Money Diary #31

Morning: Up around 7:30 and drink a cup of tea (without milk and sugar for the next couple of weeks). Log on for work and monitor emails that come in. Drink another cup of tea and go shower. Get ready for my afternoon meetings. An early lunch of cauliflower fried rice and an omelet.

Afternoon: Calls between 12 to 3, and then review a project that comes in. Dad asks if I can help him with more laptop stuff tomorrow morning, so I will get up early and do that. Another cup of tea to round out the late afternoon. I read a couple of Money Diaries, including one which reminds me how COVID made me realize that I'm in a much better headspace when I am alone (or with SO or parents) and not making small talk with people.

Evening: Read for a bit, dinner is cauliflower fried rice & another omelet, and bed around 10. Here is what I learn.

• What the pandemic did for me: It illuminated a gap between what I wanted from my life and how I was actually living it. 

• Ideas for an indulgent bath: Make a lavender bubble bath and snack on mint chocolates while in the tub. 

• What a great way to view body changes: "A lot of my clothes don't fit, but I've been hesitant to buy new clothes. However, I know the best way to feel comfortable with my new body is to treat it with respect and not try to squeeze into things that feel uncomfortable." 

• On how to understand other people: People are logical, even if they don't understand their own triggers and inputs. To understand their behavior, you need to understand their goals, why they chose those goals, and what they see as blockers to their success. By doing this, you can develop enough empathy to understand how they see their world. 

• On Buddhism: "Chop wood, carry water" means there is no goal, purpose, or endgame to life. What we get up and do everyday is life. That is all there is. Rather than try to fight this and think that "if only X would happen" or "once I get to a certain point, everything will be better," lean into the rhythm of it. Today, I got up and chopped wood & carried water. Tomorrow, I hope I will be here to do the same, and that the people I love will be here with me. But that is not up to me and not anything I can control, and so even if I get up tomorrow & everyone I have ever loved is gone, I will need to chop wood and carry water, and I will do that. It doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to get done.