LITTLE BITES

At our most recent DeClutter Your Creativity group, we discussed finding ways to nurture ourselves through the kind of simple, brief actions that fit into even the most hectic schedule. As an example, we looked at some books that are structured in little "bites" rather than lengthy texts. Some of the examples we talked about are listed below. If you have a different book of this kind you like, do please let us know about it by commenting on this post.

Simple Abundance by Sarah ban Breathnach. A classic among women's daybooks, this rich collection offers a year's worth of mini-essays on the places where simplification and richness (of all kinds) meet.

Until Today! by Iyanla Vanzant focuses on letting go of what doesn't work emotionally and spiritually to move into a less burdened and more authentic life. Her approach is more intense than ban Breathnach's, and more focused on healing wounds and pain. Yet it's still accessible, and powerful, even if read or used a single page at a time.

Meditations for Women who Do Too Much by Anne Wilson Schaef spawned a mini-industry of books, cards, journals, and calendars, and for good reason. It really hit a nerve in modern women, and even the New York Times, not always kind to self-help, praised it. As with ban Breathnach's and Vanzant's books, its sequence of brief pieces helps readers center and focus themselves on even the most hectic days.


The Courage to Change by the Al-Anon Family Group Inc. is designed to help readers one day at a time, as all AA programs do. Its Al-Anon origin focuses it on drawing clear and loving boundaries between our lives, hearts and minds and those of others.

Wide Open by Randi Feuerholm-Watts gathers together a series of ideas to inspire creative journalling. Formatted as a group of cards, each with its own artwork on one side and text on the other, it's a fun and surprising way to create a bit of time for art-making or creativity each day, each week, or just whenever you can. I personally enjoy the card format, which allows me to pull one card at a time rather than using a whole book; others seem to like it too, so there are lots of "book products" now formatted this way.

Archetype Cards by Caroline Myss. One of the group's participants spoke about the use of tools like tarot cards to provide a relatively quick, intuitive "read" on what's going on inside in the midst of busy times. We all agreed that believing in or deeply understanding the Tarot, or any other system, isn't really necessary for this use; the value comes simply from taking a moment in touch with our deeper selves. I'm linking here to Caroline Myss's deck of archetype cards, which don't have the same fortunetelling element as the Tarot but still serve the purpose just mentioned. Myss writes widely and wisely about issues of well-being and energy, and that same wisdom is evident here. I especially like the way she offers both the "light" and "dark" faces of each archetype, reminding us that every one of the roles we play offers both constructive and destructive (or at least unhelpful) possibilities.