• For all things homely, visit my Life on the Home Front blog 
• For peace and solitude, visit my Seeking Silence blog
• For the wisdom of our Holy Father, visit Benedict Everyday
• Visit my page on Saint Therese and I will pray for you!

Remembrance Day

Kseniya Simonova, the winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent, and her tribute to the fallen in the “Great Patriotic War” of 1941-45.

Two Awards!!

I am blessed indeed

The first is from Mary at The Beautiful Gate ~ the Lovely Lady, Lovely Blog Award. Thank you, dear friend

The second is from Cathy over at A Bit of the Blarney ~ the Gorgeous Blogger Award! Thank you so much Cathy

In accepting this award I have to tell you 6 things about myself you don’t know. Now that’s a challenge…let’s see:

1. My most favourite food of all time is cheese on toast! I’m a simple girl
2. I have read the book The Nun’s Story about 20 times and will probably read it 20 more in my lifetime!
3. My favourite film is a German film called The Lives of Others.
4. I am very interested in former East German culture and would love to own a Trabant car
5. I hope to visit Berlin for our holiday next year.
6. I suffer from sleep paralysis from time to time, which is horrid

So there you are! I amsupposed to pass these on to a number of people, but unable to choose, I shall award it to everyone who reads this blog this week Have a blessed day, as I have!

Chat over Coffee

Hello and happy Saturday! It’s been a quiet couple of weeks on the blogging front, and this last week has been our half-term holidays, and I have been spending less time on the computer and more time with family, including a lovely visit from my sister and her family So, I have not deserted you all! Now let’s sit down and sip a nice, frothy cappucino together (or tea, if you prefer )

Actually, it’s nice to sit down and have a quiet day. I am tired, and I am still coughing (and have been for weeks now) I just can’t shake it. We’ve all had nasty viruses over the last month or so, and found that the cough lingers. My husband has it too, so we make quite a duet, coughing in stereo! I have found Covonia night-time medicine helps, as it has  sedative in it which enables you to sleep without coughing yourself awake. The only problem is, you wake feeling like you have a hangover! Oh to feel 100% well again! I need my strength at the moment, as life with an 8 month old is never restful, and there’s always something else to do. The dishes always need washing, the carpets always need hoovering, dirty clothes multiply overnight in the washing basket, and trying to keep meal-times interesting and varied becomes a challenge. It reminds me of the words of Saint Frances of Rome:

“It is most laudable in a married woman to be devout,
but she must never forget that she is a housewife.
And sometimes she must leave God at the altar
to find Him in her housekeeping.”

How true! It is the essence of “Domestic Church”! God is not just to be found in quiet places of prayer, but in the midst of baby sick, spilt food, mounds of laundry and dirty dishes…Even our Holy Mother had to do all the tasks of the housewife, adn it is through Her that our work is sanctified. That is why I love this picture, which depicts Mary hanging out Her laundry! If She could, then I can, and with a heart full of love and joy!

I pray that God will bless you today, in whatever you’re doing around your home

Sabbath Moments: Autumn

I have joined this weekly meme hosted by Colleen

Sabbath moments are a way of taking time, just “being” instead of “doing”. Sabbath time is time to rest in God, to enjoy God in silence or in nature. Sabbath moments can include: taking a walk, watching the sunset, sitting by the beach, listening to music. Sabbath moments can be a few minutes, an hour, a half a day or ideally a whole day!

Sabbath moments can be planned and they can come up spontaneously, like rounding a corner in the road and seeing a gorgeous rainbow. The word sabbath comes from a Hebrew word meaning “cease.” And that is what we need to do sometimes, cease our activity and live in the moment and breathe in God.

And my contribution for this week is taking time out today to enjoy God in nature, walking through the park and along the river and into town, and recording the Autumnal beauty around me as I went along! Enjoy!

Chat over Coffee…

Well, it’s been a little while…

The trouble with not blogging very often is that you get out of the habit of blogging. But it’s been good to have a break, and I don’t think I will go  back to blogging several times a week. The way my life is right now, I just don’t have the time, and it takes me away from other stuff in my life which is, at present, more important ~ work, family, Church ~ all busy, all full, all needing a greater percentage of Mrs. Pogle!

