Today, I have the whole day free.

There’s a certain beauty in spaciousness, in having an empty calendar.
Nothing to do, Nowhere to go.
Nothing to prove. Nothing to accomplish.

It’s freeing. It feels like a huge burden has lifted from my shoulders.

It’s just for this one day. Maybe it can grow into more days. Maybe it can become my whole life.

In “The Book of Ichigo-Ichige”, the authors reference the traditional swordsmiths of Japan whose philosophy is to “eliminate the unnecessary” to get to the essential”.

In anything that we do, there are layers & layers of that which is non-essential or excessive. It takes courage to let go of those layers because they often serve us as a protective shield, guarding us from the thing we unconsciously fear.

What do we fear? It could be anything that we haven’t processed and completely accepted about ourselves, our lives. It could be something deeply embedded in our subconscious that we are not really aware of.

So, we put layers on top. It could be layers that show up like this:

+ filling up our days with tight schedules
+ traveling from one place to another telling ourselves we are “adventurers” but truly we are not wanting to face what’s waiting for us back home
+ indulging in anything excessively, whether it is food, entertainment, going out, shopping, alcohol, drugs, etc.
+ it could show up in not organizing our papers or home
+ or in not recording our finances (income/expenses) or not looking at our bills
+ it can show up in consuming too many books on a topic but never implementing actions or tips you learn about in them
+ it can show up in signing up to too many courses or certificates instead of just starting your solopreneur business or LLC.
+ it could show up in taking up another degree program and remaining a student instead of slipping into the work-world

For me, they have shown up in some of the above ways. Some other ways are:
+ Starting new projects but not taking them all the way, whole-heartedly
+ Having too many open/unfinished projects/tasks
+ Not decluttering papers or things or digital files
+ Not making time for meditation, writing, reading and walking.

Lately, it’s been mostly showing up in me postponing things I truly want to do but can’t find a way to prioritize them. It simply drops into the back-burner as a some-day thing to do.

These are ways we fill up our time, our schedules and our attention. This is how we hide behind layers that keep us from the essential.
And it takes courage to peel away at the onion and allow what’s at the core to emerge. It’s what keeps us from starting , from continuing, from finishing and prioritizing the most important, essential parts of our lives.

Reflection Question
How are you creating layers that keep yourself separated from the essential, from your true heart’s desires and priorities?
What unnecessary things, activities, ways of being can you eliminate to get to the essential in your life?

Please journal your answers and if inspired, do share in the comments!