Day 34 of 100 Days of Blogging
Last night we had a house meeting in the community house where I am living in Venice, CA. Each of us was given an "assignment" to grow. Something that would take us out of our comfort zone, help us to release old patterning and to create a wave of personal growth and leaps in the house.
My assignment is to receive. From now until July 23 when I will be flying to DC for a week of work, here are some of the restrictions and guidelines to create more space to receive.
*No housework for me including dishes and laundry.
*Someone is assigned to make my breakfast every morning.
*Everyone is taking turns getting up at 5am to make my coffee and serve it to me.
Now, I am sure that for some of you this would be a nice treat. And I agree. There have been moments of joy today, like when Laurel made a breakfast of strawberries, blueberries and coconut cream made from fresh coconut juice. So yummy! And Damian did the dishes mid-morning.
The biggest stretch today was when Laurel created a morning schedule and everyone signed up to make my coffee. I suggested they could prepare the coffeepot the night before and I could press the on switch when I wake up. But, no...that was not out of my comfort zone enough. Someone has to get out of bed 2 hours early to make my coffee and then serve it to me. (See schedule below.)
Andrea Coffee Schedule. So far, Allegra, Laurel, Andreas (yes, we have an Andrea and an Andreas in the same house!) and Damian have signed up. Damian is even getting up on a Sunday! The only day he gets to sleep in.
All day I have been "doing" things like leaving my dishes in the sink, walking by the full recycling bag, letting go of the task of cleaning one of the bathrooms. A job I do every Thursday. I say that I have been "doing" things because I continue to go on autopilot and clean and then I stop myself and put everything down and walk away.
The new rhythm of the house is emerging with different people picking up my share of the work.
I have been feeling the discomfort all day and now as the day is coming to an end, I have consciously made a decision to open my heart and receive. To witness the commitment from each person in the house as they support me in receiving. To see that my value is more about who I am than what I do.
Stay tuned as I explore the edges of this opportunity to receive.
What is your relationship with giving and receiving? Post in the comments and let us know.
Last night we had a house meeting in the community house where I am living in Venice, CA. Each of us was given an "assignment" to grow. Something that would take us out of our comfort zone, help us to release old patterning and to create a wave of personal growth and leaps in the house.
My assignment is to receive. From now until July 23 when I will be flying to DC for a week of work, here are some of the restrictions and guidelines to create more space to receive.
*No housework for me including dishes and laundry.
*Someone is assigned to make my breakfast every morning.
*Everyone is taking turns getting up at 5am to make my coffee and serve it to me.
The biggest stretch today was when Laurel created a morning schedule and everyone signed up to make my coffee. I suggested they could prepare the coffeepot the night before and I could press the on switch when I wake up. But, no...that was not out of my comfort zone enough. Someone has to get out of bed 2 hours early to make my coffee and then serve it to me. (See schedule below.)
Andrea Coffee Schedule. So far, Allegra, Laurel, Andreas (yes, we have an Andrea and an Andreas in the same house!) and Damian have signed up. Damian is even getting up on a Sunday! The only day he gets to sleep in.
The new rhythm of the house is emerging with different people picking up my share of the work.
I have been feeling the discomfort all day and now as the day is coming to an end, I have consciously made a decision to open my heart and receive. To witness the commitment from each person in the house as they support me in receiving. To see that my value is more about who I am than what I do.
Stay tuned as I explore the edges of this opportunity to receive.
What is your relationship with giving and receiving? Post in the comments and let us know.
Andrea, I loved this post. I thought I was getting better at "receiving", however, the discomfort I felt when I imagined people doing the same things for me as your housemates are doing for you was a big AHA for me this morning... feels like I need to lean into this discomfort and find out what it is about...
ReplyDeleteNukhet H.
We had a visitor at the house last night who had an AHA when we were talking about this. He had just helped his roommate with a project and he reflected how good it felt. Then he paused and realized how uncomfortable he would have felt, if the roommate had been helping him with his project. One of my housemates replied that this opportunity meant that she could show up in a new way and she was grateful. You could feel the awareness growing in both of us.
DeleteHere is to the journey of "RECEIVING" lovingly, joyfully and gratefully! I trust that it was delightful to receive your cup of coffee this morning! <3
ReplyDelete