Inventory of my toolkit

 For a while now I've felt overwhelmed by resources, media messages, initiatives, inner dialogue that wavers between body positivity, fasting, nutrition, organics, methane from cows, veganism, being an athlete over 40, self-discipline, the harms of strict self-discipline, and so much more.  

A couple weeks ago I listened to Brene Brown talk about values.  She has a worksheet from which you pick your top three values.  I struggled (she said I would) to narrow down the list of 60 to 15, and then again to distill it into only three.  I thought for several days about the list and didn't listen to the rest of the podcast.  My thoughts were taken over by the realization that SIMPLICITY is the one thing.  The other two (I think they were adventure and ...I can't even remember as I type this).  So, simplicity.  

The idea of simplicity has permeated our lives as we've traveled the country over 20 months of the pandemic.  We gave away most of our stuff.  Put furniture in storage.  Gave up our homebase in Brooklyn to travel full time, living in rental homes for 1-8 weeks at a time.  We collect things over longer stays and then shed them as we pack to move.  If it doesn't fit in a duffel bag or a backpack, it can't come with us.  In the last several months, however, my mind hasn't lived with this kind of energy.  I've taken on homeschooling four kids, and the resources and curriculum options and schedules have taken root in my brain in a cluttered and unfocused way.  This is new territory for me, and my typically organized thought processes are hazy, darting in all different directions all day long.  I've joined Facebook groups for homeschooling moms (and a couple of dads) and I know from reading posts there that what I'm feeling is typical.  It still doesn't feel good.  

I went for a run last week and stumbled upon a Free Little Library with three books that caught my eye.  I've been grasping in all directions to find some mental clarity and stability, and most of what I've wanted to read has been in line with that urge.  I picked up Miracle Morning, 365 Thank Yous, and The Gifts of Imperfection.  The next day I read Miracle Morning cover to cover.  I started to feel a fog lift and some swirling thoughts fell into buckets of organization in my brain.  There's nothing revolutionary about the book itself, or the practices it espouses.  It was just simple.  The Miracle Morning is based on six activities, done first thing in the morning, to set yourself on a path to success, whatever that means to you.