The Hit List - Tranquility NOW!

I’m almost done with my journey through Ben Franklin’s 13 Virtues. If you don’t what I’m yammering about – I’m a big Ben Franklin geek and have been fascinated with his 13 Virtues for some time. So I decided to live ‘em, one month a time. (More here.)

Last month, my virtue was: Tranquility.

Mr. Franklin says this about Tranquility: “Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.”

Here’s what happened:

I actually live a pretty serene life. Seriously. There’s not a lot of drama happening in my world. I’ve engineered it to be that way.

BUT I tend to overwork and that sometimes leaves my nerves jangled. Plus, I’m plugged in. Like…constantly. So my version of peace is kinda bogus when you think about it.

It was time to get my inner peace on, guys.

What I did differently this month:

I went on a real vacation. Which meant: having all my work DONE before leaving. This allowed me to unplug completely. (Well, I still had my cell with me and did a tiny bit of work but not my usual grueling ten hour days.)

Then…the biggie: I’m a high volume tarot reader, which means I read…a LOT. Not just my phone sessions but also loads of email readings. Most days, I love the heck out of it. But lately? I’ve been getting too many email readings. Way too many. Which meant being strapped at the computer for hours a day, typing away. My wrists were not digging this. Some mornings, I would wake up and feel really stressed at the work load before me when I opened my inbox. Something needed to give.

I had begun taking down the button for email readings on the weekends a while back. But now I realized that I also needed to start limiting the amount I do on my “on” days. I took a minute to determine how many I could feasibly and happily do in a day without pushing myself to burn-out status.

Then…I started taking the button down every time I reached full capacity.

Tranquil? You betcha. (Although some clients were not happy with me.)

This one small move chilled me out to the max and made my work load doable ‘n peaceful. And yes, I’m going to stick with it. Because serene feels good, peeps.

Tranquility & Tarot – your affirmation for the month:

I have a right to peace and harmony.

What about you?

Are you ready to bring more Tranquility into your life?

What would that look like? Where will you begin?

Maybe it’s taking more time off. Or perhaps avoiding political arguments and debates during this ultra-sensitive election season. Or maybe your version of tranquility may be simple bubble baths every night. Calgon take me away! Whatever floats your serenity boat, go for it!

If you’d like to join me as I continue my journey through Ben Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues, feel free! This month (August) I am tackling Chastity. Which means my old man is going to be out o’ luck! Ha ha! Um…well, probably not. I’ll let you know how this one works out next month.

I hope you enjoyed my ongoing exploration of the Thirteen Virtues.

Here’s a cool B-Franklin quote that sums up tranquility nicely: “He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees.” Hmmm…I guess shutting my mouth and not being all critical ‘n stuff might be another way to get tranquil. Ha ha! I’ve got work to do on that!