I have been musing lately on the word or concept of "intention".
It seems to me that everything I am trying to balance in my life comes down to this.
When I worry in my minimalist drive if I've gone too far, or not far enough, it seems to fit.
For example: during Christmas when deciding about Christmas gifts and how many I should give and receive.
If my minimalism is to take root, I need to be intentional about gift giving. How much is too much? Is there such a thing as too little? I came to the conclusion that there is no right answer and every person and every situation has a different one.
As long as I am being intentional about it and deciding on something I am happy with, then that is the right one for me at this time in this situation.
Nothing can be extrapolated from it, no life rules or guidelines drawn from it, it is just for now.
The same can be said for my wardrobe.
I am a complex personality, with a huge organised,
Recently I have embraced minimalism a little more, with less colour and more neutrals. But I do love to have more items than I need because I get bored so easily! Sure accessories really help to change a look, but somehow I still need the basics to change as well. I like having a large
Or, "I haven't worn this in ages!"
I think the difference is that all my items are well loved, so I am not bored because they are boring as such. I just like variety. Once I've had a break I'm happy to go back to the first pieces again. And if not, they are out.
Once again, approaching with intention.
Intention is an interesting mix in my mind between "intense" and "tension". Both of which are a struggle for me. This has consequences in my body and emotional life. So in order to control or balance my energies I do yoga. Today's practice was talking about "sthira" or steadiness. A balance between strength and ease. Strong without tension.
This is what I feel when I think of the word "intention".
Here is a poem I wrote after being called Intense, and reading that as an insult. I tried to reframe it.
Intense
Deep woods
Pure gaze
Whispered words at night
Fierce love
Summer days
Beauty: framed by light
1/10/11
So maybe you can join me moving forward.
Take heart.
Reframe your day.
Be gentler on yourself.
Learn to balance strength and tension.
And approach your life with intention.
Much love,
Jazzy Jack
I've referred to other people intense but meant it as a compliment. They have a powerful focus in their lives that requires fierce devotion.
ReplyDeleteLiving in the moment, being fully aware, is what living with intention means to me. I shouldn't be doing something out of habit, out of necessity, I should do it because it is my choice.
Very thoughtful and thought provoking post.
Suzanne
http://www.suzannecarillo.com
Thanks Suzanne! I'm slowly coming to see intensity as a positive :-)
DeleteLiving in the moment is totally one of my tools as well.
xo Jazzy Jack
wonderful post!
ReplyDeletei´m always wanted to live my life intentionally but without "trying to hard"....would take *intense* as a compliment - and if it was not meant as such i would think the sender is simply overwhelmed with me - which is her/his problem ;-D
i have to confess - i´m a bad gift giver. never learned it as a kid - in my family presents were given and taken with the exact price in mind - and it had to be +/-0 in the end.....wishes, feelings, personality or love were not a parameter of gift giving. not much family left now - so i resort to a basket with fine food - that needs not much thinking.
heard of your extreme heat - stay cool and safe! xxxxx
Yes, I am too much for some people.
DeleteYour gift giving growing up sounds a nightmare!
We have a respite with cooler weather today. Yay! But no fires so far this season which is a miracle.
Xo Jazzy Jack
Wonderful post, Jaq! From one intense person to another, your intensity is one of the things I love about you. Also as an intense person I have a strong need to dig deeply, and it seems that usually overrides any need for variety. I do not get bored. That's one way we differ. I love something or I don't. Something works for me or it doesn't. I get easily overwhelmed more than I get bored so the choice seems clear. I need to minimise the overwhelming stimuli and find the ways to explore variety that work for me. That tends to be art or my eclectic taste in reading material. While I like a minimal wardrobe I do enjoy something new just for pleasure periodically so I am not so strict with myself that I insist on need only but I do easily live with 20-30 pieces of clothing per season and I have some duplicates. Minimalists often get rid of duplicates but not necessarily in the case of clothing. I have two pairs of jeans, identical because I like them. I have two grey long sleeved tee shirts also identical. Multiples in basics work well for me though when I say multiples I mean two or three not seven. I agree with you that intentional is a good word. It is very important to me to be intentional and authentic. I cannot function well or at all if I am not. It's probably important to most people though not everyone expresses it that way. I also agree with you that gift giving is a challenge. As someone who usually has a lower income than the recipient I can find it a bit daunting. I prefer spontaneous gifts rather than schedules ones and I have moved towards more practical gifts, experiences, services or consumables. Regarding the yoga, which is something I used to do quite a lot of but no longer do, I recall that I loved doing a simple mountain pose, or tadasana. There was something that felt so powerful about just standing upright and being there, feeling myself as solid and strong. And you thought I'd dumped all of my brain in that e-mail! Hah! xo
ReplyDeleteWell said. Glad you have found some things that work for you!
DeleteI have had to warm to tadasana. I like more complexity, but am learning to appreciate simplicity.
Sounds like simplicity works for you too. Simplicity in choices.
xo Jazzy Jack
Here again is another of your intensely interesting pieces of writing. It didn't make us tense at all!!!! You dig deeply into your subject. We've talked of tense before and colour comes to mind...the peacock blue that "sings". The gifts we love are not always wrapped in a parcel...kind words, fun times, music, and special people. We have wrestled with what to give before so we know where you are coming from. All the comments were great too. Love D&Mxxxx
ReplyDeleteYes, Intense comes across as negative when it is used quite often but I like the way you have redressed it!!!
ReplyDelete