But today is Saturday and I have a rest day (the first in a while) and am alone in the house! What luxury I plan to do a little housework (not too much!) and then spend some quality time with God and pray in a more focused way, instead of praying on the hoof as I have been doing this last few weeks. Then I am going to watch a film this afternoon and eat some Thorntons chocolates…life can have its little luxuries once in a while. The film I will watch is one of my favourites ~ it’s funny, sad, poignant, quirky all at the same time: Goodbye Lenin

Later on I shall go to Mass. I am going to a different Church, one which isn’t very far away, but I haven’t visited before. It’s a Novus Ordo Mass, but I have heard positive  things said about the reverence with which it is said, and the respect the congregation have for the presence of our Lord, instead of the noisy chatter before the service. It may be a possibility for the weekends when there is no Latin Mass. Oh, I hope so, I sincerely hope so. I have tried so hard where I am, and have come to a point where I need to look elsewhere. Please pray for me, and especially that I allow myself to be guided by God and make the right choice.

So that’s me this week! Nothing deeply spiritual, nothing profound. It has been a whirlwind of a week, but God was there in the midst when I looked for Him. Sometimes, that is simply how life is.

“All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven.” Ecc. 3:1

Beauty from my Garden

Just popping in to share this with you. My passion flower ~ blooming in mid October!

 

The Passion Flower with its various parts is seen as a symbol of Jesus’ scourging, crowning with thorns and crucifixion.

• The spiraled tendrils ~ the lash of Christ’s scourging
• The central flower column ~ the pillar of the Scourging
• The 72 radial filaments ~ the Crown of Thorns
• The top 3 stigma ~ the 3 Nails
• The lower 5 anthers ~ the 5 wounds
• The shape ~ the Sponge used to moisten Christ’s Lips with Vinegar
• The leaves (some species) ~ the head of the Centurion’s Spear
• The red stains ~ Christ’s Blood Drops
• The Round Fruit ~ The World Christ came to save
• The Fragrance ~ The Spices prepared by the Holy Women

Such symbols gave a specific focus of Christian faith to the religious sense of nature, and also provided a visual means of teaching the Gospel story in an era where there were no printed catechisms.

Need a smile today?

Then look here

poustinia of the heart

Life has become come increasingly demanding. I have a lot to think about. In order to do so, I need to withdraw into an inner hermitage for a while.  A “poustinia of the heart”, so I can hear God’s voice.

A poustinia (Russian: пустынь) is a small sparsely furnished cabin or room where one goes to pray and fast alone in the presence of God. The word poustinia has its origin in the Russian word for desert (пустыня).

I hope to find God within…meanwhile, I will only be blogging here: Seeking Silence 

ps: please continue ot post your prayer requests to St. Therese! Although I won’t be blogging, I will still be reading and praying xxx

I shall be back!

Chat over coffee…

Haven’t done this for a while!

I wish I could say I was in this idyllic scene, pouring coffee in a sunlit kitchen with my family wearing a beautiful long gown, but alas ~ I am sat in an office during my lunch hour, taking a break from the daily grind with my laptop! But my heart is in such a beautiful place, and I find myself wanting to share the vision with you. So this will be one of those chatty, informal just-what’s-on-my-mind sort of posts

I am feeling somewhat rested after a quiet baby-free weekend, just my husband and myself at home, pottering about, catching up with housework, shampooing rugs, baking cakes, making soup, watching “The Return of the King” on tv, and of course attending Mass yesterday…

It is the Mass that remains on my mind, as I find I am caught in a kind of Limbo between the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. I recently started going to a Traditional Latin Mass in a village about 20 minutes drive away from my home, and was just bowled over by it. I think I have shared elsewhere that the Catholic Church, when I converted, was the home I had always searched for. The Latin Mass was like finding the best room in the house, the one where I felt truly at home and free to express my love to God in a very special way. I love the Latin Mass! Gradually, over the last few months, I have found myself struggling with elements of the NO Mass, and I was painfully aware of these things yesterday. I guess my biggest issue is that when I first went to a TLM, I felt a truly Catholic identity, going back through the centuries. Something very special and sacred. The NO Mass is so, so similar to an Anglican service I struggle to see that Catholic identity within it, apart from the consecration of the Eucharist. How did we get to resemble the Church of England so closely? Being a convert I don’t know the answer to that one…

