One Moment at a Time

For the past four days, I've been working on my upstairs bathroom: sanding, priming, and painting. The thought of taking on this project was overwhelming and exciting all in one.

I started sanding the woodwork, preparing it to be primed. I had figured that I could do all the sanding priming and painting the trim all in one day. By the end of the day I was frustrated--all I accomplished was the sanding and priming the trim and door, and painting the ceiling.

The following day was painting the trim. This was going slower that I had previously thought. But when the paint dried, I realized that I could not rush this project. The trim turned out beautiful! At that moment I decided that I would do just the one thing and do it very well. If I took short cuts, I'd be disappointed in the results--then the bathroom would not be my peaceful retreat that I'd hope it would be.

Finally, I worked on painting the walls and the outside of my clawfoot tub. I took each moment at a time. I did my best not to anticipate painting behind the tub or the radiator when I was painting the walls. This is where my yoga practice helps to keep me centered.

It's times like these that I am reminded to bring my yoga practice with me during all my interactions and activities. When I take one moment at a time, I find myself more centered and able to accomplish what needs to be done.