40 Days

In religions all over the world the number 40 is significant.  The Buddha took forty days to achieve Enlightenment.  Muhammad is said to have been 40 years old when he first received revelation from an angel.  Many Hindu prayers consist of 40 stanzas or couplets.

As a Christian, I am very familiar with the number 40 being prevalent throughout scripture.  There are the Old Testament Bible references.  The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.  It rained for 40 days and nights while Noah and his family was inside the ark, among others.  When I think about the significance of 40, I can’t help but to focus on the life of Jesus.  Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days where He was tempted by the Devil before His ministry.  He was whipped with 40 lashes before he was placed on the cross.  Jesus walked the earth again for 40 days after His crucifixion.

It seems that the number 40 marks a time of trial – a time when a person is tested to their limit.  It is often a time that is followed by renewal of spirit.  Today marks the beginning of my own embarking with the number 40.  I am tired of attempts that I make at various things being marked by my moods and a schedule that is as up and down as my fleeting thoughts.  Today, I begin the journey of dedicating to a few areas in my life and their improvement.

1. Daily Kundalini yoga practice of the same set each day.  I am starting with a set for Detoxing and Destressing with Maya Fiennes as it deals with the first three chakras mostly, and that is where I want to focus my work for now.  These chakras deal with the human talents of acceptance, creativity, and commitment, as well as the shadow emotions of resentment, guilt, and anger.  I figure that’s as good a place to start as any.  Start with the base of most problems.  The set on this DVD also throws into the mix some work on the thyroid, parathyroid, and the adrenals.  This is where most of my health problems lie.
2. To pay attention to my emotions and become less reactive.  I want to make a conscious effort to stop and assess my feelings before riding them and allowing them to take over my actions.
3. To work through Heaven on Earth and take my time with it so that the useful things I glean from it will become our family culture.  I will be beginning with rhythm in our home, starting with bedtime.  I am making 8pm the regular bedtime for the girls.  So, far it’s kind of okay.  Deladis is asleep.  Ivy, I rocked for twenty minutes, laid her down asleep, and as soon as I started typing here, she trotted into the living room.  She is rolling around next to me on the couch as I type, singing.
4. To acknowledge, grow in, and embrace more fully my role as a wife and mother in the home as being my most important job.  To go about my homemaking with gratitude and joy instead of a rushed resentment that housework is in the way of the things I’d rather be doing.  I’m making it my only thing to do during daylight hours.  Also, making my homemaking and homesteading my big projects that I can immerse myself in and have fun doing.
5. My bedtime is 10pm.  I have to work on my issues with fatigue and adrenal fatigue which affects everything else I attempt to do.  I will also be working my way through weaning off of coffee from my now 4 cups every morning.  I go back and forth with the feeling that I can give it up to that there is no way I can.  We’ll see how that goes.

There is so much packed into those five goals, but they are all interrelated.  I’m beyond excited about what might result.  I know change is so very hard for me, but I’m ready.  I will breathe through it and rely on my Creator to mold me.  Above all I’ll be seeking my God and His guidance through everything I feel to be right for me and my family and these goals.  I’ve not been the best at that.  I like to be in control of things.  Why?  I’m starting to wonder that myself. 😉

Psychologists say that a committment of 40 days is a good start to breaking old habits or making new ones.  I’m hoping for the best here.  40 days doesn’t seem like a long time, but with my interests and focus skirting all over the place, this will probably be a challenge.  I can wait to look back over my blogging after the 40 days are up.  How much can we grow and change in 40 days?