I also struggle because of the level of noise in my parish Church before Mass, which makes it very difficult to pray beforehand and put myself in the right place with God. Of course I pray and prepare myself at home, but just a few minutes quietly kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament prior to Mass would be nice! With my eyes closed, I could quite easily be in Costa on a busy Saturday afternoon  I just think people have forgotten how to stop talking, and there are precious few truly quiet spaces left in life. That is why I value my time at the Convent so much. I have tried and tried to shut the noise out, and sometimes I manage to do it, but a lot of the time the noise level is such that I can’t find that still centre within myself.  I try instead to find reasons to praise God, such as the fact that folk ar friendly and communicative, but wish they weren’t quite so much before Mass! I could say more about awful worship songs form the 70s and 80s which make me think I’m back in the Baptist youth group I used to attend as a teenager, feeling called to wear a veil but not wanting to draw attention to myself (I wear a headscarf instead and save the mantilla for TLM), desperately wanting to receive communion kneeling but making do with genuflecting instead (which still marks me out as “different”, as does receiving on the tongue) and last but not least, questioning the role of Extraordinary Ministers of HC (I am one, but don’t feel at all comfortable in doing so anymore, so I will be resigning).

Oh, my dear friends, I don’t wish to sound unhappy or as if I am nitpicking. After all, I’m not talking about major Liturgical abuses here (thank God) but from that long analysis, it is obvious that my heart is troubled, and I am stuck in this not-very-pleasant place of only feeling truly at one with God in the Mass once a month! That doesn’t mean I will stop going to the NO Mass, as I still recognise my Sunday obligation. I also believe that Jesus is truly present in the Mass whichever form it is celebrated in, but I can see I will tussle with this for a while yet. 

On the subject of the Eucharist, the last time I was at the Convent I read a superb book, Jesus Our Eucharistic Love (link), which I gobbled up (in a spiritual manner!). The more I read, the more I was overwhelmed with the significance of the Eucharist. It really did blow me away ~ and then I discovered last week that the entire book is available on line. I would highly, highly recommend it…I may take passages from it and write some reflections! Take this, for example:

Holy Communion represents the loftiest point of this exercise of love, Whose consuming flames unite the heart of a creature and Jesus. St. Gemma Galgani could exclaim in this regard, “I can no longer avoid the thought that in the wonderful scope of His Love, Jesus makes Himself perceptible and shows Himself to His lowliest creature in all the splendors of His Heart.” And what may we say about the “exercises” of the heart of St. Gemma, who desired to be a “tent of love” in which she would keep Jesus always with her? She longed to have a “little place in the ciborium” to be able to stay always with Jesus. She asked that she could become “a flaming ball afire with love” for Jesus.

Well, that certainly was a chat over coffee ~ a little deeper than I had intended, but it has really helped me to just pour out what’s on my mind and in my heart today. May God bless you for listening, and I pray that you will have a day in which you experience the love of Jesus above all things

October 1st: Happy Feast day of our beloved St. Therese!

…may you be blessed today and every day through her intercessions!

Today I came across this beautiful painting of Therese, the most beautiful I think I have ever seen, by Leonard Porter. I pray it brings you blessings, too!

Please join me…

…for tea in my kitchen. Just click the picture

Saint Therese Novena Rose Prayer

Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese 

O Glorious St. Therese, whom Almighty God has raised up to aid and inspire the human family, I implore your Miraculous Intercession. You are so powerful in obtaining every need of body and spirit from the Heart of God. Holy Mother Church proclaims you “Prodigy of Miracles… the greatest saint of Modern Times.” Now I fervently beseech you to answer my petition (mention here) and to carry out your promises of spending heaven doing good on earth… of letting fall from Heaven a Shower of Roses. Little Flower, give me your childlike faith, to see the Face of God in the people and experiences of my life, and to love God with full confidence. St. Therese, my Carmelite Sister, I will fulfill your plea “to be made known everywhere” and I will continue to lead others to Jesus through you ~ Amen.

