On taking decisions... and making choices

So recently, I took up a new course on Coursera.
I haven't spoken about Coursera yet. But this web place is absolutely awesome.
If you like to learn and if you are curious, be sure to check it. No, I am not sponsored. They don't know me, but I have tested them.
I have taken Coursera courses already, on gastronomy, the history of Internet, etc. And four weeks ago, I signed up for a C++ course. For those who might not be fond of computing, it's a programming language.
You see, I am an 'artist' deep in my soul. I dream, I often do things out of intuition and feeling. I even went through a huge chunck of my studies with this 'method'. Feeling. Intuition. This is how I live, work, cook, craft. Not that I don't like to think and ponder (I do that all the time, probably way too much!), but I often end up acting like I breathe, without a predetermined plan. I'm also, even if that's close to caricature, much of the literary type, and I suck at anything that's related with mathematics.
So I thought this type of course would boost my neurons; yes, it would stimulate my tired neuronal connexions! :-)  And of course, I am much of a geek too, so I'd have fun and muscle my brain at the same time...
Turned out I indeed had a blast. And spent hours...at night, and worse for a family girl like me, during daytime too. I racked my brains, I submitted dozens of papers, did tons of exercises, caught myself doing the assignments over again.
I raced on to respect deadlines, and ended up consuming my whole saturday afternoon..so that in the evening there was no dinner, and the house was in a complete mess!
I had originally taken a decision that was good for me, but the good for me turned out to be outrageously bad for the rest of the family.
With food to buy, sleep to catch up with, kids to take care of, meals to plan and a job that demands lots of preparation, I ended up today shifting from that good decision to a more wholesome choice.
I used what was left of my weekend to cook a real dinner, fly a kite with my kids and drink tea with my daughters in their doll's tea set. Oh yes, I did the washing up too.
Ten years ago, I'd  have spent weeks on this course. Drinking coffee. Talking passionately for hours. Burning the midnight oil. Now I have a different life. Now my decisions affect not only me, but my dear ones. My choices are my responsibility.
I ended the day happier and at peace. But before that, I felt the dark clouds of frustration and bitter disappointment gather round me.
Giving up on this fun thing for me was hard. Finding appropriate leisure for me is not that common: not enough money. Not enough logistic support. And time is not really expandable, is it?
But this is what life is about. Moving on.
Moving along with our life and our choices, making the best of what we have.
And surrendering gracefully whenever necessary, in order to be able to evolve and move to the next step.
Finding contentment in the little things. They always matter. They are always here.
I am moving to the next step, accordingly. I pass on, move, and smile.
Today my fun was made of precious moments spent laughing with my kids. Picking fresh eggs in our recently built chicken coop. And rejoicing in the simplicity of it.

Make it cool!

I really agree with making it as simple as Val says.

Year by year, too many things have gathered in rooms. Too many thoughts have been accumulated in minds. Most of them are not indispensable. They just end up sufforcating us. A simpler life gives us space in which a nice breeze can go through.

It's the height of summer right now. You know, Japanese summer is incredibly hot and humid. So we need to contrive some ways to live cool and comfortably to survive the summer. Making the room simple is surely one of them!  Sitting in a simple, clean room and setting a wind chime at the window, it can make you feel a bit cooler. The room full of things won't be very successful.

Space is a crucial point to survive the terrible summer.

Come to think of it, cutting thick plants before the midsummer is my every year task.  After cutting the plants, I plant some blue-colored flowers and cool looking foliage.  Visually, it helps to feel cool.

(By the way, morning glory, bell-shaped flowers, is very popular in Japan as summer flowers.  They open their flowers in the morning and give us their lovely refreshing smiles. We call it Asagao and write in Kanji as "morning face")

Shaping our daily lives comfortably is associated with our blog's main idea, right?

There are many more ways to tell you, but  it would become very long, so I will write them another time.

I hope you all enjoy your summer!

Make it simple

There are tons of things I'd like to tell, say or explain on this blog.

Yet I am wrestling with time and issues and errands and...

You see what I mean... but today, I'd like to share

What these past months have prompted me to do:

Aiming at what is simple.

There are tons of things I am glad I have done,

Tons of things I wouldn't change,

Yet there is one thing, for sure,

That needs improvement with me.

I am a perfectionist, and I wouldn't like

To give up completely on that.

Still, my craving for making things better,

Nicer, my need to improve, beautify,

Sometimes pushes me to do the opposite.

Sometimes I just do too much.

This is me, this is what I am,

And I love it.

I love doing far more things than what I am supposed to do.

But yes, sometimes, it is too much,

Or too complicated,

Or too many things at the same time too.

And even if I get a kick out of it,

Sometimes it leaves me

Bitter, reproachful, or exhausted.

As I mentioned before, I've had a hard time recently.

And the spring months that usually are the sweetest,

Turned out to be the worst.

Yet, I learned a little more about myself,

About my life and the way I lead it.

In my passion for doing well

I forget that you can never control everything,

You can't make everything beautiful or great,

You have to accept to do less,

Accept to say 'No, I can't',

You must let go, let flow,

Stop worrying about what's meaningless.

In short you can also

Make it simple.

I have learnt, again, that too much and too many

Can lead you to be unfocused.

I have realized, too, that

Everything we choose to do

Not only on a philosophical level

But in our daily lives, on a practical level,

Every little thing we do has a consequence. 

Time spent on one thing will not be spent on another,

Therefore it is important not to do everything all the time

And at the same time,

But to choose and focus.

This has meant for me, in the past weeks, less time

Spent on laundry, work and errands,

And more time spent lingering and chilling out

With my beloved kids.

As the photos hint at, I've been blessed

With a little week end near the Atlantic ocean.

And the occean always does this trick on me:

It is huge, it is vast, it is strong,

Yet inspires freedom and simplicity.

And that's the trick,

Simple is Beauty!