rest of the year. I'll look to start traveling again in 2010.

I recently heard a great metaphor about how to balance self care with service to others: "Give from your saucer, not from your cup".

The idea: first fill your own cup, *then* share the excess. Once your cup is overflowing, you can offer your others what you have in your saucer.

I have not always been good about this: too often, I give from my cup and then feel off-balance and depleted.

I need to spend a few months filling my cup with energy, peace, steady, focused work and good daily habits.

Comments

eeks

[tracyandrook.livejournal.com]

I need to get sugar skull molds from you. I'll be in Somerville around mid day today. Can you leave me a message on my cell telling me when you'll be at home, so I can borrow them?

Thank you

Re: eeks

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, we're going to be using them this week before I go. But Stephanie will be here while I'm gone. Let's talk on the phone today.

Re: eeks

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

Hey, what are you doing tonight? Want to help us make sugar skulls and create the base for faux front patio tombstones? I've been meaning to call and see if you want to do a few art projects for a week.

You are welcome to take the molds after we've made some skulls and set them to dry on pieces of cardboard (which we have).

We also have black foam board and black and white paint for the creation of "tombstones". We could use a sponge or something to help create cool old crmbling-tombstone effects, though.

[siobhra.livejournal.com]

My father told us that with giving to others you think of a bulls-eye. Like the targets shooters use. Aim for the center which is you and your family. What is left works outward. The local fire department, church, schools, library, scouts, etc.
Then (if there is anything left) national and International. He did vary a bit in that in that national and international were the job of the government so we don't need to help outside our state and/or country, but. But sometimes we need to step up when the government fails or to fill the "cracks".

Filling the cracks is like the loan program you help with to help in the third world. Too small a program for the big government programs to help.

[sligoe.livejournal.com]

Hmmm......maybe you also have to have the correct proportion of saucer to cup. It won't help if you have a tiny cup and a huge saucer!

Time for another tea set....

[ramchild67.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess your First trip to Candy Mountain will have to be in 2010.

Oh yeah

[otterdancing.livejournal.com]

I totally understand this. So lets talk about getting you this direction next year...still thinking of Heartland in May? And look at the Diana's Grove schedule for next year and see if there is an event you want to attend and plan for it. We have plenty of time.

healthy routine

[gracewillow.livejournal.com]

I *so* understand this. I have to go to bed same time, get up same time, use my lightbox every morning, eat meals at same time, to stay on target and on schedule. If I lose even one of these, I start to get unbalanced and that's just not good. And that's just the minimum. Exercise is an add-on that I'm not even doing right now but that I need to add back in. And there's more, too.

I like what you said about giving from saucer not cup. I, too, like to give generously, but then get depleted--have trouble keeping enough for myself. I think this happens because we were taught that keeping for ourselves was selfish and bad. That we should give constantly. And that self-denial was more important than self-care.

Ugh.

[rebeccabeattie.livejournal.com]

I find your blog so inspirational, your writing is really helping me to get to grips with my own challenges in element earth, and I really like that analogy...

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, both for your kind words and willingness to share them!