Monday, July 31, 2017

8 Slow Joy Offerings for August



Spinning Your Gold Blog: Words that Open Hearts & Inspire Actions

“Let a seasonally sanctioned sojourn of
 slow joys 
refill the authentic reservoir of creative energy.”~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Thank you, July. Hello, August! With daily temps still soaring to triple-digit numbers, rigorous outdoor activities are nearly impossible! Any form of exertion --outside or inside-- poses serious health and emotional challenges. Summer wilts and wears down even the once, freshest spring spirit.

So what’s a body and creative soul to do?
Breathnach suggests her answer above. And for this eighth month, my answer comes as...

8 Slow Joy Offerings for August

1. Relinquish half of what’s on your daily To Do List. Add more to your To Be List. 
You will feel an expanded peace of mind!

2. Declutter one drawer. Maybe it’s the junk drawer. Don’t tackle a closet, room, the entire house or the office! Set the timer for just 18 minutes. You will relish Divine Order!


3. Enjoy a happy childhood again or for the first time. Pause to reread your favorite childhood books. You might include rereading the books you read to your children or grands. Settle on the floor in the children’s section of a library you’ve never visited. Then, pretend you’re all ungrown up! Snuggling in a bean bag with a book does a soul good.
You will cherish old memories while creating new ones!

4. Check out nearby Meetups for a writing circle or book club. Bookstores and libraries can also offer suggestions. Many are free gatherings. And some, like my monthly Divine Dialogue Writing Circle, charge a nominal investment for what’s offered. Can’t find one? Start your own like I did 12 years ago.

While the virtual world is exciting, it can also be an isolating experience –especially if you’re a solopreneur like me. There’s simply no substitute for face-to-face smiles, hugs, and hearing the word spoken out loud. You will enjoy the creative connections!

5. Schedule your V.I.M.D --Very Important Me Date—to luxuriate by reading your stack of magazines or bedside books. 
Find shaded hammock space so you won’t be interrupted or distracted.
You will celebrate your self-worth!

6. Go gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily. Consider a nighttime kayak or canoe trip--maybe one in Florida or Costa Rica where you can experience a natural phenomenon of glowing blue waters alive with an activity called bioluminescence.
You will delight in discovering new worlds!  

7. Explore thrift stores for gently used books. My favorite is the Goodwill Outlet—also called the Goodwill Buy by the Pound Outlet. They sell what the Goodwill Retail Stores can no longer accommodate due to limited shelf space. Books sell for $.99 a pound in Tampa Bay. You will discover new authors and inspiration for pennies!

8. Gift to thrift stores. On this same trip, take books that you haven’t touched in a year and donate them to the thrift store, church/school library or a woman’s shelter. This transforms cluttered, stagnant energy into slow, flowing energy.
You will enjoy seeing open space on your shelves!

Other than the nighttime kayak trip for about $40 and exploring thrift stores to buy books for pennies, 
all other slow joy offerings are 
free
How fun and fabulous is that?


Now that you’ve read this list, what slow joy offerings might you add for August? Please share in the comments.

P.S. Your special invitation awaits you to my Gulfport Writing Retreat: ReNew Your Body & Creative Soul. The first 7 women to register enjoy bonuses of $463-including a coaching session with the dynamic editor, Bryna Rene Hayes! It's a new venue! So new, lower tuition prices are offered. Interested?

Copyright Lore Raymond, 2017. No portion of the blog post or information on this site may be reprinted, re-used or copied to another site without prior written permission from the author.

18 comments:

  1. Ooh, I love your suggestions, slowing down is one of my journeys and I am making time to explore local thrift stores this summer.

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    1. Thanks and I am happy that some of the slow offerings might serve you, Rachel! Let me know how your thrift store adventures unfold.

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  2. Oh! I need to find bioluminescence on *my* side of the state. Thanks for the idea and good luck with selling your retreat.

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    1. Thanks! And thanks in advance for sharing this blog post if you choose.

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  3. These 'slow joys' are absolutely wonderful! Thank you, Lore. The name 'Slow Joy Offerings' alone is enough to make me slow down and take a deep breath - thank you!

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  4. Wonderful ideas if one was having a slow August, still summer for you :) Yes though to any time halving the to do list xxx

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    1. Thanks, Suzie. Yes, reducing our TO DO LIST anytime can be a happy thing!

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  5. I love this inspiring blog! Finding more ways to cultivate joy is an act of self-nurturing and I am so grateful for all the creative ways you have shared Lore. I have never read this quote “Let a seasonally sanctioned sojourn of slow joys refill the authentic reservoir of creative energy," by Sarah Ban Breathnach and absolutely love it! Thank you for the new ideas and more importantly the permission for more creative slow joy!

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    1. Thanks for seeing this information as a way of self-nurturing, Kelley! The quote is new to me, too. And thanks for sharing with your peeps. P.S. Whatever happened with your writing circle and the Reader's Autobiography? Photos?

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  6. I love this, "Summer wilts and wears down even the once, freshest spring spirit." It describes exactly how I've been feeling. And here's another interesting thing -- I'm naturally doing many of the the slow joy offerings you described! That said, #3, 5, and 6 have left me inspired to take the slow joy a bit further. Thanks, Lore, for a great post!

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    1. Happy this info might serve you, Sheila! Here's to expanding SLOW JOYS in all of our lives! Thanks for sharing with your circles.

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  7. I venture out in the beginning of the week to make sure I have all of my supplies on hand, then curl up and stay cool for the second half of the week. Yoga with the AC running is just as effective as my morning walk, if not more so, and I get to catch up on my reading!

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    1. You already KNOW about SLOW JOY offerings, Barb! Happy catching up...do you have a hammock?

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  8. Thanks for this Lore - I have been stuck in with a broken leg for the last few weeks, this has given me some great inspiration in how to ease back in to getting out and about :)

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    1. So sorry to hear about your broken leg--my, YOU HAVE HAD to SLOW DOWN! Happy if the inspiration served you, Lottie.

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  9. With August upon us I needed some fresh inspiration to round out the summer! Thank you for reminding us to give ourselves permission to just be. Much love xo

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    1. Yeppers, TO JUST BE is so essential to our emotional grounding. Much love backatcha, Deb. xo

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