A while back, I signed up for a Year of Reflection with Erin Loechner. She sent a weekly email with curated quotations or extracts and invite us to read, think and respond. I just stumbled across my journalling from this and thought I would share some of my writing. The first was an extract from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself. I am sharing my journalling unedited.
Such a noble endeavour, to live according to these words. Do I believe them to be true? Yes. I think so
‘Love the earth, the sun and the animals’ – this one is easy. How can one not? ‘Despise riches’ – this one is more problematic. I feel I should but I am drawn to shiny things. Excessive wealth does make me balk though. But then my notion of excessive wealth might well differ to someone else’s. ‘Give alms to everyone that asks’ – I know there is more I can do to contribute to charity but I have done and will continue to do so.
My favourite part – the part that send a spark through me – was ‘dismiss whatever insults your soul’.
I keep reading that part. I would LOVE to live like that – dismissing whatever insults my soul. Is it possible? Practical? I am certainly going to move forward with that thought at the front of my mind.
Something you read get more powerful the longer you ruminate on them. This is something I want to return to again and again.
I am so glad I have re-read these words and this passage. So glad I kept these musings. As I read them back now, it strikes me that the part which resonated most, hence why it is the title of this post, actually invites us to live authentically. I don’t want to live in a way where my soul feels insulted and as such, I am making some changes to my professional life so I can live and work in a way which is good for me.
Notes From My Day 