Open House: Day 1 of 40 Days

Today is the 10th day in a 40 day meditation that I am doing with over 1200 others around the world(more on that in another posting). It has been interesting to observe that nearly every day during this meditation I have had a sudden inspiration burst into my mind of something creative or meaningful to do. Some of these ideas I have already set into action, and others are awaiting the right time.

Tonight during my meditation, it suddenly occurred to me that I needed to make a commitment to writing on my blog every day for a set period of time as a means of giving myself a challenge, an opportunity to rely more on my creativity, and, most importantly, as a way of being more open with others.

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Years ago, while living in Portland, my dear friend and housemate pointed out to me that there were many things I was involved in outside of the house that she never knew about until I had been for a long time. It was true, and maybe still is, that I have a habit of not sharing many personal details with others. Maybe some think I am secretive. It isn't intentional, it isn't that I don't want others to know me. I am a quiet and reserved one. I am shy. Sometimes, I forget that I have things to share.

My housemate and I decided to use this as an opportunity for change. We began the habit of sharing one secret a day with each other. We called it, "The Secret of the Day." Every day we would tell each other something that we never had, something we had never told anyone. It was a wonderful experience, that helped me learn a lot about my friend and helped me learn the value of sharing. Friends care to know about each other's lives.

And so, I am inspired to do a little Secret of the Day sharing here. Well, maybe not SECRETS, but a little more sharing at a newer depth. And with consistency.

I am having an Open House, for 40 days. I hope you will come.

Why 40 days? Well, when this inspiration struck me, I wished I had been able to start this blogging exercise at the same time as my 40 day meditation. I thought that by merging 2 commitments into the same time-frame, I would have been more likely to follow through on both. I could have decided to do 30 days, to blog through the end of my meditation period.

But then, I remembered that today happens to be the first day of Lent, also a 40 day period. Even though I am not religious, why not join thousands around the world, yet again, in a committed period of action. For what I am doing is also its own kind of spiritual practice, one of learning and growing and moving through areas of uncomfortableness. And sometimes it helps to follow through when you know you are not alone, when you know that there are others who are struggling too. Even though I am choosing to do something more rather than give up doing something, I feel like by doing this exercise during Lent will help me to walk in solidarity with those who may have different beliefs than me...with the trust that we hope for similar things to prosper for all of Life: Love, Peace, Health, and Happiness. May the actions we all take help this to be, more and more.

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I am having a 40 day Open House. I hope you will come. You will be welcomed into my living room, to sit on my couch, to drink some tea, to share some things about you and about me.



(Notice the nice new wall color. Isn't it much more homey than the previous yellow, red, and green stripes??)


And I have to show you the newly painted bedroom too. I love the soothing warmth of the color!



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And so now that some thoughts are flowing, what is your Secret of the Day?