You know what’s really tiring, what drains the life out of so many of us each day? The belief that we should be someone we’re not … a fantasy self, if you will.
Our fantasy self is the one who will read all of the books in our backlog and cook all of the fancy magazine-style meals.
Today, I’d like to share a few exciting announcements with you.
First, I have a new guest post up at MissMinimalist.com! (Longtime readers may remember my first guest post there 2 years ago as well – how time flies!) Miss Minimalist is all about “living a beautiful life with less stuff.” Author Francine Jay is a gracious, articulate writer, and her site is an excellent resource for simplicity-seekers.
It’s a book about balancing your responsibilities to others with the responsibility of caring for yourself. It’s a labor of love, containing 60+ pages of true stories and essential insights. It’s about living a life grounded in self-respect. It’s about loving yourself, so that you can love people with others from a place of peace.
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Next, in case you missed it last week, a piece I wrote was featured on Tiny Buddha; it’s entitled How Taking Quiet Time For Yourself Helps People Around You. I share a story of how a wise L’Arche friend’s comment changed my perception of silence, helping me to consider it as an act of service. (It’s my third contribution to Tiny Buddha, a community curated by the lovely Lori Deschene.)
Finally, my most recent book, I Was a Stranger to Beauty (Think Piece Publishing, $1.99), is now available for Nook and iPad readers! You can also find it on Amazon.(And if you don’t have a Kindle, Nook, or iPad, don’t worry! Neither do I. You can use Amazon’s free Kindle Cloud Reader.)
What’s the book about? It’s the a story of a family moving through a terribly difficult time, and arriving at a place of acceptance and love.
In a way, it’s all of our stories.
It’s the time you got back up … even though you didn’t think you had the strength to stand.
It’s the time you trusted … even though you’d been hurt in the past.
It’s the time you opened your heart … even though you were tired and wanted to go home.
We’ve all been strangers to the beauty in our own lives. The question is, will we stay that way, or will we learn to open our eyes?
Readers, today’s post is over at Miss Minimalist. It’s the latest post in Francine Jay’s “Real-Life Minimalists” series. You can find it here: Real Life Minimalists: Caroline Garnet McGraw.
I’m honored to be posting there. Miss Minimalist is all about “living a beautiful life with less stuff.” Her recent book, The Joy Of Less, is a must-have if you’re interested in downsizing and simplifying (I’ve read it multiple times.) Francine is a gracious, articulate writer (on both practical and philosophical levels) and her site is an excellent resource for simplicity-seekers.
My post focuses on my experiences with simplicity within the L’Arche DC community. As Francine wrote, “[Caroline] tells us about her experiences living and working in a L’Arche community, and reminds us that it’s people, not things, that make our lives remarkable.”
Welcome to A Wish Come Clear, readers from Miss Minimalist! I encourage you to visit the (newly revamped) “About” page, where you’ll find crucial info. about what’s going on here, along with recommended posts. Also, stop in to the Store for more good reads.
Facebook and Twitter links are here (also on the sidebar to your right, along with feed subscription and post categories.)
Lastly, I direct you to the Subscribe for free (Sign Me Up!) button (at the top right) for subscriptions via email.
Thank you for reading!
