How I spend my days.

How we spend our days, is of course, how we spend our lives. Annie Dillard

A lazy morning. I've taken today and Monday off to give me five days of break. A lovely prospect. No rush in getting the morning off and running. No hurry up and fit it all in. I've got time.

And I've got plans.

Lunch with my daughters today. A girlfriend flying in for the weekend tonight. A painting class all day tomorrow.

Oh. And I've got plans to organize the house. We're moved in, just not moving very fast on organizing spaces, emptying boxes, sifting through the papers to create a home.

British humorist and creator of one of my favourite characters, Winnie the Pooh, once said, "Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up."

Organizing my thoughts is what I do so that I don't get all mixed up in the drama of the moment, the 'hysterics de jour'.

The challenge this past two weeks has been, amidst the chaos of my home, I have had difficulty finding my thoughts. I don't do chaos well.

Yesterday, in the art studio at the shelter where I work, I was speaking with a couple of the artists about the chaos in which they exist. Living in a shelter that sleeps 1200 people a night is not easy. It is not a recipe for peace, quiet and tranquility.

"I tune out," said Tom, a resident since February of this year. "I've started doing crossword puzzles and coming up here [art studio]. It gives me a break, a place to be quiet. A place to not have to listen to the drama of hundreds of other people being acted out around me."

"You get used to it," agreed Reg, another artist who has been a mainstay of the art program for two+ years. "It's not something I want to be used to, but it is the reality of where I live right now."

The reality of my home right now is it is filled with boxes. Sure, the living and dining room are set up. Our bed is in place, but, tucked into corners and along walls, boxes are lined up like soldiers on parade waiting to be inspected.

And I don't do chaos well.

It is time to spend my time clearing up the mess. Putting things in place. Organizing my space to create balance and harmony around me.

I shall be spending my days creating harmony in the world around me. It is how I want to spend my life.

The question is: Are your days a reflection of how you want to spend your life?