My Novena Rose Prayer

O Little Therese of the Child Jesus,
please pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens
and send it to me as a message of love.

O Little Flower of Jesus,
ask God to grant the favors I now place
with confidence in your hands . .

(Mention specific requests)

St. Therese, help me to always believe
as you did in God’s great love for me,
so that I might imitate your “Little Way” each day.

~Amen~

St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Britain, 2009

a simple faith

I have been reflecting on what it means to have a simple faith, and this Psalm immediately came to mind:

Psalm 130/131 (New King James Version)
A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 LORD, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.

2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever.

This gives me great hope! After reading through a series of discussions recently on lofty concepts such as genetics and environment and their effect on conscience; science and theology; free will etc. and really getting nowhere, I decided that I am quite happy with my simple unquestioning faith.

I do not know all the answers, nor do I wish to. That skims to close to the sin of Adam and Eve, wanting to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and know all things as God does.

I shall stick to my Rosary, my occasional Novenas, my simple prayers and conversations with God. I shall read my Bible in a spirit of being open to the Holy Sprit, and gladly lay down all that I don’t understand. I shall turn to the Catechism when I have a question I can’t answer and I will leave the great and profound matters to those who are wiser and more knowledgable than myself.

One of the things Bishop Brian spoke of when he preached at the Cathedral on Friday, was the child-like nature of Therese: she had little or no theological knowledge; she lived her life in the Carmel hidden from the world; she delighted in her littleness, seeing that God in His mercy stooped even lower to reach her; she desired only to be a daisy or a violet nestled at God’s feet, not a striking lily or a beautiful rose like the great Saints. My desire is to strive to be equally little, simple, child-like. Always aware of my nothingness before God, always aware of His infinite Grace and love for me.

“So it is in the world of souls, the living garden of the Lord. It pleases Him to create great saints, who may be compared with lilies or the rose; but He has also created little ones, who must be content to be daisies or violets nestling at His feet to delight His eyes when He should choose to look at them. The happier they are to be as He wills, the more perfect they are.”  Saint Therese

It is enough…

Lessons from Saint Therese and Sister Luke

I went to Liverpool on Friday, and filed my way past the relics of Saint Therese along with all the other pilgrims. It is hard to explain how it felt…to be honest, there were no big feelings, just a sense of quiet reverence and a little kernel of peace within. I kissed the glass and touched my St. Therese Chaplet to it, which is now very precious to me! I hold it in my hand as I fall asleep at night. Since coming back, I have felt much closer to this dear Saint, my sister-in-Christ. It was also lovely to receive the Sacrament of penance and attend Mass led by Bishop Brian Noble ~ a man whose gentleness and humility just shine through every word he says! And I placed all the names of those who have asked me for prayer, here, friends and family, into the petitions box, so please be assured that dear Therese is working hard on your behalf!

I almost didn’t make it, as I came down with a dreadful cold on Wednesday evening, and had to cancel my 1940s birthday party on Thursday (the grandchildren are poorly too ) At one point I was worrying whether this was a sign that I shouldn’t go! So I prayed and asked God that if He wanted me to go, I would be well enough, and sure enough I was! I was fine when I got up on Friday morning, fine all the way to Liverpool and while I was there…but the minute I got home I was feeling really poorly again. How’s that for a clear answer to prayer

It’s odd, but since coming back, I have felt a great struggle in my faith life, like God has quietly flicked a light, if not off, down to a very dim setting. Even that makes me think of Saint Therese, who struggled for many years with a dark night of the soul, when prayer was dry and totally without consolation. And yet she remained faithful in all the small things, and never lost her devotion. She continued through her prayers and letters to greatly encourage those she was in contact with, and practised her Little Way which has always been so inspirational to me. Her childlike trust and simplicity was far from childish, and the more I learn of her, the more I discover a woman who was incredibly real, and who lived life uncompromisingly. I pray that Therese will help me follow her example.

