I began my reading year with The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and I'm finishing the year with her sequel, Happiness at Home. Why the attraction? As much as we love our family, the last few years have felt overstressed. That isn't all due to family issues - the lack of steady work and money worries have drained our emotional and physical reserves. Of course, family issues haven't helped: the need to keep Matt at arm's length from the family, dealing with Rosanne's mental illness and her struggles to get well, persistent worries about Gil and his family.
I'm almost 62 years old and am struggling with the feeling that there isn't much time left for me to get my life right. Many of my friends seem to have found their paths to contentment and satisfaction. It's obvious that I'm not looking for happiness in the right way. Or maybe I'm just not recognizing it while I'm in the midst of it.
The author of these two books seems to have struggled with the same issues and I like how she approached it. So I've decided to launch my own "project." This blog can be my planning board. The first goal is to define the areas I want to work on. I'm determined not to rush. The beginnings should be ready by Jan. 1; not the whole plan, but the beginning steps. I like starting new things in the new year.
So here's the beginning of my list:
Possessions - control and organizing; streamlining
Home - cleaning and system, management
Marriage - more support for Jim, increase in intimacy
Temperament - matching my "outer calm" with a more peaceful heart
Hobbies - define and find time for them (reading, genealogy, knitting, cooking)
Health - more exercise, health checkups, eating habits, weight control
What makes me happy - why don't I listen to music?
More will occur to me as I think and read. It's going to be hard to not want to tackle it all at once, but I'll try to remember that small changes that last will make big improvments. Seems like "rules to live by" keep popping into my head. This morning -
Finish what you start.
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