Wisdom from SIMPLE ABUNDANCE

... courtesy of Sarah Ban Breathnach, one of the most inspiring writers I have had the pleasure to enjoy thru the years. I've said it before, but if you don't yet "know" SIMPLE ABUNDANCE: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy -- you owe it to yourself.

So - here it is -

THE PLIE OF PLEASURE

"What is your hobby? Every woman ought to have some pet interest in life, outside of the everyday routine which composes her regular occupations. What is yours"? -- The Mother's Magazine, January 1915

Isn't that wonderful? So validating for us who like having hobbies. Interests. Things "outside of the everyday routine".

Beyond that quote, above, Breathnach goes on (in this entry, July 28 if you want to look it up in your book) to say this:

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time this expression is unique", modern dancer Martha Graham advises us. "And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost."

And she says this:

"Where are you blocked? A hobby is a wonderful way to start freeing ourselves creatively. That's because no one expects us to be perfect at a hobby. {I love that !!! That statement in itself is VERY freeing, giving me permission to try - and maybe fail - to NOT be perfect} Hobbies allow us to experiment, to dabble with the paint, the poem, the pot, the plie. When ballet dancers speak of doing plies, they mean bending their knees. Doing plies at the beginning of rehearsal warms up the leg muscles before the dance begins. PURSUING A HOBBY WARMS UP OUR TALENTS AND ILLUMINATES OUR NATURAL INCLINATIONS. We get to try on imaginary lives and see how they fit."

Fabulous stuff.

I can't wait to have my postponed tasks ALL CAUGHT UP {post Dad's big party} so that I can begin my plies :-) ... practicing my hobbies ... with a free conscience. So - back to HOME AS MY HOBBY, as our life here on the Lane returns to 'normal'.

-- D {and NO, that's not a photo of me ... in my youth ... but it COULD be}

The Last Day of September 2008