As to this grey, misty haze I feel I am in. It is a necessary part of the journey and I am in the company of many Saints! I believe there are times when God removes His consolations from us and we have to walk by faith and not by sight. Without the light of His favour shining upon me, I am left with the necessity of facing up to my own shortcomings, which are many, and the fact that I am in fact a very unspiritual person at times. I rebel against my vocation; I struggle with anger; I find it almost impossible to forgive; I am impatient and ungodly. And yet it is through recognising these weaknesses that I have no choice but to fall back onto Christ’s breast in the gloom and allow Him to be my love, my strength, my joy.

“And he said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee: for power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

…in other words, “The strength and power of God more perfectly shines forth in our weakness and infirmity; as the more weak we are of ourselves, the more illustrious is his grace in supporting us, and giving us the victory under all trials and conflicts.”

I have picked up my favourite book, The Nun’s Story (this page has some good reviews, but unfortunately the book is out of print) by Kathryn Hulme again, because I know it will present me with a very real picture of religious and spiritual struggle, and there is s much in it which reflects where I am, in Sister Luke’s constant rebellion against obedience. I have also taken comfort recently  from reading An Infinity of Little Hours, realising from the experience of the Carthusian Novices, that before one can make any claim to holiness, one must first face the utter weakness,  failure and nothingness which makes up our inner lives. Before I can in any way be a mirror to reflect God’s love, I first have to submit to the crucifixion of self. This just another stage in the journey…

Saint Therese

Picture from Saint Therese in Lancaster Blog

I have long had a love affair of the heart with Saint Therese of Lisieux. After reading her autobiography prior to my conversion and entry into the Catholic Church, I chose her (or she chose me?) as my confirmation Saint.

I am aware that there are as many who struggle with Saint Therese as there are those who love her. There doesn’t seem to be an in-between! It is true that the cult of devotion that has grown up around St. Therese in the past has been sometimes sickly and flowery, but if you dig underneath the exterior, a very different picture of the Saint becomes quickly apparent. Dear Saint Therese really suffered throughout her life, and died in terrible pain as her Superior did not endorse the use of pain relief. Wracked with tuberculosis, she wasted away over a long period of time. Furthermore, she suffered a long “dark night of the soul” which lasted for years, leaving her devoid of any consolation. But neither of these things diminished her love for Christ, or for His children. Her fervent desire was to spread His love, and to carry on in Heaven bringing about good works on earth, in her own words to “let fall a shower of roses on those I would reach for Your love”.

Since her death in 1897, this little Nun, who strived always to remain as little as possible, hidden away from sight in the heart of the Carmel, has touched the hearts of many thousands of people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, and many graces and miracles have been attributed to her intercession.

I pondered whether or not to visit her relics which are touring the UK at the moment, and in the end decided to go to Liverpool on Friday to take my place in line. It seems only right that I venerate this Saint who has had such a profound affect on my spirituality. Her “Little Way” has enabled me to humbly serve God and those He has put in my life, and has encouraged and motivated me for a long time. For me, the visit will be an opportunity to say thank you to Saint Therese, and to ask for her intercession, as I would ask my closest, dearest friend to pray for me.

All those who have asked for prayer on my page of prayer requests to Saint Therese will be prayed for, and your intentions written down and placed in the offering box while I am there. May dear, holy Therese pray for you and lift you all up before the throne of Almighty God!

 Therese ~ beloved in life, beautiful in death, beatified in Heaven

48 years ago today…

Happy Birthday to me!

(For my birthday party menu, go here)

Yes, 48 years old today…where does the time go??!! As a prayer of thanks and praise to God for my life and all its blessings, I have written a little litany below. Enjoy your day too ~ whether it’s your birthday or not, every day is special with our Everyday God!

I thank You, Everyday God
for my birthday,
for having created me as Your child.
Help me to value my life every day…

I thank You, Everyday God
for the housework, cooking and cleaning
which reminds me I am here to serve.
Help me to serve like You every day…

I thank You, Everyday God
for the work that I do
which touches the lives of others.
Help me to work for You every day…

I thank You, Everyday God
for the family You have
blessed me with.
Help me to love them as You do every day…

I thank You Everyday God
for the food I eat
which sustains me
Help me to be grateful every day…

I thank You, Everyday God
for the freedom I have
to live my life.
Help me to use it wisely every day…

I thank You, Everyday God
for the beauty of nature
and wide open skies.
Help me to appreciate creation every day…

I thank You, Everyday God
for the safety and security
of my home.
Help me to see it as “Domestic Church” every day…

I thank You, Everyday God
for the Catholic Church,
her beauty and truth.
Help me to worship in spirit and truth everyday…

I thank You, Everyday God
for Jesus, my Saviour
My Lord.
Help me to love and serve Him, EVERY DAY!
~ Amen…

retreat

I am going away on a retreat for the next three days, so will see you all when I get back! I am hoping it will be part of the answer to my “too busy…” post below!

