Disqus - Latest Comments for stuartswing

Re: When are you your best self?

stuartswing — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:01:49 -0000

Im my best self after some quiet introspection: a morning walk by the ocean, an afternoon meditation in the dappled sunlight on my living room sofa, or as I fall asleep after time spent reflecting and journalling. I'm also a pretty good version of my best self when I'm giving by connecting others and making things happen for them. I get a thrilling surge of adrenaline when I am able to connect people who have something to offer (friendship, spaces to rent, superior professional services etc.) with those who are in need of the very things they have to offer.

Re: Clean Living

stuartswing — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:00:22 -0000

Thanks for another great Friday Focus. I always enjoy getting your weekly reminders to slow down, play more and invest in my own life as well as the lives of others. I love your advice to hire a cleaning person and I often encourage clients and friends to do just this.

Last fall I finally decided to try to fit in an extra billable hour or two per week so that I could squeeze a cleaning allowance into my budget, and I must admit that it felt good to leave my home with two industrious 'green-cleaners' hard at work making my home spic and span.

But the funny thing is that when I tried to take my own advice, I found that I felt disconnected from my home. I realized in an even more real way how much I enjoy the weekly ritual of 'out with the old and in with the new', how I like relating to my home in a tactile way - seeing and touching every corner of my home on a weekly basis - feeling deeply related to the space that I inhabit.

This reminded me of spending time in Bali where shopkeepers and homeowners practice this ritual on a daily basis. Sweeping out yesterday's old and tired energy, inviting in the new by placing brightly coloured offerings of flowers to the beneficent spirits at their front doors.

In recent weeks I have noticed how when I don't engage in this weekly ritual, I become cranky, out of sorts, or discombobulated in some way, but when I do have this weekly-check in, I feel more organized, more in touch with my feeling and more aware of the feelings and the presence of others in my life.

So while I still wholeheartedly endorse hiring cleaners, I would also invite others to consider the practice of cleaning as meditation, being present to the joy that can come from being fully engaged in any activity, and perhaps connecting with their home in a way that sets the intention for the experiences they would like to have in the coming week.

Thanks again for facilitating this great dialogue!

Re: Carrie & Danielle's Blog - Clean Living

stuartswing — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:02:52 -0000

Thanks again for facilitating this great dialogue!