A day to yourself.  A day that is all yours.  Yours with no rules, no schedules, no responsibilities.  What a dream of  a day.   What to do?  So many choices.

I treasure any Saturday that I am completely free of any engagements or standing appointments.  Lately, it seems these days have been hard to come by, but as I was flipping through one of my journals I found a page dedicated to solely “my perfect Saturday”.  It had, by the hour, what a day of freedom and choice would look like.  Now this may seem odd that I would have such a tight itinerary on a day I had labeled as one of freedom, but it was my way of setting a goal, of fitting in just enough luxuries during this one perfect day to fill my cup to the brim with goodness.

But then I began to notice something.  Everything on this particular list was something simple – walk the dogs, sip tea, peruse a bookstore, buy a tasty pastry, watch Food Network.  I began to appreciate that if I would have made this list ten years ago, it would have been much more elaborate and would have left a possibly unrepairable hole in my checkbook.

So what and how did this change?  I began to wonder.

We are constantly bombarded with images of what we should have in our lives, items we  are told we can’t live without and ideals that must be attained.  So much so that it becomes quite easy to not take the time to get to know ourselves, our desires, our needs, our tendencies, – what makes our souls sing, and instead go along with what is expected.  But if we take the easy route, we won’t discover our true potential.  It has been said that, “Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.”

It isn’t until we take the time (it must be a conscious decision) to understand ourselves, it isn’t until this step has been completed, that we can move forward and try to create the life, achieve the dream or reach the goal that we have imagined for ourselves.

Will this process be easy?  No.

Anonymous: What is difficult?
Thales: To know thyself.

It took time, but in just the span of ten years I am very certain while I always thought sleeping in was a luxury I would enjoy, I’ve realized I’m more apt to thoroughly enjoy waking up somewhat early, staying in my pajamas, boiling some water for tea and gathering up as many reading materials and journals as I can as my way of welcoming Saturday into existence.  That’s just me.

And as frustrating as it is at times through the mistakes, missteps, and failures, we are ultimately forging our own path to our true self.  There will be obstacles.  There will be challenges.  Whether it be found in the things we have to do or the people we meet. “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”  Something to think about when we butt heads with a colleague at work.

Choose to see these times of frustration as lessons, stepping stones to a more serene, content version of ourselves and be sure to bring along one’s patience because there will be times, many times, where we will most certainly need it.

But I am certain that it will be worth it.  Charge forward into unknown territory; step confidently into risky situations.

“While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior.”

And know that while the journey is always something to be enjoyed, the destination will be ever so sweet because beyond the happiness we will find, we will also find our desired reward – contentment.

“Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.”

So what have you learned about yourself?  What do you know for sure?  Coffee or tea?  A jammed packed day of shopping with girlfriends, or a leisurely day at home alone?  Working in the yard or treating yourself to a manicure?  Garage sale hunting or department store window shopping?  Sleeping in or popping up with the sun?

And the one thing to always keep in mind is that once we find her, once we find the person we were trying to discover all along, not everyone will accept this new version.  The funny thing is though, we’ve been this person all along, we just weren’t sure until now how to share her with the rest of the world.

“have you ever realized that when ..
people say you’ve changed
it’s just because you’ve stopped
living your life … their way”

Here’s to the journey and the destination!  I’m exhausted.  I think I’m going to take a nap.  After all, it is my perfect free day.