This will be my “cell” at the Abbey Retreat House…

God bless and keep you until then!

Food, glorious food!

…and as an afterthought to my last post, if you do have the time, and you’re not too busy, why not pop over to my other blog, Life on the Home Front for some tempting pictures of my latest culinary adventures?

Enjoy!

Too busy, too much, too fast? Stop…and smell the flowers!

The title says it all. Life is too busy and too fast at the moment, and yes, it all does feel too much at times! I have always been aware of this as a “modern malaise” but thought I had placed myself outside of it, and even prided myself on being able to pace myself, and set aside plenty of time to relax. Well, the say pride comes before a fall, and now I find myself swept away by life’s current and sometimes floundering in tumultuous waters. It’s hard when something you think you are immune to suddenly creeps up and grabs you from behind!

So, what can be done? When life, work home, family responsibilities seem to grow into something far bigger than you are, and you’re reduced to waving your little white flag? I guess the first thing to recognise is that God is also far bigger than we are, and can help us sort through the mess! The other issue for me is bringing a sense of discipline back into my life, and not allowing life to swamp me. Easier said than done! But the root of the word “disciple” is discipline, so it’s a good place to start…

Looking up the word “discipline” in the dictionary, there are two meanings which immediately jumped out at me:

1. activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer.
2. A set of rules or methods, as those regulating the practice of a church or monastic order.

…and both of these are important points. When being to practise discipline of any kind, it is important to do just that ~ practise! Practise daily getting my priorities right; practise putting God first; practise saying no; practise putting aside what is good for what is better. Some of the things which make my life busy are essential, but some are not, and I need to look at what can go…the last couple of weeks it has been internet time, which is why I haven’t blogged an awful lot. But what’s the point of blogging about my life if I’m not truly living it! I also need to revisit the time I spend with God, and get into a new routine which fits with my return to work. During the summer break, it was easy to take time out to pray or have some quiet time, because I wasn’t timetabled. I could spend half an hour in the garden sitting  and praying the “Little Hours”. Now I have work to add to the equation, I need to take a fresh look at my routine and change it! Practise makes (almost) perfect is my hope

The other definition which struck me was the reference to the Monastic Rule, and of course as a Benedictine Oblate, I have one. An important part of my Rule of Life is obedience…especially obedience to a life of prayer. I’m sure if I added up all my daily activities, my hurrying and scurrying here and there, I could find time to pray more often, and for longer. A lot of the problem has disorganisation at its root, and returning to the basics of my Rule will hopefully help me to organise my life in such a way that God is my first thought, my first priority, and not sidelined into the odd spare moment in-between tasks!

Another issue I have right now, is how fast I do things! Everything seems to be done in double-quick time, from getting ready in the morning, to walking to the bus-stop, to cooking tea. I really could do with slowing down, savouring the moment, taking time to pause and breathe…and in necessary, letting go and not getting everything done. I’m sure that the sky won’t fall on my head if I do! Life hasn’t always been this busy. Years ago, we weren’t at the beck and call of everyone, always on the end of a mobile phone or computer. Life followed the seasons, naturally. Bread took time to knead and rise instead of coming in a packet; vegetables grew int heir own time instead of out of a freezer; life ebbed and flowed, followed rhythms and patterns which were in tune with peoples’ own rhythms; shops closed for a half-day on Wednesday and on Sundays; tv closed down at night. Have we gone wrong somewhere along the line?

I’ll get there, I’m sure. I convinced half my busyness is energy wasted frantically scurrying here and there, which only serves to create stress. What tips do you have for slowing down, and taking things easier? What have you found you can “dump” without negative consequence, and if you have manged this, how has it changed your life?

Stop…and smell the flowers!