Yesterday I began a new chapter into my own intuitive movement. The intuitive renaissance, as it were. I realized that not only do women quite commonly not trust ourselves around food, we hardly trust ourselves at all! To know how our days should go, how to handle our time, our emotions, our priorities. Many of us never really feel “good enough” in ANY area.
So my thought was... can the intuitive principle be used elsewhere in our lives?
Now... as a spoonie (bipolar, chronic pain, and living with two other special needs people), I have had to monitor my energy level and hold myself back from drastic over-expenditures. Having lived many, many years of flying fast, crashing and burning, I’ve figured out over the last few years what stopping when I want to keep going looks like. (Imperfectly, of course.)
Sooo... Yesterday I began the art of:
INTUITIVE HOUSE KEEPING!
Now granted... I have an amazing housekeeper who comes bi-weekly, so I’m already at an advantage in this area. Because I know that she’s coming, I can rest a bit easier, but I still mentally struggle in this area.
Mondays I typically wake up looking over the carnage of the weekend and feel pre-defeated, as if a weight is on me. When I walked into my messy kitchen yesterday at 7:00 AM, having gotten almost no sleep, I looked around and said to myself, “I don’t want to deal with any of this.” And pretty instantly... I was okay with that.
There were no guests coming. No home inspection. No one to impress. Just me, my house, and my exhaustion. So I went about the task of sleepily preparing my son for school.
I noticed a few small and easy jobs to do and quickly handled them without thinking about it. There was no pressure; I didn’t have to do them, so it wasn’t drudgery. My day continued on that vein.
After work I sat around reading for close to an hour before I started cleaning upstairs. I made my bed. I folded a load of laundry that had been sitting in the dryer from a few days ago, so that I could do more laundry. I did that laundry. I scooped the cat box (ew). I vacuumed! All with NO pressure from my inner mean girl who loves to pick at me. There was no:
Perfectionism
Worrying about completing every last thing on some “list”
Bitterness and resentment at “having” to get things done
How many MORE things could I do intuitively? To me, “intuitive thinking” is:
Lovingly asking myself where I “am” in the moment
Not necessarily always seeking what is comfortable, but seeking what is not mentally/emotionally abusive or punishing
Faith; as a person who finds her faith vital, keeping close and connected to God helps me stay grounded and peaceful as I make choices throughout the day
Lovingly asking myself where I’d like to be in: an hour... the evening... bedtime (i.e. would I like the laundry done by bedtime, if energy levels allow? Can I be okay with myself if I don’t “make it?”)
So in conclusion, my ideas for an intuitive daily life include:
Intuitive eating (duh)
Intuitive body movement; moving for enjoyment and not punishment
Intuitive dressing; am I comfort minded today or do I feel like I would be better served dressing up? Can I have both?
Intuitive socialization; seeking and vocalizing what I need while also being mindful and kind to others. Withdrawing if necessary.
Intuitive food prep/fulfillment; do I need a day off from cooking? Do I need to cook?
Intuitive sleeping; not sure how to make this one happen, haha, but I’m trying
Intuitive parenting; allowing myself to have fun with my son instead of always having to be “the boss”
Intuitive marriage; learning how to give and receive in more emotionally healthy ways
The bottom line is... intuition is
TRUSTING YOURSELF
... and we could all use more of that, especially women.
